The scale of the inflow is poised to spark a fresh political row, after Kemi Badenoch used a major speech last night to insist the Tories would not allow Britain to be treated like a ‘hotel’ for migrants

Of the 1.2million people who came to live in the UK in the 12 months to June this year,  around 86 per cent – a million – from outside the EU.

Indian was the most common nationality in that group for for both work-related – 116,000 – and study-related – 127,000 – reasons.

Some 845,000 were of working age and 179,000 were children.

The ONS revised long-term immigration up by 82,000 in the year to June 2023, while emigration was shifted down by 84,000 – giving an overall net increase to the headline figure of 166,000.

The net migration total for 2023 as a whole was increased by 181,000.

The ONS said it now thought 43,000 more Ukrainians had come to the UK in the year to June 2023, and 30,000 more in the year to December.

The body is also estimating that fewer EU nationals departed the country, and more students from outside the EU stay after finishing courses.

The ONS said that while remaining high by ‘historic standards’, net migration is now ‘beginning to fall’.

Director Mary Gregory said: ‘Since 2021, long-term international migration to the UK has been at unprecedented levels. This has been driven by a variety of factors, including the war in Ukraine and the effects of the post-Brexit immigration system. Pent-up demand for study-related immigration because of travel restrictions during the coronavirus pandemic also had an impact.

‘While remaining high by historic standards, net migration is now beginning to fall and is provisionally down 20 per cent in the 12 months to June 2024.

‘Over that period we have seen a fall in immigration, driven by declining numbers of dependants on study visas coming from outside the EU.

‘Over the first six months of 2024, we are also seeing decreases in the number of people arriving for work-related reasons. This is partly related to policy changes earlier this year and is consistent with visa data published by Home Office.

‘We are also starting to see increases in emigration, most notably for those who came to the UK on study-related visas. This is likely to be a consequence of the higher numbers of students coming to the UK post pandemic who are now reaching the end of their courses.’

Migration Watch Chairman Alp Mehmet said net migration is ‘still far too high and unsustainable’.

‘Moreover, the modest fall has little to do with anything that Sir Keir Starmer and his Home Secretary have done.

‘It is now essential that net migration is quickly reduced as close as possible to zero, if we are to avoid further tensions in the housing sector, the NHS and other services already in crisis.

‘Meanwhile, the changing nature of society that inevitably follows rapid mass immigration will put the cohesion we have long enjoyed at ever greater risk.’

The revisions come as the ONS has continued to review its net migration figures as more complete data becomes available and has improved how it estimates the migration behaviour of people arriving in the UK from outside the European Union.

Ms Badenoch warned yesterday that immigration levels are ‘a world away from where we need to be’.

She promised a ‘strict numerical cap’ on arrivals, with only those able to make a ‘substantial and clear contribution’ to Britain allowed in.

She will review Britain’s membership of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and the continuation of Labour‘s Human Rights Act, which have both been blamed for blocking past attempts to get tough.

The Tory leader said there would be ‘zero tolerance for foreign criminals remaining in the UK’.

Tory ministers originally predicted their changes would cut numbers by 300,000, but the full effect will not be seen until next year’s figures.

The Treasury’s OBR watchdog has forecast that net annual migration will subside to 315,000 a year over the ‘medium term’ – although that estimate now looks in serious doubt.

Shadow home secretary Chris Philp said: ‘Today’s figures confirm what we’ve been warning about: immigration remains far too high, and Labour was wrong to suspend further restrictions on family visas.

‘Such high numbers place mounting pressure on housing, public services, and damage social cohesion, causing a real impact felt by communities across the UK.

‘We need immediate action to enforce stricter controls on the border, get these numbers down, and put the needs of British workers and families front and centre.’

Labour claimed they are ‘cleaning up the Conservatives’ mess’.

A spokesman said: ‘In their own words, the Tories broke the immigration system. On their watch, net migration quadrupled in four years to a record high of nearly one million, despite saying they’d lower it to 100,000. They are an open borders party who lied time and again to the public. This is the chaos Labour inherited and any crowing from the Tories should be seen in that light.

‘Over the summer, the Government started the hard graft. We hired more caseworkers to tackle the asylum backlog and we’re now interviewing 10,000 people per month, compared to 2,000 under the Tories, so we can get people out of asylum hotels and save the taxpayers billions.

‘We’ve also ramped up the removal of those with no right to be in the UK by a fifth. Without this action, thousands more would remain in the UK illegally.’

CPS Research Director Karl Williams said: ‘Today’s net migration figures from the ONS are astonishing. Not only is the figure of 728,000 for 2023-4 far higher than expected, but numbers for 2022-3 have been revised upwards by 166,000 to a new record of 906,000. The scale of this adjustment raises a serious question mark over the quality of our migration data, which drives crucial policy decisions.

‘More broadly, net migration in the last four years now stands at over 2.5 million, which represents population growth of 3.8 per cent – equivalent to the combined populations of Leeds, Liverpool, Sheffield, Manchester and Bristol.’

Touring broadcast studios this morning, Home Office minister Seema Malhotra declined to say what level of net migration would be acceptable.

Ms Malhotra repeatedly dodged, insisting policy must be based on ‘a credible and serious plan’ and the Government should not ‘just pull figures out of the air’.

She told BBC Breakfast: ‘My point is this, we want to see net migration coming down, but we have to do so in a way that is tackling the causes of net migration, because if much of net migration has been driven by recruiting workers from overseas, you also have to look at what the impact on the economy would be.’

The OBR assessment published last month pointed to Home Office visa data covering the second quarter of 2024 showing a ‘sharp’ fall

The OBR assessment published last month pointed to Home Office visa data covering the second quarter of 2024 showing a ‘sharp’ fall.

‘This largely reflects government restrictions coming into force in the first half of this year, which we now expect to have a slightly larger impact than we anticipated in March,’ the report released alongside the Budget said.

‘We judge the stronger outturn and larger policy impact to be broadly offsetting, and therefore project net migration will continue to fall in line with our March forecast.’