FOI request: Migration of British citizens

Request

I am currently working on an article focusing on people moving to a different country for a new life as part of my BA Journalism course at the University of Lincoln.

1. Over the last 10 years, how many British citizens have moved out of Britain to other countries?

2. What is the most common destination they have moved to?

3. What are the main reasons given for a British citizen to move?

Response

Thank you for contacting the Office for National Statistics regarding your request for international migration data on the emigration of British citizens. Your request has been forwarded to the Migration Statistics Unit.

The following sources of data are used to compile the National Statistics estimates of long-term international migration into and out of the UK:

1. The International Passenger Survey (IPS) is the prime source of long-term international migration data providing estimates of both inflows and outflows, but does not cover all migration types. The IPS is a continuous voluntary survey conducted at all principal air and sea routes, and the channel tunnel. It is a sample survey and the resultant figures are grossed up by weighting factors dependant on route and time of year. The figures produced are therefore estimates not exact counts

2. The Labour Force Survey (LFS), which provides a geographical distribution of long-term immigrants for the calibration of IPS inflow data

3. The Home Office, which provides data on asylum seekers and their dependants.

4. The Irish Central Statistics Office, which provides estimates of migration of all citizenships between the UK and Irish Republic from 1991-2007

5. The Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) which provides data for estimating long-term international migration to and from Northern Ireland for 2008 onwards

Combining data from these sources, with some adjustments for people whose intentions changed with respect to their length of stay, produces the most inclusive estimate and is referred to as Long-Term International Migration (LTIM).

The latest data (up to 2010) was published in November 2011. The First Release of the 2011 estimates will be in November 2012.

LTIM estimates on the number of British Citizens who have emigrated from the UK over the last ten years are available in the table 2.01a LTIM Citizenship 1991-2010. - superseded by Long-Term International Migration, 2011

LTIM estimates are not available for the most common destination of British citizens, or their reason for migration. However, estimates for the last 10 years based solely on the IPS are available in the tables 3.20abc IPS Top 10 RES by CIT and 3.08 IPS CIT by RFM at the following link. - superseded by Long-Term International Migration, 2011

I hope this answers your query. Please do not hesitate to contact migstatsunit@ons.gsi.gov.uk if you have any further questions.