Indian students and workers topped the list of people leaving the UK last year, with around 51,000 Indians who had moved to the UK for studies exiting the country in 2025, the highest among all nationalities. Chinese nationals followed closely, with 46,000 students and workers leaving the UK.
The sharp rise in departures contributed to a steep fall in Britain’s net migration to 171,000 in 2025 from 331,000 in 2024, a drop of 82% from its peak of 944,000 in the year ending March 2023.
Indians continued to dominate several key UK visa categories, including Health and Care Worker visa extensions, Skilled Worker visa extensions, and Sponsored Study visas granted by the UK.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the fall in migration was driven primarily by a sharp decline in arrivals from outside the European Union for work-related reasons, with non-EU work migration falling 47% last year.
