Record numbers of young British people are leaving the United Kingdom and not coming back, official figures reveal — as overall net migration fell to its lowest level since the Covid pandemic and questions mount about whether high taxes and a stagnant economy are driving a generational exodus.
Data from the Office for National Statistics shows that 136,000 more British nationals left the UK than returned in the year to December 2025 — the highest negative net migration figure for UK citizens since records began. Among those aged 16 to 34, 75,000 more departed than returned, also a record high since the ONS adopted its current methodology in 2021. Fewer young Britons came back to the country — just 50,000 compared to 65,000 the previous year — while outflows remained broadly stable, creating a widening gap the ONS described as the “most significant” factor among all age groups.
“This gap has grown every year since 2022,” an ONS spokesman said. “This may suggest young Britons who move abroad for work are staying for longer periods, or that students who study overseas are then staying for work.”
The number of young Britons taking working holiday maker visas to Australia more than doubled from 38,177 in 2022-23 to 79,412 in 2024-25. Young people born in Britain to Polish parents are also increasingly returning to Poland, with the British-born population there rising from 42,000 in 2015 to 185,000 in 2024, according to UN data cited by the ONS.
The broader net migration figure fell to 171,000 in the year to December 2025 — its lowest point since the pandemic and the first time it has dipped below 200,000 since early 2021, when Covid travel restrictions were still in place. Immigration fell by 20 per cent from just over one million to 813,000, driven largely by restrictions on overseas care workers, higher salary thresholds and tougher English language requirements introduced under both the Conservatives and Labour. By contrast, 627,000 people from outside the EU moved to the UK, while only 278,000 left.
The figures arrive amid growing debate about the economic environment under Sir Keir Starmer’s government. The IMF forecasts total government revenues will reach 42.1 per cent of GDP by the early 2030s, placing Britain on course for some of the fastest tax increases in the developed world. Critics argue the combination of rising taxes, high housing costs and limited economic opportunity is making the UK an increasingly unattractive place for ambitious young people.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said net migration had fallen by 82 per cent in three years, adding: “We must restore order and control to our borders. That is why I am introducing a skills-based migration system that rewards contribution and ends Britain’s reliance on cheap overseas workers.”
The number of asylum seekers housed in hotels fell 35 per cent year-on-year to 20,885 — the lowest since records began in 2022. However, the number in dispersal accommodation — flats and houses across the country — rose to 68,719. Including Afghans brought to the UK under special government schemes, the total receiving support reached just over 136,000.
Conservative shadow minister Neil O’Brien said: “For most people in most areas the experience is of an increase in asylum seekers being housed locally. Rather like blowing on a dandelion, the Home Office is dispersing people all over the country.”
Asylum claims fell 12 per cent to 93,525 in the year to March 2026, while the Home Office processed a record 151,132 cases. Of those, a record 79,719 were refused — sharply reducing the backlog to 35,925, its lowest since 2019. Applications for UK citizenship reached a record 300,000, with Oxford University researcher Dr Nuni Jorgensen suggesting some applicants may be seeking to secure status before further rule changes are introduced.
