Brussels, 22/05/2014 (Agence Europe) - The immigration of nationals of countries of the European Union to the United Kingdom experienced a “significant” increase in 2013, according to official data published on Thursday 22 May, the day of the European elections for which the Eurosceptic and anti-immigration party, UKIP, is in a very strong position.
According to the quarterly report of the Office for National Statistics (ONS), 201,000 European citizens migrated to the United Kingdom in the period from 1 January to 31 December 2013, 43,000 more than the previous year (158,000 European immigrants).
With the opening-up of the employment market to Romanians and Bulgarians on 1 January 2014 having led to alarmist predictions in the United Kingdom of a “tidal wave” of immigration, the ONS figures show that immigration from these two countries increased sharply in 2013. Some 23,000 Romanians and Bulgarians migrated to the country that year, compared to 9,000 the year before.
Between March 2013 and March 2014, new National Insurance registrations of EU nationals rose by 14% compared to the previous year. This increase stood at 163% for Romanians, 71% Bulgarians, 28% for Italians and 5% for the French. However, Polish immigrants represented the highest number of new registrations (102,000). Overall, net migration in the United Kingdom - the difference between the numbers of people who leave and those who arrive - rose to 212,000 in 2013, compared to 177,000 the year before. This figure is well above the target laid down by the British government, which hopes to bring the net annual migration rate down below the 100,000 mark before the general election of 2015. (LC)