To ask Her Majesty's Government how many people have entered the United Kingdom in each of the last five years from (1) the European Union, (2) the Commonwealth, and (3) the rest of the world.

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.

As Director General for the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I have been asked to respond to your parliamentary Question to Her Majesty's Government, asking how many people have entered the United Kingdom in each of the last five years from (1) the European Union, (2) the Commonwealth, and (3) the rest of the world [HL1752].

Estimates are published in two forms: first, the number of overseas travel and tourism visits to the UK of less than 12 months in duration which are completed in the reporting year and are based on the International Passenger Survey (IPS); and, secondly, the number of people migrating to the UK for 12 months or more (long-term international migration) during the reporting year and are based on the IPS plus adjustments. The most recent year for which both sets of estimates are available is 2010.

Table 1: Number of visits to the UK (in '000s) in the last five years

Source: International Passenger Survey

Table 2: Number of people migrating to the UK (in '000s) in the last five years

Source: Long-Term International Migration (LTIM)