Nigeria ranked fourth amongst non-EU+ nationalities sending migrants to the UK within the 12 months ending June 2025, based on the Workplace for Nationwide Statistics (ONS).
The info highlights continued shifts in UK migration patterns, pushed by fewer arrivals for work and research alongside modest will increase in emigration.
A complete of 40,000 Nigerians immigrated to the UK within the 12 months ending June 2025, together with 25,000 for research, 12,000 for work, and three,000 by way of different routes.
The 12 months noticed a pointy decline in study-related migration general, with 288,000 non-EU+ nationals arriving within the UK for research, down 25% from the earlier 12 months and effectively under the 486,000 peak in 2023. Amongst these, 275,000 had been most important candidates, whereas research dependants fell from 87,000 to 13,000, a decline of roughly 85%.
Work-related migration additionally dropped considerably, with 171,000 non-EU+ nationals arriving for employment, a 61% fall from the earlier 12 months.
Principal work candidates numbered 86,000, whereas work dependants fell 65% to 85,000. Officers attribute the decline to coverage reforms launched in early 2024, which restricted most abroad college students and care employees from bringing relations and raised wage thresholds for expert employee visas.
Against this, asylum-related migration elevated. 96,000 folks claimed asylum within the 12 months ending June 2025, up from 81,000 the earlier 12 months. These figures embody arrivals by way of each common and irregular routes, comparable to small boats, in line with Dwelling Workplace statistics.
The info additionally reveals persevering with strain on the asylum system. On the finish of September 2025, 36,273 asylum seekers had been housed in inns, regardless of authorities guarantees to part out such non permanent lodging.
A earlier report confirmed that general web migration to the UK slumped by 80% within the final two years. Earlier this month, Dwelling Secretary Shabana Mahmood introduced a bundle of immigration reforms.
Key measures embody extending the qualifying interval for Indefinite Go away to Stay from 5 to 10 years, proscribing settlement eligibility for profit claimants, making refugee standing non permanent with evaluations each two and a half years, and introducing capped “secure and authorized” migration routes.
The Dwelling Workplace plans to implement the reforms in spring 2026, following a public session ending February 12.