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Extraordinary official figures were published this week on the number of visas granted in the year to June 2024, in other words, up to a few days before the general election.
An astonishing 547,000 work-related visas were issued, 260,000 of which were for dependants. A massive 69% of them were to dependants of those coming to work in the Health and Social Care sector many of would be earning wages below the national average. A further 98,906 visas were family-related, an incredible 40% increase from the previous year. Meanwhile 75,000 visas were issued to those granted humanitarian protection; this figure increases to 93,342 when those granted leave to remain on humanitarian grounds are added.
Despite the government, seemingly, taking comfort from a modest reduction in overall numbers from the year before – largely because of measures (belatedly) introduced by the Tories, immigration is running at full throttle. And adding huge numbers to our population.
Most concerning is that nothing the new Home Secretary has said suggests she has any plan or desire to tackle the catastrophic scale of immigration. We find it baffling that the Prime Minister and his Home Secretary carry on with blithe unconcern to a very serious situation. They seem to regard the impact and reaction to runaway migration like scudding clouds that will soon pass over, to be followed by blue skies and sunshine. Just deal with the violent rioters and frighten the rest into keeping quiet and all will be well. Dream on, Sir Keir.
With net migration continuing at very high levels – a small reduction in the inflow will be neither here nor there. Our population will continue to grow at an unmanageable pace. As we repeatedly remind the government, annual net migration of 350,000 (it’s about double that at the moment) will lead to our population growing by nine million people in the next 20 years or so. This will be in addition to the eight million people it grew by in the first 20 years of the century, of which seven million was due to migration and children born to migrants. We can neither provide for such a rate of growth nor integrate those who come. Tensions will grow and cohesion will fray.
Meanwhile, the illegal migration crisis goes on unchecked with no sign of easing up. The number of asylum seekers granted refugee status has skyrocketed to the highest level since records began nearly 40 years ago. The latest figures from the Home Office paint a troubling picture: 67,978 asylum claims were approved in the year to June, more than triple the previous year’s number and surpassing the levels seen during the early 2000s asylum crisis. There were around 75,000 (c95,000 if dependants are included) asylum claims. About 38,000 were ‘irregular arrivals’ of whom 31,000 came in small boats.
Home Office caseworkers made close to 92,000 decisions on asylum claims, the highest in two decades. 58% of these decisions resulted in asylum or humanitarian protection being granted, despite Tory attempts to tighten the rules. Before the pandemic, only about a third of asylum applications led to refugee status. The fast-tracking and increase in caseworkers over the last 18 months or so of the Conservative government and the seemingly scant scrutiny led to the numbers granted refugee status ballooning.
The backlog of asylum cases, a thorn in the side of this government (and its predecessor) briefly dipped by nearly a third but has crept back up as processing stalled. With Labour now further easing processing and abandoning the Rwanda plan, migrants previously earmarked for removal to Rwanda are now almost certainly going to be allowed to stay. More will make their way here illegally or legally to claim asylum and few will ever be removed. That is not controlling our borders.
There was more in the published data. The number of migrants granted UK citizenship has hit its highest level in over 50 years. A staggering 246,488 people were granted citizenship in the year ending June, a 37% increase from the previous year. This is the equivalent of adding a city the size of Plymouth to the UK’s population in just 12 months!
The top non-EU nationalities granted British citizenship include Indian, Pakistani, and Nigerian nationals, but the sheer diversity of applicants shows how wide the net has been cast. And, it seems, Vietnamese nationals have become the largest group making dangerous Channel crossings, doubling their numbers from last year. The UK and Vietnam have struck a deal to fast-track the return of those seeking to enter illegally. It remains to be seen how effective the agreement will be.
The previous government’s attempts to curb net migration have had mixed results. While measures like restricting dependants have led to a 14% drop in visas for foreign workers, overseas students, and family members, the numbers are still staggering.
Incoming foreign student numbers fell by 23% in the first six months of this year, but we’re still looking at over 432,000 students entering the UK. Moreover, by the end of June, there were still those whose applications for university courses for the coming academic year had either not yet not been submitted or yet been processed who would not have shown up in these figures.
As the Labour government struggles to decide what they should do about immigration and how to bring it under control (we are not entirely convinced that they want to do this) the impact on British society is undeniable. Overcrowded schools, strained healthcare services, and rising housing costs are just the tip of the iceberg. It’s time for the government to stop dithering and take decisive action to protect our borders and safeguard the future of our country.
This is a preview of Migration Watch’s free weekly newsletter. Please consider signing up to the newsletter directly, you can do so here and will receive an email copy of the newsletter every week as soon as it is released.