Immigration reaches a new record in the UK despite Brexit

MADRID, 24 Nov. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The United Kingdom has registered a net immigration rate of more than half a million in the last year, a record figure that contrasts with the purposes set with Brexit and that London attributes to "unprecedented world events."

The National Statistics Office (ONS) estimates the difference resulting from subtracting long-term immigration and emigration data at around 504,000. This report, updated until June, implies a drastic rise compared to the 173,000 registered in the previous year.

The authorities allege that it was a "unique" period, in which the resumption of international mobility coincided after the improvement of the COVID-19 pandemic, support for Ukrainian citizens and the establishment of a new immigration system after the departure of the EU, among other factors.

"All of them have contributed to relatively high levels of total immigration in the long term, up to about 1.1 million in the year leading up to June 2022," the institute explained.

The net migration rate corresponds especially to non-EU citizens, since if only people from outside the EU are taken into account, the figure would rise to 509,000. In the case of EU citizens, the rate is negative, with a decrease of 51,000, as well as among the British, with 45,000 less.