Poland now largest group of non-UK born residents, surpassing India, but net migration figures fall

Poland has surpassed India as the most common non-UK origin of birth for people living in the UK, Office for National Statistics figures show.

The news comes as net migration (difference between the number of people coming to the UK for at least a year and those leaving) has fallen to 327,000 for the year to March. The ONS figures - for the period before Britain voted to leave the EU - are down slightly on the previous year.

Despite rumours that Poles were all going back to a booming Poland a few years ago, it is now estimated that there are 831,000 Polish-born residents in 2015 - a jump of almost 750,000 since Poland joined the EU along with other seven Eastern European countries (the ‘Accession 8’) in 2004. India and the Republic of Ireland have traditionally been the sources of the UK's largest foreign-born migrants. Irish citizens enjoyed free access to the UK, or the Common Travel Area, long before the EU.

Many of my own Irish family, along with thousands of others, came to live and work in London in the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s without a passport! There is now a surge in the number of people applying for Irish EU passport, but which country has the highest visa free access passport? Find out here.

Figures show a slight decline in the numbers settling in the UK from Poland, but the EU migration figures were offset by a massive increase in net migration from Bulgaria and Romania, which reached record levels of 60,000.

Nicola White, ONS Head of International Migration Statistics, said: "Net migration remains at record levels although the recent trend is broadly flat.

"The influx of Romanians and Bulgarians has also reached a new high, although that's off-set by falls in non-EU immigration and from other central and eastern European countries.

"Work remains the main reason for migration, followed by study which has seen a significant fall in the number of people coming to the UK for education.

"It's important to remember that these figures only go up to the end of March and do not cover the period following the UK's vote to leave the European Union."

She added the UK's population continued to increase between 2014 and 2015, driven by "significant increases in both the non-UK born and non-British national population of the UK".

ONS estimates show that 13.3% - around 1 in 7 - of the usually resident population of the UK were born abroad, compared with 8.9% in 2004.

London is the region with the highest proportion of non-UK born residents.

A quarter – 1 in 4 - of births in England and Wales in 2015 were to foreign women born outside the UK, the highest level on record, according to separate figures.

ONS statistician Elizabeth McLaren said: "The rising percentage of births to women born outside the UK is largely due to foreign born women making up an increasing share of the female population of childbearing age in England and Wales.

"Part of the reason for this is that migrants are more likely to be working-age adults rather than children or older people. Alongside their increasing share of the population, higher fertility among women born outside the UK has also had an impact."

Figures show that EU Immigration has not yet peaked and following the Brexit vote, work permits could be introduced for European migrants.

Some data from recent national insurance number (NI) registrations indicate that EU immigration may have levelled off, although  it will take six months to a year to see the effect of the referendum.

The then Labour government, famously predicted in 2004 that immigration from the new EU countries, who could only freely move to the UK, Sweden and Ireland, would peak at 13,000.

In reality, it is impossible to know how many foreign born people are living in the UK for a number of reasons.

Firstly, there is no counting-in/counting-out system covering all migrants and visitors. The Labour government spent billions on IT systems which were scrapped at the cost to the taxpayer.

Secondly, EU migrants can come and go without registering and many do not apply for an NI number, for instance, the self employed. Croatiannationals, whilst part of the EU, cannot work here or obtain an NI numberwithout permission. Like Romanians and Bulgarians before them, many survive here working in ‘cash in hand’ jobs on the black market. 

Migrants can find work here without permits as child minders (as in the case of Baroness Scotland, the Minister who help draft immigration Rules), waiters, builders and in some areas as mini cab drivers.

Finally, there is an estimated 600,000 – 1,000,000 people here illegally or overstaying their visas. Many have now had children who will eventually acquire British citizenship and will form the basis of an application to regularise the parents stay in the UK on human rights grounds. Even though the government will abolish the Human Rights Act, it is extremely unlikely that the UK will be able to find deport a million overstayers. The think tank, ippr, said it would take 20 years and £5 billion to deport 500,000 illegal immigrants.

Sir David Metcalf, the government's chief adviser on immigration controls, has indicated that Prime Minister Theresa May was considering introducing work permits for low skilled migrants from the EU. An estimated half a million EU migrants could be forced to leave the UK.

Sir David, head of the Migration Advisory Committee, told the Telegraph the scheme would be "pretty straightforward" to run and could be based on a previous work permit system for seasonal agricultural workers.

Lord Green, of the Migration Watch pressure group said: "The Brexit negotiations must achieve a significant reduction of EU migration and very firm action is needed against overstaying students from outside the EU."

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If you are still stuck or unable to migrate, have you considered working from home or setting up a home-based business? Anyone can now set up a home based Internet business working from home or selling goods online. Companies like Amazon, eBay and Upwork offer everyone an opportunity to earn a living and even make a fortune working from home and living the laptop lifestyle.

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Half a million EU migrants may be forced to leave UK post Brexit think tank claims

Half a million migrants from the EU, could be forced to leave Britain following the Brexit completion process, according to Laura Hughes, Political Correspondent for The Telegraph.

In a study by the Social Market Foundation (SMF) it was revealed that 590,000 EU nationals living in the UK may not meet strict residency requirements in order to automatically qualify for the indefinite leave to remain, assuming Article 50 is triggered next year and Britain leaves the EU by 2019.

There are over 3.5 million EU citizens currently living in the UK – three times the population of Birmingham, Britain’s second largest City and half of London’s population – but more than 80% should retain the right to remain in the UK having resided here for five. 

There are unconfirmed reports of a leap in applications for British Citizenship following the Brexit vote in June, as nervous EU migrants rush to secure their stay in the UK.

Prime Minister Theresa May is under pressure to deliver the Brexit will of 17 million voters, and many on the right of the party want EU citizens lose their free movement rights to live in the UK. Mrs May has previously reassured 800,000 Poles living in the UK that she “wants and expects” them to remain in the country after Brexit.

According to SMF figures, 3.55 million EU citizens are resident in the UK, with 1,660,000 coming from the so-called EU14, those countries that were part of the EU before 2004. The remaining 1.5 million come from the eight Eastern European nations that joined 12 years ago.

Many Bulgarians, Romanians and Croatians, who joined after 2007, could miss the cut, having already been subjected to seven year restrictions on working in the UK after becoming EU citizens. Croatia is the newest member of the EU, but its citizens face an uphill struggle to exercise free movement of labour rights in many EU partner countries, including the UK. See Update for Croatians who want to work or study in the UK. 

More clarity will come once the negotiations begin with these countries and the EU as a whole.

Despite the fact that the UK hardly ever features in the top 10 lists of best places to live, everybody seems to want to live here! Half a million EU citizens are not going to leave the UK, unless they have better prospects and living conditions in their own country, even if they do not qualify for a UK passport.

There are an estimated million migrants living in the UK illegally who are not budging despite the best efforts of the Home Office to find and deport them, so the idea that the government is going to have the will to force 500,000 EU citizens to leave is pie in the sky.

Much of the UK's vital services, such as the NHS, could not operate without immigrant workers, although anti-immigration organisations like Migration Watch would argue that we would not need so many nurses and doctors if the migrant population fell.

Millions of UK citizens live in other EU countries, such as France and Spain, most of whom are retired, own their own properties and not dependent on local jobs. 

It is extremely unlikely that even the most arrogant French politician would want to expel hundreds of thousands of Brits, who contribute to their flagging economy and help prop up the French housing market.

Conflicting reports and predictions from so-called experts are emerging about the effects of Brexit on the UK economy. In the meantime, life goes on and the falling pound has attracted more UK visitors and investors.

The Bank of England voted to cut base interest rates from .5 to .25% today, and pump more money into the economy by quantitative easing - printing money to you and me!

If you are still stuck or unable to migrate, have you considered working from home or setting up a home-based business? Anyone can now set up a home based Internet business working from home or selling goods online. Companies like Amazon, eBay and Upwork offer everyone an opportunity to earn a living and even make a fortune working from home and living the laptop lifestyle.

It has never been as easy as it is right now to set up an online business. I work from home. In the past, you needed a lots of technical knowledge and skills to set up websites and marketing ability to work online. Now there are companies which do it all for you.

The internet has opened up a whole new world of learning, working, socialising and doing business. We no longer need to go back to school or university to learn new skills. We can work from home, start a business or find a new life partner all from the comfort of our home.

At the click of a mouse, you can now find everything from a short instructional video to a full degree course online. If you would like more information on a free course on how to survive and thrive in the digital economy revolution and discover the truth about how to make money online, click here.

Update for Croatians who want to work or study in the UK

Croatian nationals are still confused about the rules and regulations when it comes to working or studying in the UK. After all, they are members of the European union but do not have complete 'free movement of labour' rights in many EU countries.

The seven-year restriction, which was also applied to Romanians and Bulgarians when they joined the EU, means that whilst they are free to enter Britain without a Visa and set up a business or study, they cannot take a job on an employed basis without permission from the Home Office. 

There are jobs available under permits, sometimes called purple cards, which are detailed on the Home Office website. For instance, you can quite easily obtain a work permit as a Nurse working for the NHS, as there is a shortage of nurses in the UK. But you will not get a work permit for a lower skilled job, such as a care worker or waiter in a restaurant.

The rule was introduced to regulate migration from newly joining countries from Eastern Europe following the unexpected mess migration from countries like Poland after the first expansion in 2004. At this time, nations like Germany France and Spain applied similar restrictions, which led to millions of migrants going to the UK Ireland and Sweden.

Britain's population has swelled by over 2 million since the EU you expansion, which has ultimately resulted in a majority 'out' vote during last months EU referendum, despite warnings of the economic perils of going it alone.

In terms of the rules for Croatian integration, nothing has changed or will change for the next two to three years. However, in recent months before the Brexit vote, the process was not becoming any easier.

If you arrive in the UK from Croatia expecting to walk into a job you will be disappointed, and without income you could run out of money very quickly.

Firstly, any legitimate employer will asked to see a national insurance number. Obtaining an N I number is not easy, Even if you were setting up a business here and legally working on a self-employed basis.

Secondly, if you want to work on a self-employed basis you will be restricted to a small number of occupations and agencies, for instance cleaning companies. If you are planning to go down this route, you should line up at a job before you travel, as it is expensive to live in the UK and you will quickly run out of funds without a job.

Finally, the popular student route is still available but the waiting time to obtain a yellow permit card, as well as paying fees to a college, has deterred people. The rules have not changed, but the guidance seems to have tightened up based on recent decisions. Postal applications are taking several months and it is extremely difficult to get an appointment for the same day service.

It goes without saying that you need to think very carefully about travelling to a country without a job or detailed knowledge of the rules.

Fortunately, the Internet and multi-billion dollar digital economy has given people the opportunity to earn money without travelling across borders or applying for visas.

Anyone can now set up a home based Internet business working from home or selling goods online. Companies like Amazon, eBay and Upwork offer everyone an opportunity to earn a living and even make a fortune working from home and living the laptop lifestyle.

I have been working online for over 10 years and it has never been as easy as it is right now to set up an online business I work from home. In the past, you needed a lots of technical knowledge and skills to set up websites and marketing ability to work online. Now there are companies which doodle for you.

The internet has opened up a whole new world of learning, working, socialising and doing business. We no longer need to go back to school or university to learn new skills. We can work from home, start a business or find a new life partner all from the comfort of our home.

At the click of a mouse, you can now find everything from a short instructional video to a full degree course online. If you would like more information on a free course on how to survive and thrive in the digital revolution and discover the truth about making money online, click here.