Net migration to UK hits record high as fewer Britons leave

Emigration of British citizens is at its lowest since 1998, figures show.

The data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed the number of Britons leaving to live abroad fell during 2010.

Fewer people are emigrating from the UK for work-related reasons. Figures for the year ending March 2011 show that 174,000 emigrants left the UK for work related reasons. This is its lowest for five years and compares to 203,000 in the year to March 2010.

Annual net migration to the UK in 2010, however, was 252,000 - the highest calendar year figure on record.

Immigration Minister Damian Green said the figures showed the government was right to take "swift action to overhaul the immigration system".

Mr Green said: "Latest quarterly figures show a decrease in the number of student and work visas issued compared to a year earlier - an early sign that our policies are starting to take effect.

"The latest net migration figures are also encouraging, showing a fall since the recent peak in September 2010, but we are clear there is much more to be done.

"That's why I will be announcing reforms to settlement and the family route which will help bring net migration down from the hundreds of thousands to the tens of thousands over the course of this Parliament."

Image: Getty