An annual statistical report was published on immigration. Excluding dependants, the number of asylum applications received in 2003 was 49,405, 41 per cent fewer than in 2002 (84,130).
Source: Control of Immigration: Statistics - United Kingdom 2003, Cm 6363, Home Office, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report (pdf)
Date: 2004-Nov
Just under 91,000 nationals from the eight European Union accession states registered for work between May and September 2004. The government said that the 'success' of the registration scheme enabled it to monitor the impact of workers coming from the EU on the labour market; had alleviated recruitment difficulties in sectors such as hospitality and agriculture; and had legalized those workers who had previously not been paying taxes.
Source: Accession Monitoring Report: May-September 2004, Home Office, Department for Work and Pensions, Inland Revenue, and Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (web publication only) | House of Commons Hansard, Written Ministerial Statement 10 November 2004, columns 26-29WS, TSO (0870 600 5522) | Press release 10 November 2004, Home Office (0870 000 1585)
Links: Report (pdf) | Hansard | Home Office press release | CIPD press release | Guardian report
Date: 2004-Nov
The number of people who applied for asylum in the third quarter of 2004 was 8,605 (8.6 per cent higher than the previous quarter, but 28.6 per cent lower than a year earlier).
Source: Asylum Statistics: Third Quarter 2004 - United Kingdom, Home Office (020 7273 2084) Links: Report (pdf)
Date: 2004-Nov
Overall, 151,000 more people migrated to the United Kingdom in 2003 than left, according to new international migration estimates. This was slightly lower than the estimate of 153,000 in 2002 and estimates of 162,000-172,000 per year in the preceding three years.
Source: Press release 4 November 2004, Office for National Statistics (0845 601 3034)
Links: ONS press release (pdf)
Date: 2004-Nov
The number of people who applied for asylum in the second quarter of 2004 was 7,920 (11 per cent lower than the previous quarter, and 26 per cent lower than a year earlier). In 2003 applications for asylum, excluding dependants, fell by 41 per cent to 49,405.
Source: Asylum Statistics: 2nd Quarter 2004 - United Kingdom, Home Office (020 7273 2084) | Tina Heath, Richard Jeffries and James Purcell, Asylum Statistics United Kingdom 2003, Statistical Bulletin 11/04, Home Office | Jill Dudley, Control of Immigration: Statistics United Kingdom, 2003, Statistical Bulletin 12/04 Links: Report (pdf) | Bulletin 11 (pdf) | Bulletin 12 (pdf) | Home Office press release | Guardian report
Date: 2004-Aug
An analysis of how migration trends contributed to the age structure and ageing of the overseas-born population found that almost half of overseas-born migrants to the United Kingdom in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s emigrated within five years.
Source: Michael Rendall and Deborah Ball, 'Immigration, emigration and the ageing of the overseas-born population in the United Kingdom', Population Trends 116, Summer 2004, Office for National Statistics, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Article (pdf) | ONS press release (pdf)
Date: 2004-Jun
The number of people who applied for asylum in the first quarter of 2004 was 8,940 (17.5 per cent lower than the previous quarter, and 44.1 per cent lower than a year earlier).
Source: Asylum Statistics: First Quarter 2004 - United Kingdom, Home Office (020 7273 2084) Links: Report (pdf) | Home Office press release | Guardian report
Date: 2004-May
A National Audit Office report said that official asylum statistics were 'in most respects' reliable. There was no clear statistical evidence that the reduction in the number of asylum applications had had any significant impact on other forms of migration.
Source: Asylum and Migration: A review of Home Office statistics, National Audit Office (020 7798 7000) HC 625 (Session 2003-04)
Links: Report (pdf) | NAO press release | Home Office press release | Guardian report
Date: 2004-May
The Office for National Statistics published the annual reference volume for international migration to and from the United Kingdom in 2002. There was a record outflow of migrants to European countries and to Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, Pakistan, the United States of America. There was also a record level of inward migration from African Commonwealth countries (excluding South Africa), from Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka and from the Middle East.
Source: International Migration: Migrants entering or leaving the United Kingdom and England and Wales, 2002, Series MN 29,Office for National Statistics (0845 601 3034)
Links: Report (pdf) | ONS press release (pdf) | Home Office press release
Date: 2004-Apr
Further detailed results from the 2001 Census were published, on internal migration and on travel-to-work patterns. Over 6.3 million people who were living in England and Wales on census day (29 April 2001) had moved home during the previous 12 months - 12.2 per cent of the population. The areas with the highest turnover of people included the major university towns and cities and inner London boroughs: both Oxford and Cambridge experienced a turnover of around a quarter of their population during the year to April 2001. Among people aged 20-24, 36.0 per cent had changed address during the year, whereas only 3.6 per cent of people aged 65-79 had moved.
Source: Census 2001: National Report for England and Wales part 2, Office for National Statistics, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report (pdf) | ONS press release (pdf)
Date: 2004-Feb