Fewer British nationals coming to the Netherlands since Brexit
Number of Dutch nationals moving to UK declines further
Fewer Dutch people (people born in the Netherlands) have been emigrating to the United Kingdom since 2015. In that year, over 4 thousand Dutch people moved to the UK, but by 2024 the number has dropped to 1.3 thousand, the fewest in 30 years.
Fewer Dutch people are returning to the Netherlands, too. Net migration from the Netherlands to the UK was only a few hundred in 2024. In 2015, it was 2.3 thousand.
| Periode | UK nationals migrating to the Netherlands | Dutch nationals migrating to the UK | UK nationals leaving the Netherlands | Dutch nationals leaving the UK |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 3165 | 1765 | 1548 | 2739 |
| 2010 | 3126 | 1655 | 1720 | 3050 |
| 2011 | 3255 | 1797 | 1777 | 3600 |
| 2012 | 3390 | 1696 | 1774 | 3344 |
| 2013 | 3627 | 1639 | 1981 | 3682 |
| 2014 | 3735 | 1752 | 2198 | 3949 |
| 2015 | 4141 | 2009 | 2274 | 4277 |
| 2016 | 4747 | 2271 | 2527 | 3749 |
| 2017 | 5134 | 2332 | 2650 | 3323 |
| 2018 | 5659 | 2370 | 2668 | 3017 |
| 2019 | 6459 | 2299 | 2986 | 2571 |
| 2020 | 5470 | 2319 | 2860 | 2093 |
| 2021 | 2908 | 1658 | 2481 | 1600 |
| 2022 | 2961 | 1271 | 2346 | 1634 |
| 2023 | 3084 | 1203 | 2030 | 1455 |
| 2024 | 2997 | 1234 | 2207 | 1282 |
Number of third-country migrants moving from UK to Netherlands down by half
At the peak in 2019, almost 6 thousand non-Dutch and non-British nationals moved from the UK to the Netherlands. In 2024, there were over 3 thousand of them, mainly from Poland, India and Somalia. Third-country migrants moving from the Netherlands to the UK also include a relatively high number of people from India and Somalia, as well as (more recently) Ukraine.
| Periode | Migration of people of other nationalities to the Netherlands from the UK | Migration of people of other nationalities to the UK from the Netherlands |
|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 2446 | 2593 |
| 2010 | 2287 | 2664 |
| 2011 | 2403 | 2841 |
| 2012 | 2360 | 2942 |
| 2013 | 2444 | 3107 |
| 2014 | 2570 | 3526 |
| 2015 | 2704 | 3963 |
| 2016 | 3569 | 3967 |
| 2017 | 4303 | 3265 |
| 2018 | 4851 | 3515 |
| 2019 | 5749 | 3482 |
| 2020 | 4559 | 3012 |
| 2021 | 3419 | 2743 |
| 2022 | 3105 | 3192 |
| 2023 | 3239 | 2607 |
| 2024 | 3170 | 2388 |
Ever more EU citizens leaving UK
A declining number of EU nationals have been moving to the UK since 2019. In 2024, nearly 100 thousand more citizens of the EU-27 left the UK than moved there. By comparison, in 2015 net migration to the UK from the EU was nearly 290 thousand.
| Periode | Migration to the UK (x 1,000) | Migration from the UK (x 1,000) | Net migration (x 1,000) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 334 | -128 | 206 |
| 2013 | 402 | -141 | 261 |
| 2014 | 457 | -180 | 277 |
| 2015 | 481 | -193 | 288 |
| 2016 | 465 | -213 | 252 |
| 2017 | 411 | -235 | 176 |
| 2018 | 421 | -250 | 171 |
| 2019 | 349 | -269 | 80 |
| 2020 | 316 | -247 | 69 |
| 2021 | 191 | -268 | -77 |
| 2022 | 129 | -217 | -88 |
| 2023 | 133 | -188 | -55 |
| 2024 | 122 | -218 | -96 |
Fall in non-EU migration to the UK in 2024
In the years immediately following Brexit, a growing number of non-EU nationals settled in the United Kingdom: the number rose from 294 thousand in 2020 to over 1 million in 2023. In 2024, 766 thousand non-EU nationals settled in the UK. In the past five years, around 160 thousand non-EU nationals have left the UK each year. Net migration to the UK among non-EU nationals was 540 thousand in 2024.
| Periode | Migration to the UK (x 1,000) | Migration from the UK (x 1,000) | Net migration (x 1,000) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 230 | -169 | 61 |
| 2013 | 234 | -171 | 63 |
| 2014 | 241 | -154 | 87 |
| 2015 | 238 | -150 | 88 |
| 2016 | 237 | -147 | 90 |
| 2017 | 257 | -144 | 113 |
| 2018 | 330 | -152 | 178 |
| 2019 | 368 | -182 | 186 |
| 2020 | 294 | -192 | 102 |
| 2021 | 617 | -89 | 528 |
| 2022 | 1078 | -113 | 965 |
| 2023 | 1132 | -180 | 952 |
| 2024 | 766 | -222 | 544 |
Sources
- Office for National Statistics (ONS) - International migration; People moving into and out of the UK
- Office for National Statistics (ONS) - Long-term international migration, provisional: year ending December 2024
Related items
- News release - More British people moving to the Netherlands
- UK government (Home Office) - Reducing Net Migration Factsheet – May 2024
- UK government (Home Office) - Monthly statistical releases on migration