There are now more Romanians living in the UK than there are Irish nationals or Indians, official figures reveal.
Romania has overtaken the Republic of Ireland and India to move from fourth to second most-common non-British nationality in the UK, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) found.
The number of Romanian nationals living in the UK in 2017 was estimated to be 411,000 – a jump of 25% on the previous year, and the largest increase for any country.
Romania joined the European Union in 2007 but it was only in 2014 that restrictions on Romanians’ rights to work in the UK were lifted. Polish remains the most common non-British nationality, with an estimated 1 million in the UK.
The UK government has reached an agreement with the EU on citizens’ rights in negotiations on Britain’s withdrawal from the EU.
People who, by 31 December 2020, have been continuously and “lawfully living” in the UK for five years will be able to apply to stay indefinitely by acquiring settled status.
Those who will have been living here for less than five continuous years by that date will be able to apply to stay until they have reached that five-year threshold. Then they too can also apply for settled status.
Nicola White, of the ONS migration statistics division, said: “Non-UK born and non-British populations continued to increase in 2017, as more people continued to come to the UK to live than move to live abroad for a year or more.
“Poland-born residents and Polish nationals were the most common populations from outside the UK. However, the largest increases in population were seen from those born in Romania and those with Romanian nationality.”
About 350,000 Irish nationals lived in the UK in 2017, while there were 346,000 Indians.
The figures show the total number of non-British nationals living in the UK in 2017 was 6.2 million, up 4% on 2016’s total of 6 million. This is a smaller rise than that recorded between 2015 and 2016, when the number rose by 8%.
The figures show that 3.8 million (61%) of the 6.2 million non-British nationals living in the UK in 2017 held EU nationality. This is roughly the same proportion as 2016 (60%).
London had the largest proportion of non-British nationals in 2017, with the highest numbers in the local authorities of Newham (38%), Westminster (36%) and Brent (34%).
The ONS data is based on a survey of households and does not include most people living in communal establishments, some NHS accommodation, or students living in halls of residence who have non-UK resident parents.