Federation of Kent Green Parties

Migration: The Facts

Written by

A Elliott

in

Anyone else tired of the inflammatory headlines and misinformation about immigration? Here’s our summary of some of the most important facts and figures, so we can all be informed and fight back against divisive anti-immigrant comments.

Young Greens of East Berkshire Green Party have cut through the chaff of divisive rhetoric, ragebaiting AI slop, and fear mongering headlines. This set of infographics reflects how a moral panic about young people is itself divisive rhetoric pushed by elites who fear upcoming people who #GoGreen and seek a policy agenda that supports the majority empathetically. 💚

Alt text is included. Reference links depicted in the final slide have been added below.

Cover photo of East Berkshire Young Greens' infographic set on migration. The author group's logo is in the top left; the title Migration is in the centre, with a flock of birds above and a young human family depicted below, both in silhouette. All images in this series feature white text and graphics on dark green background.
Slide 1 of East Berkshire Young Greens' infographic set on migration. Title: The Scale of UK Immigration. Text: About 898,000 immigrants arrived in 2025, roughly 1.3% of the then population. Accounting for emigration, the total population increase in 2025 was 204,000. Predictions suggest net migration could reach zero, because of high emigration and tougher immigration rules.
Slide 2 of East Berkshire Young Greens' infographic set on migration. Title: Who's Arriving? Slide depicts a bar chart showing which categories of people enter the UK. Students and dependants make up the majority, with 435,900 arrivals; the next category is work with 182,600, and then work dependants at 103,500.
Slide 3 of East Berkshire Young Greens' infographic set on migration. Title: What's Illegal Migration? Text: The 1951 Refugee Convention permits refugees to flee to any country that signed the convention - and recognises that 'irregular' means of travel may be necessary. So labelling people as illegal immigrants isn't really accurate nor helpful - many people have to enter 'illegally' before making a successful asylum application and therefore gaining the legal right to remain in the UK. Other ways a person can become undocumented: overstaying a visa, struggling to navigate our complicated immigration system, being unable to afford legal fees.
Slide 4 of East Berkshire Young Greens' infographic set on migration. Title: The 'Small Boat Invasion'. A pie chart shows small boat crossings total only 4.6% of all immigration to the UK. Text: Small boat crossings make up a tiny fraction of immigration, but are overrepresented in the media. People cross by small boat because there are no established safe routes for asylum seekers.
Slide 4-2 of East Berkshire Young Greens' infographic set on migration. Graph shows that 68% of small boat arrivals are granted asylum compared to 57% of the average applicant. Text: People arriving by small boat are more often granted asylum than other asylum applicants. People from Afghanistan, Syria, Iran, Iraq and Albania are likeliest to cross by small boat - people fleeing humanitarian crises, modern slavery and organised crime.
Slide 5 of East Berkshire Young Greens' infographic set on migration. Title: Fiscal Impacts of Immigration. Text: Most immigrants are aged 20-30, skipping education costs and working immediately. Recent immigrants are 39% less likely than UK nationals to receive benefits. 15% of immigrants start a business, compared to 5% of UK nationals. On average, migrants bring a lifetime net contribution of £28,000 (non-EEA) to £78,000 (EEA). Net zero migration is predicted to result in a 3.6% smaller economy by 2040.
Slide 6 of East Berkshire Young Greens' infographic set on migration. Title: Why Don't Asylum Seekers Stay in Other Safe Countries? Text: They do! The UK houses just 1% of the refugees who have been forcibly displaced worldwide. 72% of refugees flee to countries bordering their homeland; e.g. 1.3 million Syrian refugees have fled to neighbouring Jordan.
Slide 6-2 of East Berkshire Young Greens' infographic set on migration. A bar chart shows that of the asylum claims made in 2024, the UK received 108,138, fewer than Germany (229,695), France (130,860), Spain (164,010) and Italy (151,120). Text: The UK receives fewer asylum applications than our EU neighbours. We ranked 14th among EU countries for asylum applications per resident in 2024, at 15 applications per resident.
Slide 7 of East Berkshire Young Greens' infographic set on migration. Title: Why Don't Asylum Seekers Stay in France? Text: Language - Many migrants speak English but not French, making it hard to navigate the asylum process, find work & integrate. Family - Migrants often have family ties in the UK, and want to rebuild their life with a community rather than all alone. Poor treatment - harsh police treatment, poor living standards and severe delays are reported in the French asylum system, leading migrants to travel onward. 67% of UK citizens say they'd want to choose where to seek asylum if they were displaced. Just as we would, immigrants make their journeys to places they can rebuild a stabler, safer life.
Slide 8 of East Berkshire Young Greens' infographic set on migration. Title: Immigrants and Crime. Text: Despite attention-grabbing headlines, the real data shows migrants are no likelier to commit violent crimes - in some cases, immigration even reduces certain types of crime.
Slide 9 of East Berkshire Young Greens' infographic set on migration. Title: Immigrants and Benefits. Text: The 'hostile environment' policies introduced in 2012 mean unauthorised immigrants cannot: get a job; rent a house; open a bank account; have a driving licence; access universal credit; access social housing; access free healthcare. (Content warning: this slide contains an image of former Tory prime minister Theresa May.)
Slide 9-2 of East Berkshire Young Greens' infographic set on migration. Title: Asylum Support. Text: Asylum seekers get £49.18 per week - or £9.95 if they are provided with housing (which they cannot choose). Hostel-style accommodation, hotels, barges or former army barracks are used as asylum housing. Despite claims of 'free iPhones' or that people are 'living it up' in asylum hotels, this is often the reality of asylum housing: [Images of cramped, small rooms and poor-quality meals follow.]
Slide 9-3 of East Berkshire Young Greens' infographic set on migration. Text: It's a rare privilege to be born in a country free from war or severe political unrest. Whether or not we find it convenient, millions are fleeing danger or are forcibly displaced from their home country: 'no-one leaves home unless home is the mouth of a shark'. You have more in common with the mother and child arriving on the beaches of Dover than you do with the billionaires funding anti-migrant headlines. Migrants deserve humanity and respect.
Final slide of East Berkshire Young Greens' infographic set on migration, displaying reference links and data sources.

References

The Scale of UK Immigration: 1 | 2 | 3

The ‘Small Boat Invasion’: 1 | 2 | 3

Fiscal Impacts of Immigration: 1 | 2

Why Don’t Asylum Seekers Stay In…: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

Immigrants and Crime: 1

Asylum Support: 1 | 2 | 3

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