A total of 625,000 people moved to Britain and 351,000 people emigrated over the year in June 2018, figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed on Thursday.
According to the ONS figures cited by Xinhua news agency, non-EU net migration was the highest since 2004, with 248,000 more non-EU citizens arriving than leaving Britain.
Increases in immigration for both work and study were seen in the most recent year, particularly for Asian citizens, the report said.
The number of people arriving for post-graduate studies in 2018 from countries such as China and India was up by 10 per cent, ONS said.
The overall number of EU citizens coming to Britain continued to add to the population, with 74,000 more EU citizens coming to the UK than leaving. This was the lowest estimate for EU net migration since 2012 and the lowest immigration level since 2014, added ONS.
According to the report, the number of EU citizens coming to Britain for work continued to fall. In the most recent period this was driven by a decrease in citizens from EU 15 countries, such as Germany, Spain and Italy, arriving in Britain with a definite job, it said.
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Net migration among EU8 citizens, which included Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic, had seen a sharp decrease over the last two years and it was now estimated that 14,000 more citizens from those countries left the UK than arrived.
This was driven by a decrease in EU8 immigration, particularly for work, and an increase in emigration over the last two years, the report said.
Away from Europe, citizens coming to work in Britain from around the world had seen a gradual increase over the last five years, the study showed.
--IANS
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