The UK Office for National Statistics (ONS) has published its provisional estimates of long-term international migration for the year ending June 2024. The release updates the official record of who moved to the UK and who left over that twelve-month period.

What does the release cover?

Long-term international migration, as the ONS defines it, counts people who change their country of usual residence for a year or more. The new publication covers the period up to June 2024 and reports the headline measures that policymakers, researchers and visa applicants' advisers track.

The release presents:

• estimated migration flows into the UK;
• estimated emigration flows out of the UK;
• the resulting net migration figure for the year ending June 2024.

In plain terms, the release shows the balance between arrivals and departures for the period in question.

Why does the word "provisional" matter?

These estimates carry a provisional label. That word does routine statistical work rather than legal work. Migration data arrives from several administrative sources and takes time to stabilise, so the ONS revises figures as more complete information becomes available.

Readers comparing this release with earlier announcements should expect the numbers for recent periods to shift in future updates. In plain words, treat today's figures as the best current estimate, not the final word.

Who uses these figures?

Net migration statistics feed directly into public debate and into the policy calendar. Government departments use them when they set visa policy, plan public services and report against commitments. Researchers and think tanks use them to test how visa rules, labour markets and world events shape movement to and from the UK.

For people navigating the immigration system, the figures themselves change no one's status. They measure outcomes of policy rather than create rules. The visa routes, eligibility thresholds and caps that produce these flows are set separately by the Home Office.

The takeaway: the release is a measurement document, not a rule change.