UK EU citizen mobility has several measurable parts: where EU-born people lived, how many EU+ nationals moved into or out of the UK, and how many people received status under the EU Settlement Scheme. The figures below cover different geographies and periods, so census population measures, provisional migration estimates and Home Office administrative counts should be read separately.
Contents
- EU-born population in England and Wales
- EU passports and nationality profiles
- Movement into the UK
- Movement out of the UK and the net balance
- EU Settlement Scheme outcomes
- Nationality patterns and status transitions
EU-born population in England and Wales
The 2021 Census provides a resident-population snapshot for England and Wales. On Census Day, 21 March 2021, the two countries had 59.6 million usual residents. Of these, 10.0 million were born outside the UK, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS) in International migration, England and Wales.
People born in an EU country numbered 3.6 million. That was 36.4% of all non-UK-born usual residents in England and Wales. The comparable EU-born population was 2.5 million in 2011, when it represented 32.7% of non-UK-born residents. In 2001, 1.4 million residents were born in the EU, equal to 30.0% of the non-UK-born population at that time.
| Census measure | 2001 | 2011 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|
| EU-born usual residents | 1.4m | 2.5m | 3.6m |
| EU-born share of non-UK-born residents | 30.0% | 32.7% | 36.4% |
These figures describe country of birth rather than citizenship. They show that the EU-born population increased by 1.1 million between 2011 and 2021, while the EU-born share of non-UK-born residents rose by 3.7 percentage points. The census does not, on its own, identify every EU citizen: some people born in an EU country may hold British citizenship, while some EU citizens were born elsewhere.
Country-level changes were uneven. Residents born in Romania increased from 80,000 in 2011 to 539,000 in 2021, a rise of 459,000 or 576%. Romania was the fourth most common non-UK country of birth in England and Wales in 2021, with 539,000 residents. The Italy-born population rose from 135,000 to 277,000 over the same decade, an increase of 106%.
Ireland followed a different pattern. The Ireland-born population fell from 407,000 in 2011 to 325,000 in 2021, a decrease of 20.3%. This is one reason why overall EU-born totals should not be treated as a uniform trend across every EU nationality.
EU passports and nationality profiles
Passport data offers a second view of mobility, but it is not interchangeable with country of birth. The 2021 Census recorded 3.9 million EU passports held by usual residents in England and Wales on 21 March 2021. This was 72.5% higher than the 2.3 million EU passports recorded in 2011, according to the ONS source cited above.
Polish passports were held by 760,000 usual residents in 2021, equivalent to 1.3% of the population of England and Wales. Romanian passports were held by 550,000 residents, or 0.9% of the population. Romanian passport holders increased by 477,000, or 652%, between 2011 and 2021.
The ranking of passport groups also changed. Irish passports ranked fifth among non-UK passports in 2021, compared with second place in 2011. Passport counts therefore add information about nationality documentation and identity, while the birth-country figures describe a different characteristic of the resident population.
Movement into the UK
The ONS estimates long-term movement using a change of usual residence for at least 12 months. Its EU+ category includes EU nationals and associated groups; Irish nationals are shown separately in the decomposition. The latest figures here are provisional and refer to the year ending June 2025.
An estimated 85,000 EU+ nationals immigrated to the UK long term in the year ending June 2025. EU+ nationals accounted for 9% of all long-term immigration in that period, according to Long-term international migration, provisional.
The entry routes within that total were mixed. Among EU+ long-term immigrants, 45,000 had EU Settlement Scheme status, representing 53% of EU+ long-term immigration. A further 32,000 EU+ nationals arrived on visas, representing 38%. Irish nationals accounted for 8,000 people, or 9%, of EU+ long-term immigration.
| EU+ long-term immigration, year ending June 2025 | Number | Share of EU+ total |
|---|---|---|
| Total EU+ immigration | 85,000 | 100% |
| Arrivals with EU Settlement Scheme status | 45,000 | 53% |
| Visa arrivals | 32,000 | 38% |
| Irish nationals | 8,000 | 9% |
The ONS progress update using the revised estimates gives two earlier comparison points. EU+ long-term immigration was estimated at 103,000 in the year ending December 2023 and 82,000 in the year ending December 2024. These calendar-year estimates should not be directly treated as identical periods to the year ending June 2025. They are also estimates rather than a census count, and the November 2025 source describes the estimation method as a progress update: Implementing new methods for estimating the international migration of EU+ nationals.
Movement out of the UK and the net balance
In the year ending June 2025, an estimated 155,000 EU+ nationals emigrated from the UK long term. EU+ nationals accounted for 22% of all long-term emigration. The number leaving was therefore higher than the number arriving during this period.
The status profile of departures was especially concentrated. Among EU+ long-term emigrants, 140,000 had EU Settlement Scheme status, equal to 90% of EU+ long-term emigration. EU+ nationals leaving on visas numbered 10,000, or 6% of the EU+ total. Irish nationals accounted for 6,000 departures, or 4%.
| EU+ long-term emigration, year ending June 2025 | Number | Share of EU+ total |
|---|---|---|
| Total EU+ emigration | 155,000 | 100% |
| Emigrants with EU Settlement Scheme status | 140,000 | 90% |
| Visa departures | 10,000 | 6% |
| Irish nationals | 6,000 | 4% |
EU+ net migration was provisionally estimated at negative 70,000 in the year ending June 2025. In other words, the estimated number leaving exceeded the estimated number arriving by 70,000 in that period. The ONS progress update estimated EU+ net migration at negative 53,000 in the year ending December 2023 and negative 69,000 in the year ending December 2024. The different reference periods matter when comparing these values.
EU Settlement Scheme outcomes
Home Office EU Settlement Scheme figures measure applications, decisions, grants and status holders. They are administrative counts and should not be read as a resident-population estimate. From the scheme’s launch on 28 August 2018 to 30 June 2025, there had been 8.6 million applications and 4.3 million settled-status grants, according to How many grants of settlement are made via the EU Settlement Scheme?.
Two-thirds, or 67%, of settled-status grants had been issued before the 30 June 2021 application deadline. Just under 1.2 million settled-status grants were made after that deadline and by 30 June 2025. In the year ending June 2025, there were 335,321 settled-status grants, down 3% from 346,314 in the year ending June 2024.
The same year recorded 86,320 refusals. Refusals represented 15% of all concluded EU Settlement Scheme decisions in the year ending June 2025. Across the period since launch, 99% of refusals were based on eligibility grounds.
Nationality groupings in the year ending June 2025 show that EU, other EEA and Swiss nationals received 287,150 settled-status grants, or 86% of the total. Non-EEA nationals received 48,140 grants, or 14%.
Nationality patterns and status transitions
Romanian nationals received 74,093 settled-status grants in the year ending June 2025, the highest EU nationality total. Italian nationals received 36,486, while Polish nationals received 32,621. These are grants during that year, not the number of people currently resident or the total number of applications from each nationality.
Repeat applications were an important part of the administrative flow. A total of 259,951 repeat applications resulted in settled-status grants in the year ending June 2025. An estimated 37,260 people were automatically transitioned from pre-settled to settled status between January and June 2025.
Pre-settled status also changed substantially over time. An estimated 1.5 million people held pre-settled status on 30 June 2025, compared with a peak of 2.2 million on 31 March 2022. On 30 June 2025, Romanian nationals accounted for 380,670 people with pre-settled status, followed by Italian nationals at 128,010, Bulgarian nationals at 127,690 and Polish nationals at 123,580.
Family routes formed a smaller but separately recorded part of the scheme. There were 8,131 settled-status grants for joining family members in the year ending June 2025. During the same year there were 23,858 EUSS family-permit applications and 9,045 family permits issued. By 30 June 2025, 145,493 EUSS family permits had been issued since the scheme launched.
Taken together, these measures describe different dimensions of UK–EU mobility: a larger EU-born population in the 2021 England and Wales census, a provisional negative EU+ migration balance in the year ending June 2025, and continuing EUSS activity involving settled status, pre-settled status, repeat applications and family permits. The numbers should be compared only with attention to their stated geography, measurement date, definition and source.