MigrationObservatory
@MigObs
Followers
33,062
Following
566
Media
611
Statuses
6,701
The Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford provides independent, authoritative, evidence-based analysis on UK migration. Based at @COMPAS_oxford
Oxford
Joined November 2010
Don't wanna be here?
Send us removal request.
Explore trending content on Musk Viewer
어린이날
• 504551 Tweets
こどもの日
• 468705 Tweets
子供の日
• 129831 Tweets
#光る君へ
• 96195 Tweets
#鬼滅の刃
• 87124 Tweets
GW最終日
• 66855 Tweets
KRIST SINGTO GOLDENSONG
• 52780 Tweets
Dhoni
• 46129 Tweets
予選突破
• 45928 Tweets
May I Love Patrick🩵
• 25567 Tweets
Thala
• 24716 Tweets
Al Jazeera
• 23873 Tweets
予選通過
• 21237 Tweets
كرم ابو سالم
• 16788 Tweets
連休最終日
• 15880 Tweets
えーりん
• 15699 Tweets
四塩化一黄酸
• 14183 Tweets
GW終わり
• 13778 Tweets
柱稽古編
• 12237 Tweets
Santner
• 11456 Tweets
#アンチヒーロー
• 11395 Tweets
La Salle
• 10048 Tweets
Pinned Tweet
We have worked with
@NCTJ_news
to develop a training programme for journalists and comms professionals on reporting migration. It covers lots: History, economics, policy issues, integration and even shows why sports journos need know about migration too!
6
8
16
It means that some Brits would face more restrictive rules than migrants working in the same job.
E.g., migrants that come to the UK to work as nurses would be able to bring their partners with them, but most British nurses earn under £38.7k, so would not have the same right.
4
51
150
Emerging evidence has indicated that higher shares of international students are staying in the UK after their studies.
Our analysis suggests that the care route may be a more important driver of this trend than the graduate visa🧵
9
76
145
We’ve had numerous requests for data about Albanian asylum seekers following reports of an increase in the number of Albanian citizens crossing the English Channel over the summer.
Here’s a thread with some data about what we do and don’t know.
1/
3
85
122
Our analysis also shows which jobs people who moved from the Graduate Route to the Skilled Worker Route are doing.
Over 60% of people who switched in the year to June 2023 became care or senior care workers. This is far higher than the share of visas going to people who applied…
14
37
114
If these numbers are correct, this is a big story. We have been highlighting that this has been looming for three years now: (see )
...and let's just be clear. It's not just losing benefits. It's losing your right to live in the UK.
4
84
90
The best resignation letter from a UK Border Force official ever?
4
29
79
Migration scholarship has lost one of its leading lights. A founder of
@COMPAS_oxford
, director of
@refugeestudies
, a great thinker and a truly humane man. Professor Stephen Castles, 1944-2022
2
30
77
Published with MAC report: fiscal analysis finding that average EEA adult contributed £2,300 more to UK public finances than the UK average in 2016/17; each extra EEA migrant will make average net contribution of approx £80,000 over their lifetime
7
80
73
Roses are red,
Violets smell sweet
We're somewhat astonished
You've not deleted this tweet...
1
30
73
The new income requirement for family visas comes into effect today. Our estimates suggest that 50% of employees don't earn enough to bring a foreign partner to UK under this initial phase. By 2025, when phase 3 starts, this figure could rise to 70% 👉
8
74
73
Most UK residents will not be able to bring a foreign partner to the country under the new rules. Available data suggests that around 50% of UK employees earn less than the £29,000 threshold and 70% earn less than £38,700.
3
53
72
Exactly a decade ago the leader of the opposition, a certain David Cameron, appeared on the Marr show, introducing the idea of the 'tens of thousands' net migration target. The impacts of the dogged pursuit of that number shaped the decade that followed:
1
47
60
Important piece from
@NicolaKelly
in
@Independent
. Revealed: Most Albanian asylum seekers granted UK visas are trafficked women
3
42
56
Congratulations to
@MFReino
and
@DenisKierans
who tied the knot today!
The
@ukhomeoffice
was kind enough to send them a letter confirming it’s not a sham marriage.
We’re overjoyed to attend the first MigObs wedding.
12
4
55
Representations in media of what the term “migration” means shape people’s concerns, who they think migrants are, and what they think government should do about it. It’s not just the words, but all the choices around them - including the images (like this)…
The photo used to illustrate this story is not how people given a visa to enter the UK tend to arrive
1
19
96
2
19
53
Always interesting to see our data in action: Prince Harry can bring over his foreign spouse to the UK - unlike a third of British people
2
65
52
UK migration policy for the last decade has been based on data that massively underestimated EU immigration and overestimated non-EU immigration. So, choices that affected huge numbers of people were based on incorrect assumptions. Our new press release:
3
26
50
EU residents of the UK were promised the right to stay after Brexit. Our latest report shows that UK government data is not good enough to show whether the “Settled Status” scheme is working, or if thousands of EU citizens could fall through the cracks
2
53
50
Long-awaited Illegal Migration Bill Impact Assessment (IA) now published
It’s not really an IA of the Bill itself but of sending asylum seekers to 3rd countries. Major elements of Bill are not assessed at all
Some thoughts 🧵
4
36
51
Fruit and veg farmers facing migrant labour shortages
32
72
50
Here we have it - the new MAC report on the points based system: . It drops salary threshold to £25,600 (from £30k) and describes packaging of the current system as a "Points Based System" as a "cosmetic exercise"
2
61
48
We're very pleased with our new local data guide, which allows you to look at migration and integration data in your local area from a massive range of sources. It also looks really cool, and is fun to play around with:
2
25
47
Some serious investigative reporting by
@LHreports
on Frontex pushbacks of asylum seekers in the Aegean running in today’s
@guardian
.
@daniel_howden
1
29
46
Ever wanted a good illustration of irony? A newspaper front page outlines the Prime Minister’s concerns about the nation’s numeracy - alongside a story where his ministers apparently claim that the number of migrants who may come to the UK by small boat is ‘infinite’
1
13
45
In December the government announced a significant increase in the minimum annual income required by UK citizens and long term residents wishing to bring a foreign partner - from £18,600 to £38,700. Our commentary on the new family income requirement, "Family Fortunes" is out…
5
42
44
Our latest commentary ‘Where did all the migrants go?’ explains how COVID has led to a collapse in the UK’s migration data. We don’t know who’s arriving or leaving, who’s here, or where they are. This raises some serious challenges for post-COVID planning.
2
27
43
New report out today from
@MigObs
and
@rewageCovid19
- everything you need to know about how immigration policy has affected UK labour shortages & what can be done about it
2
38
45
Congratulations to our brilliant director,
@M_Sumption
who snuck-off to collect her MBE at Buckingham Palace yesterday without telling any of us. The good news is that we tracked down a photo.
5
5
43
The decision to reinstate post-study work opportunities is a gesture that symbolises a liberalisation of immigration policy, and arguably the first evidence of a real move away from the net migration target’s relentless focus on reducing immigrant numbers.
3
19
42
Before Brexit, graduate jobs would have been the only option for most students switching into work, but in the year to June 2023, they made up just under a quarter of the total (10,000).
1
13
43
Today we unveil the short course we put together for the National Council for the Training of Journalists
@NCTJ_news
- Reporting on Migration. It's free, interesting, and sets out basics migration concepts journos need to understand this complex subject.
3
32
43
So, the new Home Office Migration stats are out, and they show some interesting things: only a third of the asylum backlog is made up of small boat arrivals (which government is hyper-focused on) and LOTS of care visas issued🧵
- our latest press release🔻
1
33
40
The UK’s family income requirement is notably stricter than other countries’ policies. The Home Office has said the requirement is to ensure people can support their families without burdening the British taxpayer. However, 70% of the UK population does not earn over £38,700…
5
18
38
It's hard to know what the long-term impact of the Mo Farah story will be on UK discourse on migration, but the fact that UK tabloids are currently publishing quotes like these from us, and others, does suggest it is may be causing some reflection.
0
10
38
Our comments for press on today's policy announcements by the Home Secretary:
1
26
37
Our new Unsettled Status 2020 report updates our work from 2018 exploring which EU citizens are at risk of failing to secure their rights after Brexit.
1
31
38
The Supreme court concludes that the Rwanda policy is unlawful.
3
8
37
Big story on the front of this week’s Observer: supermarket and McDonalds staff hired to make life and death asylum decisions and “left to fend for themselves” after a couple of days training “ powerful stuff from
@NicolaKelly
The Observer: Nurses across the UK vote to launch strike action over pay
#TomorrowsPapersToday
1
30
30
1
23
36
Our latest press release outlines the serious risk faced by more than 2m EU citizens in the UK that that they could end up being classed as 'irregular migrants' losing work, residence and welfare rights.
0
30
35
For the record, our new report does not say EU immigration has been underestimated by 50% (or any %). Settled status data covers some ppl no longer living here & thus over-counts. Extrapolating EU numbers from Bulgarian applications (extreme case explained in report) is incorrect
2
6
36
The UK’s large asylum backlog has been attracting attention recently, and we’ve produced a piece summarising what we know about the backlog, its causes, and its consequences. 1/n
2
28
35
A piece in
@FT
where
@M_Sumption
and
@oncegingerboy
explain why policy makers develop symbolic policies because they simply don’t have the tools to deliver many of their promises on immigration - and why these often leave a mess behind.
1
16
31
Lower earners, such as women, young people, ethnic minorities and those living outside London or the southeast are affected most. APS data show only 36% of employee women/58% of men earned enough to meet the £29k threshold in 2022. For the £38.7k it was 21% of women/39% men.
3
21
30
1/3 Our new integration briefings are published today and show lots of interesting stuff. For a start, migrants are healthier than the UK born population - The health of migrants in the UK via
@migobs
5
28
31
First, the big picture: 15% of international students who arrived in the UK in 2021 had switched to a work visa within 1 to 2 years.
These people did not only switch to the graduate visa, but also to the Skilled Worker Route, which provides a path to permanent residence.
2
18
33
Our new report, "Unsettled Status?" looks at which EU nationals are at risk of becoming "illegal residents" in the UK - key groups include victims of domestic violence and many children born in the UK.
2
60
31
Rwanda's not the only migration story out today. Our new briefing examines migrant deprivation in the UK and the no recourse to public funds (NRPF) condition. It shows that in just two years, the number of migrants with NRPF has increased by 1 million🧵
3
28
31
Wow! We won the
@ESRC
award for Outstanding Impact in Society!! We're honoured + grateful, particularly to
@M_Sumption
#impactprize
- thanks
4
10
31
New piece for tomorrow's
@TheEconomist
looks at new research undertaken by
@MFReino
,
@CVar_Sil
and
@M_Sumption
showing how new immigration policies would affect key workers.
EXCLUSIVE: More than half of EU migrant key workers wouldn't have qualified for a visa under the government's proposed new immigration rules. My first look at new
@MigObs
@Compas_Oxford
paper
3
52
59
0
21
30
We've just published a new report about the impacts of COVID-19 based on the labour market profile of migrant workers 👇
1
25
28
Black History Month: New book by
@ameliagentleman
shows how deliberate policy choices led to terrible injustice. A masterclass in the journalistic process at its best, & a warning about what happens when rhetoric, not evidence, guides policy. Our evidence:
2
13
30
Our brand new, and completely updated, briefing on irregular migration in the UK highlights the paucity of data on a subject that is at the heart of innumerable media and policy debates. A must-read for anyone working on UK migration issues. via
@migobs
0
28
28
Our latest report: A Decade of Immigration in the British Press
1
57
30
What's important to migrant integration in the UK? When the UK public are asked in opinion surveys, "speaking English" is a common response
In 2021, 90% of migrants reported speaking English “very well” or “well” and only 1% could not speak English at all
2
16
29
Very proud that our director
@M_Sumption
has been awarded an MBE for services to social science.
0
4
29
The data suggest that the number of non-UK citizens entering the care sector is even bigger than previously thought.
Official figures showed 78k people coming to the UK to work in care in the year to June 2023. If we add the 26k graduate-to-work switchers, this figure was…
1
13
28
Migration Advisory Cttee review of shortage occupations list recommends… abolishing the shortage occupation list. In the meantime, only 8 occupations recommended for inclusion despite noting substantial shortages in labour market.
Why?
🧵to explain
1
17
25
Migrants and the media: what shapes the narratives on immigration in different countries via
@ConversationUK
1
29
29
The review of The Windrush Betrayal by Amelia Gentleman gets its own dedicated blog post alongside the
@COMPAS_oxford
review of migration books of the year.
0
18
28
UK benefits ban leaves migrants struggling for food during lockdown. Report in the
@FT
using new analysis by our very own
@MFReino
and
@IPPR
‘s
@MarleyAMorris
for Migration Exchange.
0
38
27
Astonishing story: Sir Mo Farah reveals he was trafficked to the UK as a child
2
19
26
We've updated our analysis of EU Migration to and from the UK, which is a rather important topic right now
1
16
27
OK migration nerds. This video is fully amazing (in a super-nerdy way). Everything you ever wanted to know about migration around the EU, things you probably didn't know you wanted to know and a database of databases to find out more
@MelissaSiegel1
@KatrinMarchand
@EU_REMINDER
On 19 November REMINDER researchers
@KatrinMarchand
and
@MelissaSiegel1
from
@UNUMERIT
@MaastrichtU
will host a webinar on what the available data can (and can't) tell us about intra-EU migration. Free and all welcome. Register here to receive the link:
0
8
5
1
8
26
9/ The UK’s relatively high asylum grant rate for Albanian asylum seekers is driven primarily by women. Of all the positive decisions on adult Albanians’ asylum applications in the year ending 30 June 2022, 86% were for women, and 14% for men.
1
24
26
Migration Advisory Committee's annual report out today, including a couple of recommendations on social care, asylum seekers' right to work and the shortage occupation list.
2
10
25
…and what is not said: Take this story about half of new nurses and midwives coming from outside the UK - it doesn’t at any point use the terms ‘migrants’, ‘immigrants’ or ‘migration’ - migration tends to be depicted as a problem to solve, not a solution.
1
6
26
But many of the jobs which make up the remaining 30% of visa grants already pay more than the new threshold.
This means that the main impact of the increase would fall on middle-skilled jobs, such as butchers and chefs, where migrant workers tend to earn salaries of around £26k.
2
6
26
Anyone interested in COVID 19 and migration issues really should look at this great resource from
@COMPAS_oxford
-
0
14
24
The link between the use of the immigration system and pay can be seen when looking at the take-up rate of care worker visas by region.
In Scotland and Northern Ireland, where the care worker wage is more competitive, the reliance on migrant care workers is lower.
1
12
24
US-based research centre
@pewresearch
has produced the first new data on the EU's unauthorised migrant population, including the first estimate for the UK for more than a decade with a range of between 800k and 1.2m. Our analysis on this is here:
1
20
21
The net migration target is now, apparently, in the policy dustbin. How well did it do in its aim of reducing net migration to the tens of thousands? (spoiler: not well). Our updated briefing - Net Migration to the UK - shows UK net migration since 1991
1
15
24
Net migration has been unusually high. How long will it last? New piece with
@alanmanning4
at
@CEP_LSE
suggests net migration likely to fall even if govt makes no further policy changes, but probably not below pre-Brexit levels of around 250-350k
🧵1/n
1
13
25
A thread about the strangeness of new migration policies. For instance: 1) Most British nurses can't bring a foreign spouse - but foreign nurses can; 2) Exclusions to the £38,700 income threshold cover most people who earn less than £38,700.
1
21
22
The policy's impact on families could be significant, resulting in separation and longer routes to settlement. Those unable to meet the income requirement can still apply under 'exceptional circumstances and face a 10-year route to ILR.
1
11
23
Supreme Court has found it’s not legal for UK to send asylum seekers to Rwanda.
What does it all mean and how much does this matter for asylum policy in the UK?
Short thread
3
14
24
In case you were wondering, as we deal with this pandemic, just how reliant the NHS is on foreign born doctors, here's a very useful infographic from the amazing Migration Data Portal at
@IOM_GMDAC
. (if you can't see the UK on the chart - it's on the top)
1
12
24
@benwansell
@burekania
@simonorr
It applies to both British citizens and settled migrants in the UK - which means it overwhelmingly applies to British citizens.
3
0
22
Just under 70% of British employees working in the UK earn less than this new threshold, up from 25% under the previous one (£18.6k).
Women are less likely to earn £38.7k than men, and almost all part-time employees fall below the threshold.
1
9
24
That major public appointment everyone has been waiting to hear about has been announced today:
0
4
22
Should have tweeted this yesterday - very interesting discussion about changing UK attitudes to migration on The World This Weekend featuring
@M_Sumption
@sundersays
@AlpMehm
and
@jdportes
0
14
22
While the salary threshold is up sharply (from 26.2k to 38.7k), only a small share of skilled workers would be affected.
Around 70% of recently granted skilled work visas were for jobs which are exempt, either because they are in the care sector or use pay scales to set salaries
1
6
23
The minimum income requirement for Brits or settled people to live with family members in the UK was also raised to £38.7k
The rationale was to ensure that people can support family members in the UK, but it's unclear why this threshold is the same as that for skilled work visas
1
6
22
In light of the tragic events in the channel today, our outline of what is known about small boat crossings may provide some useful background and evidence.
2
17
23
We've updated the Ukraine crisis briefing again, this time with a really useful table comparing the UK's approach to helping Ukrainian refugees with other routes available to people fleeing humanitarian crises
1
20
23
A somewhat misleading narrative has emerged on the Rwanda policy - that the policy would be a gamechanger and stop people making dangerous crossings. This sort of binary is unrealistic. Deterrence policies can have impacts - but often small ones. See:
0
9
23
This is a very, very sensible thread. A good read for anyone thinking about embarking on a myth-busting exercise (spoiler alert: you probably don't want to do it...).
I get it…It’s so tempting to try to “debunk” myths about immigration. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work. And it can actually backfire. Here are five reasons why
@EUHomeAffairs
' tool misses the mark: (thread)
2
25
42
0
10
22
Still waiting for the white paper? We're hearing that it's coming out after Javid addresses parliament (1pm-ish).
0
14
22
...in other news:
2
1
23
UK-born children of migrants more likely to feel they experience prejudice than foreign migrants
0
20
22
MAC report summarises massive volume of evidence & concludes: “small overall impacts mean that EEA migration as a whole has had neither the large negative effects claimed by some nor the clear benefits claimed by others.”
1
35
23
So,
@COMPAS_oxford
is putting on two events for the
@ESRC
#festivalofsocialscience
. This brilliant show looking at what is inside immigration data and this high-octane “speed-geeking” event: lots of fun, and stressed academics!
0
17
21
The best job in the world: working for us! You only have until midday on April 20th to apply, so get your skates on… Researcher in Migration | School of Anthropology & Museum Ethnography
1
10
22
A hideous tragedy. Again. A decade after the wreck of a boat off Lampedusa triggered international soul searching. But little has been achieved, and thousands of people have been lost and thousands of families wrecked since.
@MissingMigrants
.
1
15
22
“Getting Brexit done” can seem like a Sisyphean task, but last week’s Home Office’s decision to accept it can’t make EU citizens with pre-settled status into irregular migrants was a game-changer with huge implications for millions. Our commentary:
2
14
22