Insee Première · January 2021 · n° 1833

Brexit announcement and 2008 financial crisis: little impact on immigration from the UK

France and the United Kingdom have historically strong migratory ties. In 2020, 142,000 immigrants born in the United Kingdom resided in France, against 19,000 in 1968. British immigration flows were particularly strong in the early 2000s, driven in particular by a high rate of the pound sterling against the euro. Since then, they have slowed sharply: between 2005 and 2019, the inflows of British immigrants were halved. This slowdown does not only affect France: since 2010, the emigration of people born in the United Kingdom has declined significantly all over the world.

30% of British immigrants who arrive in France are retired, but proportionally more and more are coming to settle at the end of their career. Since 2010, the number of British retirees leaving France has exceeded that of those arriving. While the Brexit vote in 2016 had little effect on British immigration flows, naturalizations are rising sharply.

In the other direction, the French presence in the United Kingdom is growing: it doubled between 2004 and 2019.