You asked
Official figures show 500,000 a year leaving the UK. How does the Government know they are leaving?
Do they hand back British Passports?
How many are English born?
Do they renounce their British nationality?
Are they counted as new Citizens when they re-enter the UK?
We said
Thank you for contacting the Office for National Statistics (ONS) regarding how emigration is estimated.
Your questions were as follows:
Do emigrants hand back British passports?
How many are English born?
Do emigrants renounce their British nationality?
Are emigrants counted as new citizens when they re-enter the UK?
Official figures show 500,000 a year leaving the UK, how does the Government know they are leaving?
I have addressed each of your questions and comments below:
An emigrant is defined using the UN definition1, this is anybody that has been resident in the UK for 12 months or more and is leaving the UK with the intention of leaving for 12 months or more. It is therefore inclusive of all citizenships, not exclusive only to those holding a British passport. It is not a requirement for citizens to hand in passports to be counted as an emigrant. Our estimates are based on the data sources outlined in response number 5. ONS does not hold any data on the number of British passports returned to the British Government.
Of the 307,000 emigrants estimated to have left the UK in the year ending March 2015 (latest estimates), 132,000 (confidence interval2 +/- 13,000) were estimated to be British citizens (nationals). Our country of birth tables are published annually in November. The latest estimates for the calendar year 2013 estimated total emigration to be 317,000 (+/- 19,000) of which 125,000 (+/- 11,000) were estimated to have been born in the UK and 134,000 (+/- 12,000) were estimated to have held British citizenship (nationality).
As detailed above our estimates are based on the UN definition, and therefore include emigrants of all nationalities if they meet the criteria. For emigrants that do have British nationality it is not a criterion for this to be renounced. ONS does not hold estimates of the number of emigrants that renounce their nationality.
Immigration is also estimated based on the UN definition. Any migrant that has lived outside of the UK for 12 months or more (establishing usual residence outside of the UK) that arrives in the UK intending to stay for 12 months or more is, by definition, an immigrant. If former emigrants return to the UK and meet the UN definition criteria they will be included in our immigration estimates.
You stated that in your request that emigration was 500,000. The latest ONS official estimate of emigration from the UK was 307,000 (+/- 21,000) for the year ending March 2015. Our latest publication can be found via this web link: http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/migration1/migration-statistics-quarterly-report/august-2015/stb-msqr-august-2015.html
These official figures are estimates not exact counts.
The following sources of data are used to compile the National Statistics estimates of long-term international migration into and out of the UK:
The International Passenger Survey (IPS), which 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 Labour Force Survey (LFS), which provides a geographical distribution of long-term immigrants for the calibration of IPS inflow data.
Home Office, which provides data on asylum seekers and their dependants, as well as non-asylum enforced removals.
Irish Central Statistics Office, which provides estimates of migration of all citizenships between the UK and Irish Republic from 1991 to 2007.
Long-term international migration data from the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) 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. This estimate is referred to as Long-Term International Migration (LTIM).
A first time user guide for understanding international migration statistics can be found here.
Notes:
We use the UN recommended definition of a long-term international migrant: "A person who moves to a country other than that of his or her usual residence for a period of at least a year (12 months), so that the country of destination effectively becomes his or her new country of usual residence." Therefore, a long-term international emigrant is a usual resident of the UK who leaves for a period of 12 months or more.
ONS figures are estimates not exact counts and therefore contain a level of uncertainty. These are published alongside our estimates as confidence intervals (+/-). For more information on confidence intervals please see our information for users document.