Migrant Students and Workers Begin Leaving the UK as Immigration Rules Tighten. As the nation’s most recent net migration figures showed a notable decline of 204,000, down 80% from a peak in 2023, students and workers topped the list of visa holders departing the UK on Thursday.
About 45,000 Indians on study visas and 22,000 professionals on work-related visas left the UK as their country of residence in the year ending June 2025, according to figures from the UK’s Office for National Statistics (ONS).
A further 7,000 Indian citizens who were registered under the “other” visa category also departed the country, bringing the total number of Indian emigrants to 74,000. The second-highest number of emigrants from the UK was 42,000 Chinese people.
According to the ONS’s data release, “Indian was the most common non-EU (European Union) nationality to emigrate (or leave) from the UK.”
It states that “the large numbers of Indian and Chinese nationals leaving in YE (year ending) June 2025 are primarily driving the increase in long-term emigration of non-EU+ nationals who originally arrived on study-related visas.”
With 90,000 people registered under study visa grants and 46,000 for employment, Indians continue to occupy the top spot in terms of immigration into the UK.
The ONS said, “Indian, Pakistani, Chinese, and Nigerian are consistently among the top five non-EU+ nationalities for long-term immigration.”
The British government has made reducing net migration—the difference between the number of people coming and going—one of its top priorities because of the strain that rising immigration numbers have placed on the country’s economy in recent years.
According to Mary Gregory, Executive Director for Population and Census at the ONS, “net migration is at the lowest level seen since 2021, when pandemic lockdown restrictions were lifted and the new immigration system was introduced following the UK’s exit from the EU.”
The decline is mostly caused by fewer foreigners coming to the EU for employment and educational purposes, a sharp drop in the number of dependents, and a steady, steady rise in emigration. In the year ending June 2025, net migration from non-EU+ countries has more than halved.
“Nine out of ten British people emigrating are of working age, but non-EU+ emigration is driven by Chinese and Indian nationals who initially arrived on study visas,” she stated.
In an effort to reduce immigration figures, UK Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has proposed a number of stricter measures in Parliament this month. She praised the most recent data, stating that net migration has “fallen by more than two-thirds under this government” and is at its lowest level in five years.
However, we are moving forward because local communities are under tremendous strain due to the volume and speed of migration. “I announced changes to our immigration system last week to make sure that newcomers must contribute and put in more than they take out,” she stated.
The charity Work Rights Centre issued a warning, stating that the decline in skilled worker visas to a three-year low was affecting British services and businesses and will eventually affect economic growth statistics over time.
According to Dr Dora Olivia Vicol, CEO of the Work Rights Centre, “this government’s obsession with reducing immigration is actively working against economic growth.”
She stated, “The government is prioritising a performative ‘tough’ stance on immigration, but in doing so, it is gambling with migrant welfare and directly undermining its own manifesto promises to build homes and boost industry.” PTI