Latest news with #UKHomeOffice
Hindustan Times
3 days ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
UK defence secretary John Healey says Britain has 'lost control of borders'
UK defence secretary John Healey recently admitted that Britain has "lost control of its borders." The defence secretary's statement comes after over 1,000 migrants were caught trying to cross the English Channel. Describing the scenes as "shocking", Healey told Sky News that the previous government, led by Conservatives and Rishi Sunak has left the UK asylum system in "chaos." On Saturday, the UK reported that over 1,194 migrants had crossed over from France through the English Channel on 18 small boats. The UK coastguard was forced to call on fishing boats to assist as Border Force vessels and lifeboats were overloaded due to the large number of migrants. The immigrants' arrival on Saturday was also the largest the UK has seen in 2025. Furthermore, with this, the number of migrants crossing over has now crossed the 14,000 mark, which is 30 percent more than what was reported in 2024. The highest number of migrants who crossed over to the UK is 1,305, which was witnessed on September 3, 2022. Recalling the scenes from Saturday, Healey said - "Truth is, Britain's lost control of its borders over the last five years, and the last government last year left an asylum system in chaos and record levels of immigration." The defence secretary also blamed inaction from France for the issue. Speaking to Sky News, he added that it was a "Really big problem" that French police were unable to intervene. For years, the UK has called on France to stop and intercept the crossing in the Channel. Healey stated that while the French have not been taking action, "for the first time in years, we've got the level of cooperation needed." "We've got the agreement that they will change the way they work, and our concentration now is to push them to get that into operation so they can intercept these smugglers and stop these people in the boats, not just on the shore," he added. Earlier this week, the UK Home Office also revealed that France is intercepting fewer Channel migrants than the past, despite a 480 million pound deal with Britain.
Economic Times
24-05-2025
- Politics
- Economic Times
Trump effect? Americans applying for British citizenship break 2004 record
Agencies A record number of Americans applied for British citizenship in the first three months of this year, and for the right to live and work in Britain indefinitely, according to official data. A record number of Americans applied for British citizenship in the first quarter of 2025, surpassing all previous figures since records began in 2004, according to data released by the UK Home Office. Between January and March, 1,931 U.S. citizens submitted applications — a 12% increase from the previous quarter and the highest ever recorded in a single quarter. This surge follows a similar spike during the final months of 2024, coinciding with Donald Trump's re-election. In total, 6,618 Americans applied for British citizenship in the 12 months leading to March 2025 — the most in a single year since records began. The upward trend also extended to permanent settlement. In 2024, more than 5,500 Americans were granted settled status in the UK, giving them the right to live, work, and study in the country indefinitely — a 20% increase from the previous year and another record high. Immigration experts link the growing interest to concerns over U.S. political stability. 'There's definitely been an uptick in inquiries from U.S. nationals,' Muhunthan Paramesvaran, senior immigration lawyer at Wilsons Solicitors in London, told the New York Times. 'People who were already here may be thinking, 'I want the option of dual citizenship in case I don't want to go back to the U.S.'' Others see the trend as part of a broader shift. Zeena Luchowa, a partner at Laura Devine Immigration, noted increased inquiries not just from American citizens but also U.S. residents of other nationalities. 'The queries we're seeing are less about citizenship and more about long-term relocation,' she said, citing the evolving political landscape in the U.S. as a key factor. The last major spike in American applications came in 2020, during Trump's first term and the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. At that time, over 5,800 Americans renounced their U.S. citizenship in just six months — nearly triple the total for all of 2019, according to Bambridge Accountants, a firm specializing in cross-border interest in British and European relocation is growing, immigration policies are tightening. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer recently announced plans to raise the bar for legal migration and lengthen the wait for citizenship eligibility. Meanwhile, Italy has eliminated the citizenship route through great-grandparents and introduced stricter visa rules for non-EU citizens. Despite these changes, the surge in American applications reflects a broader desire for stability, mobility, and new beginnings abroad.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
A record number of Americans applied for UK citizenship as Trump began his second term
A record number of Americans applied for British citizenship between January and March, according to the first set of data covering the start of Donald Trump's second presidential term. Some 1,931 Americans put in an application, the most since records began in 2004 and a jump of 12% on the previous quarter, figures from the UK Home Office showed Thursday. Applications had already soared during the October-December period, which coincided with Trump's re-election. Successful applications by US citizens to settle permanently in the United Kingdom, rather than just move there initially, also hit a record high last year, the latest period for which official data is available. Settlement comes with the right to live, work and study in Britain indefinitely and can be used to apply for citizenship. More than 5,500 Americans were granted settled status in 2024, a fifth more than in 2023. The last time American applications for British citizenship spiked was in 2020, during Trump's first presidential term and at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. Other data also showed that in the first six months of 2020 more than 5,800 Americans gave up their citizenship, nearly triple the number from all of 2019. The statistics were compiled by Bambridge Accountants, a firm with offices in New York and London specializing in cross-border taxation. 'These are mainly people who already left the US and just decided they've had enough of everything,' Alistair Bambridge, a partner at Bambridge Accountants, told CNN in August 2020. Many people who renounced their citizenship complained of being unhappy with the political climate in the United States at the time and how the pandemic was being handled, but another reason for their decision was often taxes, he said. While many Americans are looking to build a life in the UK and elsewhere in Europe, that's becoming more difficult. Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer said last week that the government would toughen requirements for legal migrants and extend the wait for newcomers to claim citizenship. And earlier this week, Italy enacted a law that removes the route to citizenship through great-grandparents. The country had already tightened visa rules for non-European Union citizens. CNN's Alaa Elassar, Barbie Latza Nadeau and Rob Picheta contributed reporting.
Mint
23-05-2025
- Business
- Mint
Indians lead exodus and immigration trend in UK, reveal new data
Indian students and workers are among the largest group of foreigners to have left the UK over the past year, showed the country's latest migration statistics released on Thursday. 'Among people emigrating [leaving one's country to live in another], Indian was the most common nationality,' reads the ONS analysis, based on UK Home Office data. It also noted that 'Indian was the most common non-EU+ nationality to immigrate [come into another country to live] to the UK.' The analysis was mentioned in the report titled "Long-term international migration, provisional: year ending December 2024." According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS) analysis for 2024, around 37,000 Indians who came for study reasons, 18,000 for work reasons and 3,000 for other unspecified reasons led the emigration trend. In total, around 58,000 Indians emigrated from the UK in the last year. This was followed by Chinese students and workers (45,000), Nigerians (16,000), Pakistanis (12,000) and Americans (8,000) completed the top five emigrating nationalities, resulting in an overall net migration fall by 431,000 last year – almost half the total from the year before. Emigration, or those leaving the country, rose by around 11 per cent to an estimated 517,000 for the year to December, up from 466,000 in the previous year. 'Study-related emigration was the most common reason for the five most frequent non-EU (European Union) nationalities to emigrate in YE (year-ending) December 2024," the report said. It noted, 'The increase in long-term emigration of non-EU nationals who originally arrived on study-related visas is primarily being driven by the large numbers of Indian and Chinese nationals leaving in YE December 2024.' Mary Gregory, Director of Population Statistics at the ONS, was quoted by news agency PTI as saying that the fall is driven largely by falling numbers of people coming to work and study in the UK, particularly student dependents. 'There has also been an increase in emigration over the 12 months to December 2024, especially people leaving who originally came on study visas once pandemic travel restrictions to the UK were eased,' she said. The UK government hailed the drop in net migration, an issue that has dominated the political agenda amid soaring figures and the far-right anti-immigration Reform party making considerable gains in recent elections. 'Under the Tories, net migration reached nearly 1 million – roughly the size of the population of Birmingham. I know you are angry about this, and I promised you I would change it,' British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in a social media statement. 'Today's stats show we have nearly halved net migration in the last year. We're taking back control,' he said. The drop is the largest ever recorded for a 12-month period and marks the most significant calendar-year fall in net migration since the early stages of the COVID pandemic, according to experts. 'These figures show a big increase in returns of failed asylum seekers and foreign national offenders, record levels of illegal working penalties, and the asylum backlog and hotel use coming down,' said UK Home Secretary Yvette Cooper. Meanwhile, long-term immigration to the UK fell below 1 million for the first time in around three years. That was estimated to be 948,000 in the year ending December 2024, down by almost a third from 1,326,000 in the previous 12 months and below a million for the first time since the 12 months to March 2022. Former home secretary James Cleverly under the Opposition Conservative Party government led by Rishi Sunak hit back at the Labour administration, saying the fall in net migration was a result of policies he had enacted. 'This drop is because of the visa rule changes that I put in place,' he said.
India Today
23-05-2025
- Business
- India Today
UK migration drops sharply as thousands of Indian students and workers exit
The UK's latest migration statistics reveal a sharp impact of stricter visa and immigration policies, with Indian students and workers among the largest groups to leave the country in the past to 2024 data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), approximately 37,000 Indians who came to the UK for education, 18,000 for work, and another 3,000 for other reasons emigrated over the past year. This places Indian nationals at the top of the list of people leaving the were followed by Chinese nationals, with 45,000 departing for similar reasons. Other significant emigration figures include Nigerians (16,000), Pakistanis (12,000), and Americans (8,000). As a result, net migration to the UK fell by 431,000 in 2024 — nearly half of the total recorded the previous year.'Among people emigrating, Indian was the most common nationality,' the ONS report noted, drawing from UK Home Office data. 'Study-related emigration was the most common reason for the five most frequent non-EU (European Union) nationalities to emigrate in YE (year-ending) December increase in long-term emigration of non-EU+ nationals who originally arrived on study-related visas is primarily being driven by the large numbers of Indian and Chinese nationals leaving in YE December 2024,' it READ: Yunus threatens to resign, protests might rock Dhaka yet againadvertisementMeanwhile, the UK government has welcomed this significant drop in net migration. Prime Minister Keir Starmer highlighted the change, noting net migration had nearly halved in 2024 compared to the previous year—a record fall for a single calendar year. He framed it as a major shift from the nearly 1 million net migration figure seen under the previous Conservative Secretary Yvette Cooper pointed to increased deportations of failed asylum seekers and foreign offenders, a crackdown on illegal working, and reduced asylum backlogs and hotel usage as key drivers of the to the Office for National Statistics, long-term immigration dropped to 948,000 in 2024—the lowest in about three years—down from 1.33 million in 2023. At the same time, emigration rose by 11 per cent, reaching 517,000, up from 466,000 the year inputs from PTIMust Watch
