Last year net migration to the UK reached a record 504,000. On Thursday official figures are expected to confirm a new high of at least 700,000, widening Cabinet divisions over immigration while provoking debate on how best the UK props up the NHS alongside a stuttering post-Brexit economy.
Driven largely by people arriving from outside the EU, the contemporary story of migration to the UK is partly explained through the influx of Ukrainians and Hong Kongers fleeing war and repression. Elsewhere, the rise is explained by a surge in international students and skilled workers, largely health and care workers.
The number of people arriving in small boats, while the source of much sound and fury in the rightwing media, is comparatively low.
Here, the Observer presents four faces of modern migration to the UK.
The Ukrainian refugee
Lesia Khamichak, 49, worked in the heart of the Ukrainian government before fleeing Kyiv to London with her children in the wake of the Russian invasion.
“I was a senior civil servant working in the office of the president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, before the war and worked for the government from 2014 until last year.
“As the fighting continued I decided to leave for a safe country with my two youngest children - my daughter Marta who is six and my youngest son, Markiian, 18.
“We applied to go to the UK under the Homes for Ukraine scheme and were paired with the most wonderful family. On 6 May 2022 we arrived in London. A year later and [we] remain with the same amazing, generous family in Highgate.
“I have been very impressed with this country; the welcome we have received. My friends in other countries in Europe who are also refugees tell me it can be a different story but in England we have received absolute support, but of course our situation is temporary.
“I have two other sons and husband who remain in Ukraine. The eldest volunteered to fight in Ukraine’s armed forces and is now a junior sergeant. In June I intend to fly there with my daughter to see them. It is still very dangerous. Two days ago there was a missile attack near our apartment which is on the top-floor of a high rise building, located a couple of minutes from the government quarter in Kyiv. Our apartment was actually described as shaking.
“While I am here in the UK I would like to work and start searching for a job. This is the first time in my career that I am not working and I have lost my old employment. It has been a year when, as a woman, I took on the role of both mother and father in raising my children. I very much like being in the UK but I do really miss Ukraine.”
The healthcare worker
Osasumwen ‘Beth’ Aghahowa, 29, is from Benin City, Nigeria, and moved to Bury St Edmunds in August 2021. She is a senior nurse on the emergency surgical team at West Suffolk hospital.
“I always wanted to work in healthcare. I studied nursing for five years and was working in an emergency department in Nigeria. But there are a lot of nurses in Nigeria and there is a shortage in the NHS. I thought: ‘I’d rather be where I am appreciated and needed.’
“When I first moved to the UK, there was a feeling of sadness. Coming here and starting all over again was difficult. But it also felt like a big opportunity. When I arrived, there was a bus to pick me up from the airport and help with accommodation and food. People were very welcoming. Everyone was saying, ‘Thank you for coming.’ It felt like I was wanted.
“The work is difficult, but what isn’t? I do days and nights - 12 and a half hour shifts, and my job is in emergency surgery, so we get all sorts of patients from the age of 16 to 96.
“Most of the patients are appreciative, but I’m not everyone’s cup of tea. You might … get 99 ‘thank yous’, and then one person is plain nasty, but you can’t dwell on it.
I get more thank yous than bugger offs, so I always focus on the positives.
“As well as caring for my patients, I’m now a senior nurse supporting colleagues. We get a lot of new nurses coming from the Philippines and Nigeria. I want them to feel how I felt, so I say: ‘Thank you for coming all the way to join us.”
“On my days off, I go to Cambridge or have days out in London, or we go out for brunch or dinner. I also belong to a local church and I’ve met someone who is literally like my mum. I have friends, work and a community: it feels like I was born here.”
The international student
Lindsay Nygren, 31, is from Tucson, Arizona who moved to the UK in 2021. She is studying for a PhD in education policy at the University of Glasgow.
“I always wanted to study abroad and the UK seemed like the best option. The universities have a good reputation and I had friends living here already. Plus, Australia was a bit too far away.
“I live in Glasgow and I love it. The city is a bit rough around the edges, but the people are warm. One day I was looking down at my phone walking down the street and someone said, ‘Ah love, are you OK? Do you need help going somewhere?’ People are very helpful in that way. It’s also got a lot of live music and the theatre and the arts. It feels alive and there’s always something to do.
“I feel as though I’ve been able to get involved with the community and build a really big network. When I’m not studying, I’m really active at the gym. That’s my main circle of friends: it feels like a family. We’ll go hiking and to gigs. I’m also part of the whisky society so we go to lots of distilleries.
“After my studies, I think I’d like to stay. For me, the UK feels like a second home, and it would be hard to go back right now. I’ll be able to apply for a graduate visa that lets you stay for two years. But if I want to live here in the long term, it will depend on whether I can find a job that will sponsor me.
“International students can be seen as temporary migrants : in some aspectsyou come, you study and you leave. But we’re a skilled workforce and we want to integrate. We contribute a lot – not only to our universities, but also to wider society, the economy, and the communities we live in.”
The Hong Kong dissident
Simon Cheng, 32, fled Hong Kong for London after being detained and tortured over his involvement in the 2019 pro-democracy protests.
“I worked for the British consulate in Hong Kong but I was detained by the authorities over my involvement in the pro-democracy protests. I experienced torture for my political beliefs so I came to the UK seeking refuge. I had studied at LSE, so I’m very familiar with Britain and fond of many aspects of British culture. I love the sense of space, and access to nature, it is so enjoyable walking through parks, sunbathing, having a picnic.
“I’ve started to get to know locals here, and I also set up a Hong Kong diaspora organisation, to try and bind our people in exile together. I serve as a community organiser, not just for the Hong Kong community but beyond that, for local residents of Hackney and the City of London. It is a part-time job that gives me precious experience, a chance to know grass roots communities and local residents here.
“In Hong Kong you can’t be yourself. You have to please the important people in power. In the UK, you can be more genuine, more vocal, even if you disagree with company policy or have different opinions to your boss or your line manager. Generally in London people are more open minded and liberal. Hong Kong looks like quite a modern, advanced city but it is extraordinarily conservative on sexual orientation and certain issues.
“As an exile activist reportedly wanted by national security police, it is a bit hard to establish personal relationships with others. I had no choice but to cut ties with my parents and relatives in mainland China and Hong Kong. I believe I will be able to return to Hong Kong when it is free and democratic – that faith is what led to me becoming an activist.”
