Japan
In 2025, the Home Office granted 5,200 work visas to nationals of Japan, counting main applicants and family members.
How UK records count nationals of Japan in 2025.
UK counts
These counts can overlap. Never add them together.
- Moved to the UK
- Not published
- The ONS does not publish an estimate for this nationality.
- Asylum claims
- 0 people
- People named on initial claims, main applicants and family members. Counted by claim date, not arrival date.
- Small boat arrivals
- 0 people detected
- People detected arriving by small boat across the English Channel. Figures from January 2025 can still be revised.
Sources (4)
- 1 ONS, Long-term international migration, year ending December 2025
- Table 3e of the dataset, nationalities outside the EU+, on a visa. The ONS publishes nationality estimates for a few nationalities only.
- Published 21 May 2026. Official statistics in development.
- 2 Home Office, entry clearance visa datasets, year ending June 2026
- Entry clearance visas granted, main applicants and family members together, by date of decision.
- Published 27 August 2026. Accredited official statistics.
- 3 Home Office, asylum claims dataset (Asy_D01)
- Initial claims, main applicants and family members, by date of claim.
- Published 27 August 2026. Accredited official statistics.
- 4 Home Office, illegal entry routes dataset
- Small boat arrivals by nationality, people detected, calendar years from 2018.
- Published 27 August 2026. Official statistics.
Visa routes5 routes · 2025
A visa gives permission to come. It is not an arrival.
Work visas5,200 grants
Includes family members of workers.
Study visas2,737 grants
Includes family members of students, and short study visas.
Family visas162 grants
The family route, including refugee family reunion. Not the family members counted in work or study.
Safe route visas13 grants
The BN(O) route and the Ukraine schemes.
Other visas334 grants
All other visas, including EU Settlement Scheme permits and visas for resettled refugees.
Selected visa routes8,112 grants
Added here Work, study, family and safe route grants added up here, 5,200 + 2,737 + 162 + 13. Excludes other visas. Not all visas, and not arrivals.
History
Showing Work visas, grants.
Showing work visas because the ONS does not publish an estimate for this nationality. Visas are not arrivals.
| Year | Grants |
|---|---|
| 2012 | 4,597 |
| 2013 | 4,388 |
| 2014 | 4,548 |
| 2015 | 4,593 |
| 2016 | 4,662 |
| 2017 | 4,910 |
| 2018 | 4,646 |
| 2019 | 4,569 |
| 2020 | 2,967 |
| 2021 | 3,976 |
| 2022 | 4,301 |
| 2023 | 4,040 |
| 2024 | 5,496 |
| 2025 | 5,200 |
Sources (1)
Home Office, entry clearance visa datasets, year ending June 2026
Country context
These describe country populations, not people who moved to the UK. They do not explain migration.
Population people
The UK figure is the World Bank's, so both countries come from one source. The ONS estimates the UK population at 69,483,939 on 30 June 2025 (published 1 October 2026).
GDP per person constant 2021 international dollars
GDP at purchasing power parity, not earnings or household income.
Sources (3)
- 1 World Bank, World Development Indicators, series SP.POP.TOTL
- The record for Japan. Latest observation in the file, 2025. Rounded for display.
- Unit as published, people.
- 2 World Bank, World Development Indicators, series SP.DYN.LE00.IN
- The record for Japan. Latest observation in the file, 2024. Rounded for display.
- Unit as published, years.
- 3 World Bank, World Development Indicators, series NY.GDP.PCAP.PP.KD
- The record for Japan. Latest observation in the file, 2025. Rounded for display.
- Unit as published, constant 2021 international dollars.
More contextLiteracy, unemployment and urban population
Adult literacy people aged 15 and over, %
Japan
Not published
UK
Not published
Unemployment share of the labour force, %
Sources (2)
- 1 World Bank, World Development Indicators, series SL.UEM.TOTL.ZS
- Unemployment, total (% of total labor force) (modeled ILO estimate).
- The record for Japan. Latest observation in the file, 2025. Rounded for display.
- Unit as published, % of total labour force.
- 2 World Bank, World Development Indicators, series SP.URB.TOTL.IN.ZS
- Urban population (% of total population).
- The record for Japan. Latest observation in the file, 2025. Rounded for display.
- Unit as published, % of total population.
ReligionsJapan and the UK
These records describe residents in each country. They do not show the religions of people who moved to the UK.
Not directly comparable. Different sources, years, units and categories.
Japan
2021 estimate · CIA World Factbook [1]
- Shintoism48.6%
- Buddhism46.4%
- Christianity1.1%
- Other4%
UK
2011 census · UNdata [2]
- Buddhist261,584 people
- Christian37,583,962 people
- Hindu835,418 people
- Jewish269,568 people
- Muslim2,786,635 people
- Sikh432,429 people
- Other262,750 people
- No Religion16,221,509 people
- Not Specified4,528,323 people
Sources (2)
- 1 CIA World Factbook, People and Society, Religions (archived JSON)
- The Factbook text reads Shintoism 48.6%, Buddhism 46.4%, Christianity 1.1%, other 4% (2021 est.)
- Archive snapshot, 2026 archive. Shares as the Factbook gives them.
- 2 UNdata, Demographic Statistics Database, population by religion (table 28)
- United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Census - de jure - complete tabulation, Final figure, complete. Counts of people, total area, both sexes.
- Census year 2011. UNdata lists it as received in 2014.
Questions people ask
How many UK visas were granted to nationals of Japan in 2025?
In 2025, the Home Office granted 5,200 work, 2,737 study, 162 family, 13 safe route and 334 other visas to nationals of Japan, counting main applicants and family members. Source: Home Office, entry clearance visa datasets, year ending June 2026.
How many nationals of Japan claimed asylum in the UK in 2025?
In 2025, 0 nationals of Japan claimed asylum in the UK, counting main applicants and family members by date of claim. Source: Home Office, asylum claims dataset (Asy_D01).
How many nationals of Japan arrived in the UK by small boat in 2025?
In 2025, 0 nationals of Japan were detected arriving in the UK by small boat across the English Channel. Figures from January 2025 can still be revised. Source: Home Office, illegal entry routes dataset.