EU immigration to UK hits record level at 284,000

The number of EU citizens migrating to the UK has hit a new high, with an estimated 284,000 people arriving in the year ending in June.

That is 19,000 more than the year before, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

The figures cover the period up to the EU referendum and just after.

Net (LSE: 0LN0.L - news) migration, the difference between the total number arriving in the UK from all countries worldwide and those leaving, was 335,000.

That is just a thousand below last year's peak.

Romania was the country where most people arrived from, making up 10% of total immigration.

The figures starkly show how far the Government is from its target of getting net migration below 100,000.

The immigration total - those arriving from any country, inside or outside the EU - was also the highest ever, at an estimated 650,000 - up 11,000.

The figures come as Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson privately told EU ambassadors that he supports freedom of movement - an opinion that appears to fly in the face of the Government's hard line on controlling immigration.

Nicola White, from the ONS, said it was too early to tell if Brexit had had a significant impact on EU arrivals as the figures only cover the period to the end of June.

She (Munich: SOQ.MU - news) said net migration, while still near record levels, was "stable compared with recent years".

"There were also increases in the number of asylum seekers and refugees," added Ms White.

"Immigration of Bulgarian and Romanian citizens continues the upward trend seen over the last few years and in 2015 Romania was the most common country of previous residence."

Some 70,000 people arrived from the two countries - another new high.

Separate Home Office figures show the number of European nationals and their family members getting a certificate for permanent UK residency doubled in a year.

Some 37,638 documents were issued in the year to September, with 14,500 in the three months after the referendum.

That is the highest quarterly figure recorded and triple the same period the year before.

EU citizens who have been in the UK for five years continuously get an automatic right to live in the country permanently.

UKIP's new leader, Paul Nuttall, said the migration figures revealed an "abject failure" and showed "you can't trust the Tories to bring down immigration".

But Immigration Minister Robert Goodwill said the Government was still committed to massively cutting net migration.

"The British people have sent a very clear message that they want more control of immigration and we are committed to getting net migration down to sustainable levels in the tens of thousands," he said.

"There is no consent for uncontrolled immigration, which puts pressure on schools, hospitals and public services.

"That is why reducing the number of migrants coming to the UK will be a key priority of our negotiations to leave the EU."