Young people moving from the UK to the likes of Australia and Dubai are fuelling an exodus of more than one million Brits over the last four years.
Workers are boasting on social media of sunnier weather and healthier bank accounts as huge numbers choose to head abroad to escape Labour‘s tax hikes.
An estimated 252,000 Britons left the UK in the year to June 2025, according to figures published yesterday by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
The total has been broadly the same in recent years – at 257,000 in the year to June 2024, 252,000 in the year to June 2023 and 240,000 in the year to June 2022.
But the latest data gives more evidence for the ongoing trend of young Brits increasingly moving abroad for better wages, lower taxes and cheaper housing.
Some post TikTok videos, especially from Australia and Dubai, boasting of a better lifestyle having left their family and friends in the UK in pursuit of happiness.
The Conservatives have accused Labour of presiding over a ‘brain drain’ where some of the UK’s brightest young doctors and entrepreneurs are looking abroad.
Many are flocking Down Under where they can find a youth unemployment rate of 9.8 per cent last month, according to Australian Bureau of Statistics data.
Have YOU moved to Australia or Dubai from Britain? Please email aidan.radnedge.mol@dailymail.co.ukÂ
Young people heading to Australia are now posting TikTok videos under the heading of ‘the Australia effect’ which shows someone’s transition to a ‘happier life’ living in the country Â
The UK’s youth unemployment rate was 15.3 per cent in the third quarter of this year, according to the ONS – the highest level outside the pandemic in a decade.
Britons were also the fastest-growing nationality of people taking up working holiday visas to Australia in 2024/25, a rise of 80 per cent from the previous year.
Some are now posting TikTok videos under the heading of ‘the Australia effect’ which shows someone’s transition to a ‘happier life’ living in the country.Â
Many are also heading to the United Arab Emirates having been attracted by tax-free salaries, year-round sunshine and a strong finance and technology jobs market.
Another popular option is Ireland, given its close proximity and no need for a visa; and Canada, for its job opportunities and the world-famous landscapes. Portugal, Spain and the US are also cited as favourable destinations for emigrating Brits.
Experts believe young people are taking advantage of more liberal rules in countries away from the UK especially in the Middle East, where visas can allow for remote working.
Madeleine Sumption, director of Oxford University’s Migration Observatory, told the Telegraph: ‘Speaking to immigration lawyers, what was keeping them busy was people working remotely in countries where they didn’t have immigration permission to do so.’
Some 174,000 16-to 34-year-olds fled Labour’s high-tax state in the year to March, accounting for just over two-thirds of Britons leaving the country, the ONS said.
This was made up of 87,000 people aged 16 to 24 and 87,000 aged 25 to 34. Across those two age groups, 63,000 Britons returned from overseas in the same period.
This gave a net figure of about 110,000 Britons aged 16 to 34 who emigrated over the year.Â
Many young Brits are taking to TikTok to talk about a move to the UAE, having been attracted by tax-free salaries, year-round sunshine and a strong finance and technology jobs marketÂ
Meanwhile only 1,000 Britons aged over 65 emigrated while 12,000 returned to live here.Â
Emigration of British nationals has been running at around 250,000 a year since 2021, though a comparison with figures before 2021 is not possible because of a change in the way the ONS estimates this category.
Following measures unveiled by Rachel Reeves in Budget on Wednesday, alongside her manifesto-busting £30billion tax hikes, young people face a battle to find work, with a rise in the minimum wage meaning businesses are less likely to take a chance on them.
Those who do find employment will pay income tax earlier and at higher rates due to the freezing of the personal allowance and tax bands, while student loan repayment thresholds were also paused, meaning graduates face earlier deductions from their pay packet as they start work.
As well as the exodus of young Britons, the latest ONS data found asylum seekers now make up nearly half of net migration – threatening to add to the pain of the Budget.
Experts warned that as the Chancellor struggles with her drive for growth, such stark changes risk putting even more strain on the public purse and dragging down the economy yet further.
Taxpayers face footing an ‘intolerable burden’ to support migrants arriving here, they said, while the Budget is likely to drive away even more young people.
Overall net migration – the difference between those arriving to live long-term in the UK minus those emigrating – plummeted to 204,000 in the year to June, the Office for National Statistics said, on the back of a series of tough Tory measures.
But the number of asylum seekers coming to Britain has surged to a record high, meaning they make up a far greater share of the numbers.
This ONS graph shows how long-term emigration from the UK continues to rise. It displays the number of non-EU+, EU+ and British nationals emigrating long-term from the UK each year
In a further significant development which will affect the economy, the number of skilled foreign workers coming here dropped to 57,000 in the 12 months to September from 75,000 the previous year.
The new data showed asylum seekers – including small boat migrants – made up 44 per cent of the net number of migrants overall.
Separately, official statistics published for the first time yesterday showed migrants who go on to win refugee status are far more likely to be unemployed.
Even after living here for eight years, 48 per cent of working-age refugees are in work, far below the average employment rate of 74 per cent, and continue to rely on welfare hand-outs.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said: ‘It is a day of shame for the Government. Nearly half of net migration is asylum seekers, many of whom arrived illegally.
‘Around half of asylum seekers do not end up getting a job, meaning hard-pressed taxpayers are being fleeced to fund a benefits bonanza for illegal immigrants.
‘This puts an intolerable, multi-billion pound burden on the nation’s finances.’
Mr Philp added: ‘This ‘brain drain’ will only get worse after Labour’s punishing Budget this week.’
Dr Ben Brindle, of Oxford University’s Migration Observatory, said: ‘It does seem that the composition of migration has become less favourable from an economic perspective, with fewer people getting skilled worker visas and a higher share of refugees, who often need a lot of support.’
A spokesman for the Migration Observatory added: ‘The only major migration category where net migration did not decrease was asylum.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves delivers her Budget in the House of Commons on Wednesday
‘Long-term immigration of asylum seekers was 96,000 in the year ending June 2025, making up 11 per cent of all immigration – double the 5 per cent share in 2019.
‘Relatively few asylum migrants emigrate, so net migration of people seeking asylum was 90,000 in the same period, equivalent 44 per cent of total net migration.’
It was double the pre-Brexit figure of 22 per cent in 2019. The figures could, however, be even more stark than depicted in the Migration Observatory’s analysis.
Separate Home Office data published yesterday – covering the year to September, a more recent period than the ONS figures – showed there were a record 110,051 asylum claims.
This could make the proportion of net migration made up by asylum seekers even more pronounced in future figures.
There was a fall in long-term immigration levels to 898,000 in the year to June – the first time it has dipped below a million since 2021.
The largest group was migrants from outside the EU, on 670,000.
The year saw 85,000 EU nationals come to live here long-term, down from a peak of 521,000 in 2016. It also saw 155,000 EU nationals emigrate from Britain.
Total emigration – including Britons – was 693,000.
The number of foreign nationals granted settled status is running at the highest level in more than a decade.
There were 158,137 granted ‘indefinite leave to remain’, the highest figure since 2011. There were 240,613 grants of British citizenship.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said: ‘Net migration is at its lowest level in half a decade and has fallen by more than two-thirds under this Government.
‘But we are going further because the pace and scale of migration has placed immense pressure on local communities. Last week, I announced reforms to ensure that those who come here must contribute and put in more than they take out.’
