Compared to 2024, the number of Portuguese nationals entering the United Kingdom decreased by approximately 24%, falling from 2,766 to 2,094 in 2025. This further decline confirms the downward trajectory observed since 2016, the year of the referendum on the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European Union (Brexit). In cumulative terms, relative to the peak recorded in 2015 (32,301 inflows), the reduction exceeds 90% (–94%), highlighting the profound contraction of migration inflows to this destination over the past decade, within a context marked by changes to mobility arrangements and access to the British labour market. This decrease was also reflected in a reduction in the relative share of Portuguese nationals among total inflows to the United Kingdom, which reached a minimum of 0.3%. This trend may be associated, among other factors, with the reconfiguration of the UK’s migration regime in the post-Brexit period.

Link https://sw.stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk

Cite as Vidigal, Inês (2026), “Portuguese emigration to the United Kingdom continues at historically low levels”, Observatório da Emigração. http://observatorioemigracao.pt/np4EN/10697.html