BBC News :

Net migration to the UK from countries outside the European Union has hit its highest level for 15 years, the Office for National Statistics says.

Figures show 261,000 more non-EU citizens came to the UK than left in the year ending September 2018 – the highest since 2004.

In contrast, net migration from EU countries has continued to fall to a level last seen in 2009.

The figures are the last set before the UK is due to leave the EU next month.

And separate figures released by the Home Office show the number of EU nationals applying for British citizenship hit an all-time high last year, rising by 23% to about 48,000.

‘Complex decision’

In December, the prime minister said the government was sticking to its longstanding ambition to bring net migration down to the “tens of thousands”.

The ONS has put net migration in the year to September at 283,000.

It says more than 625,000 people moved to the UK and about 345,000 people left.

Jay Lindop, director of the Centre for International Migration at the ONS, said: “Decisions to migrate are complex and a person’s decision to move to or from the UK will always be influenced by a range of factors, including work, study and family reasons.

“Different patterns for EU and non-EU migration have emerged since mid-2016, when the EU referendum vote took place.”

Overall, net migration, immigration and emigration figures have remained broadly stable since the end of 2016, the ONS said.

Immigration minister Caroline Nokes said the UK was continuing to attract and retain highly skilled workers, including doctors and nurses, but was “committed to controlled and sustainable migration”.

“As we leave the EU, our new immigration system will give us full control over who comes here for the first time in decades, while enabling employers to have access to the skills they need from around the world.”

She added that the government had “always been clear” it wanted EU citizens to stay and the EU Settlement Scheme, which allows EU nationals to apply to stay, made that simple.