Suella Braverman has stated that the UK’s record immigration numbers this year are “understandable.”
The Home Secretary was responding to the latest official figures from the Office for National Statistics, which revealed that in the year to June of this year, 504,000 more people came to the UK than left.
This figure surpasses the previous high of 390,000 set in 2015. According to ONS figures, over a million people arrived in the UK last year.
Based on the official analysis, the majority of the increase was driven by non-EU nationals, students, and those fleeing Ukraine’s conflict.
According to Home Office data, there were 476,000 student visa applications in the 24 months to September of this year, the highest level ever and 77% higher than the figure before the pandemic in 2019.
The Home Office also confirmed that approximately 200,000 visas were granted to Ukrainian nationals in the first nine months of 2022.
In 2022, Albanians were the most common nationality arriving by small boat. Albanians accounted for 13,650 asylum applications in the fiscal year ending September 2022, with small boat arrivals accounting for half of those claims.
Braverman responded to the latest figures, saying that it was “understandable” thanks to the generosity of the British people”.
“We have welcomed hundreds of thousands of people to Britain this year following the devastating war in Ukraine, the evacuation from Afghanistan and the despicable crack down on democratic rights in Hong Kong.
“Therefore, it is understandable that we have seen a record number of people coming to our country thanks to the generosity of the British people.