Latest Migration Statistics

The latest provisional data from the Office for National Statistics show Net migration to the UK rose to 212,000 in the year to September 2013. Some 532,000 people immigrated to the UK in the year ending September, up from the 497,000 people who arrived during the previous year, while 320,000 emigrants left the country, down from the 343,000 the previous year. The Office for National Statistics said the net flow - the numbers moving here minus the numbers leaving the UK - rose from 154,000 in the previous year. The increase has been driven by a big increase in the number of European Union citizens coming to Britain. There was an increase in new arrivals from Poland, Spain, Italy and Portugal. The number of EU citizens arriving in the UK rose to 209,000 from 149,000 the previous year, the ONS said. But immigration of non-EU citizens decreased to 244,000 in the period, down from 269,000 the previous year. In 2012 there was a net flow of 176,000 Long-Term migrants to the UK in the year ending December 2012. 497,000 people immigrated to the UK and 321,000 emigrants left the UK and the previous falls seen since June 2011 have gone into reverse. Immigration of New Commonwealth citizens decreased significantly from 151,000 in the year ending December 2011 to 97,000. Of the 497,000 arrivals, 179,000 immigrants came to the UK for work related reasons and 181,000 people migrated away from the UK for work related reasons The number of visas issued, excluding visitor and transit visas, was 501,840 in the year ending June 2013. 562,000 National Insurance numbers (NINos) were allocated to non-UK nationals in the year to March 2013, a decrease of 6% on the year to March 2012. In 2011 Long-Term migration statistics show that 566,000 people immigrated to the UK in 2011 with 351,000 people emigrating and net migration was 215,000. In 2012 nearly half of all babies were born outside marriage/civil partnership (47.5%), compared with 47.2% in 2011 and 40.6% in 2002. The percentage of live births in England and Wales to mothers born outside the UK continued to rise in 2012, reaching 25.9% compared with 25.5% in 2011 and 17.7% in 2002. The proportion of births to mothers born outside the UK has increased every year since 1990 when it was 11.6%. Not surprisingly these figures are mirrored in the available statistics for court cases with an international element. The Annual Report of the Office of the Head of International Family Justice provides a real insight into the activities of the Office of the International Liaison Judge together with an evaluation of developments and a statistical analysis of the cases it has dealt with. The central message is the continually growing need for international judicial liaison as global families increase and the undoubted benefits that this can bring in resolving litigation. The 2012 report shows that, a. In 2012 there was a 40.5% rise in applications for assistance to 253. The requests for assistance involved 71 separate jurisdictions. This included liaison with Sudan. Of the 71 jurisdictions involved tangible assistance was given in 46. Given only 2 countries (England and Netherlands) have a permanent office as opposed to a judge alone this is very positive. b. 50% of all the cases were intra-European, 14% the Americas and Carribean, 10% Africa, 15% Middle East and Asia and 6% Australia/NZ. Within the EU the largest number of applications was in respect of Poland (14) but as Poland has not appointed a sitting judge as the IHLJ or EJN judge (same for Italy) this has impeded liaison. France, Germany, Spain and Ireland also generated significant numbers of requests. Liaison with the USA has proved easy to facilitate as they are accustomed to inter-State liaison. Good links have been made with Kenya, Nigeria and with a number of South American countries. c. The office has dealt with queries relating to public and private law children cases, relocation, inter-country adoptions, surrogacy, forced marriage and financial remedy cases as well as abductions. d. Of the requests most were 'outgoing' where the English courts were seeking assistance from another jurisdiction. Only 11% were incoming requests from other countries seeking information about our systems. e. The Pakistan Protocol has been used in a nearly 200 cases since 2003, some to achieve returns many as a protective measure in temporary leave to remove 'holiday' cases. The Cairo Declaration has not borne the fruit that the Pakistan Protocol has. The figures from the International Child Abduction and Contact Unit also show a long term upward trend of applications made in respect of in-coming and out-going applications in respect of ‘abducted children’. Applications under the 1980 Hague increased by 100% in the decade to 2008 and increased further in 2011 to 249 applications, compared with 200 applications in 2008, and 142 in 2003.