The Migrant Journey - Second Report

The Home Office have published further analysis of the data gathered and originally published as the Migrant Journey.

The original report - The Migrant Journey, published in September 2010 - sought to understand migrant pathways from their first arrival in the United Kingdom through to either their departure, or naturalisation as a British citizen. This second report provides a more detailed breakdown of how migrants from certain countries of origin progressed through the immigration system. It also hopes to identify some of the characteristics and common case histories of migrants in temporary and permanent migration routes.

Migrants were analysed in two different ways, using a forward-view analysis and a backward view analysis. The forward-view analysis looks at 551,220 migrants who gained leave to enter the UK in 2004, including the proportion with valid leave to remain or settlement five years after entry. The backwards view analysis looks at 176,470 migrants who were granted settlement in 2009, tracing back to identify their earliest record or initial entry clearance route.

Because the reports are based on these two sets of data, the Home Office note that these findings may not necessarily be representative of more recent migration to the UK. In the information that follows, references to the 2004 cohort are based on the forward-view analysis and any references to the 2009 figures are based on the backward-view analysis.

A summary of the key findings of the report is available for download from the Migrant Journey: Second Report page of the Home Office website - Migrant Journey: Second Report summary (PDF, 485KB)

The full report is also available for download there - Migrant Journey: Second Report (PDF, 2MB)

Backwards-view findings

the majority achieved settlement via the family and work (leading to settlement) route without switching categories. Migrants from India and the Philippines favoured the work (leading to settlement) route, whilst most migrants from Bangladesh and Pakistan initially came to the UK via the family route.

Indian, Pakistani, Filipino and Bangladeshi migrants tended to take a direct route to settlement, entering the UK through either the family or work (leading to settlement) route. A large proportion of migrants from Nigeria were first recorded by the UKBA when they got ILR, or achieved permanent leave to enter in a visa category that provided for settlement on arrival.

Out of the 176,470 people granted settlement in 2009 the top five countries were:

India (36,810)
Pakistan (21,800)
Philippines (9,950)
Nigeria (9,540)
Bangladesh (8,360)

Forwards-view findings

In the family route, the majority (91%) of the 63,400 migrants were main applicants; the remainder were their dependants.

In the work (leading to settlement) route, approximately 108,880 migrants were granted visas in the 2004 cohort; a notable proportion (41%) of these were dependants.

The rates of settlement for these two routes varied widely between national groups, however. In the family route Bangladeshi, Pakistani and Indian migrants were most likely to have achieved settlement. In the work (leading to settlement) route Filipino migrants were most likely to achieve settlement.

Family route by migrants’ nationality

Five nationalities accounted for about half (49%) of the family route 2004 cohort. These five were:

Pakistani (9,650)
Indian (6,730)
Australian (5,840)
American (5,580)
South African (3,380)

Work (leading to settlement) route by migrants’ nationality

The work (leading to settlement) cohort comprised 155 different nationalities in 2004. However, the top five nationalities made up 60% of all cases with three out of ten skilled workers coming from India. The top five nationalities were:

Indian (32,390)
American (11,190)
Filipino (8,060)
Ukrainian (6,870)
South African (4,150)

Study route by migrants’ nationality

Five years after initial entry, the majority (79%) of these migrants had left the immigration system. Only 3% of migrants who entered the UK on a student visa reached settlement after five years, although some of those who switched categories could go on to settle at a later stage.

Those who remained were mainly in the work (leading to settlement) (7%) and study categories (6%). Indian and Nigerian migrants showed a settlement rate notably higher than the average. However, just under half of migrants in the Pakistan and Nigeria cohorts still had valid leave to remain at the end of 2009.

The student cohort in 2004 was made up of 165 identifiable nationalities. However, the top five nationalities made up 38 per cent of all student visas issued in 2004 and comprised: