More EU migrants came to UK than from all other nations combined after Brexit vote, figures show for first time

More migrants came to Britain from the European Union than from all other countries combined for the first time in the wake of the Brexit vote, official figures have disclosed.

While overall net migration of EU migrants fell slightly to 165,000 in the year to September, net migration of non-EU migrants fell by more than 28,000 to 164,000 after a significant decline in the number of foreign students.

The number of migrants from Romania and Bulgaria rose by 19,000 to 74,000 in the year to September 2016, the first official data since the referendum.

Long term migration in the year to Sept 2016

Nicola White, head of International Migration Statistics at the ONS, said: “Although net migration in the year to September 2016 has not seen a statistically significant change, we have seen a statistically significant decrease in net migration among EU8 citizens and non-EU citizens from Africa, the Americas and Oceania.

"This is the first release to contain long-term international migration estimates including three months of data following the EU referendum.

Although we have seen a fall in net migration of EU8 citizens there have been continued increases in immigration from Romania and Bulgaria, so it is too early to say what effect the referendum result has had on long-term international migration.

"There has been a statistically significant decrease in non-EU long-term students immigrating to the UK while a small increase was seen in the number of study visas issued. It is too early to tell if this is an indication of a long-term trend”.

At a glance | Reasons for UK immigration

Net long-term migration to the UK has fallen to its lowest level in more than two years, new figures have revealed.

The measure - the difference between the numbers of people arriving and leaving the country - was estimated to be 273,000 in the year to the end of September.

This was a fall of 49,000 on the previous 12 months, the lowest level recorded since the year to June 2014, and the first time net migration has dipped below 300,000 in two years.

The figures, published by the Office for National Statistics, are the first to include several weeks after the EU referendum in June.