British migrants come from all over the world. No matter where immigrants come from, United Kingdom is open for British citizenship application. As long as applicants had their requirements processed correctly, they can migrate to United Kingdom and can even become a citizen.

Over the period of 13 years (from 1990 to 2012), the total number of immigrants from all over the world was at 2,429,396. The largest number of immigrants came from India. Within that time frame, the total number of immigrants from India was at 271,526. Indian nationals made up 11.1766875% of the total number of immigrants to the United Kingdom.

The table below shows the number of Indian immigrants each year from 1990-2012.

Year	Number
1990	10,818
1991	8,041
1992	4,067
1993	4,869
1994	4,595
1995	3,995
1996	4,173
1997	3,259
1998	5,741
1999	5,055
2000	8,135
2001	8,177
2002	10,003
2003	10,799
2004	13,598
2005	14,137
2006	15,134
2007	14,507
2008	11,835
2009	26,541
2010	29,405
2011	26,290
2012	28,352
Total	271,526

From 1990 to 1997, the number of Indian immigrant dropped especially from 1990 to 1991. Then from 1998 to 2006, there had been a steady increase in numbers except for a drop in 1999. The years 2007 and 2008 marked a decline in the number of immigrants but from 2009 to 2012, there was a dramatic increase. Although there was decrease in the number of immigrants in the year 2011, the number picked up in 2012.

The 4 other countries that ranked the highest in terms of number of immigrants to United Kingdom are Nigeria with a total number of 103,925, followed by Bangladesh with a total number of 100,705, then The Philippines with a total number of 83,541 then lastly South Africa with a total amount of 87,696.

According to a Wikipedia article, there are about 1.4 million Indians in the United Kingdom to date. This population does not yet include Indians with mixed ancestry. British Indians, as they are called socio-economically belong to the middle class and some of them even belong to the upper class bracket. In 2011, a study conducted by Joseph Rowntree Foundation shows that there are only a few number of British Indians who are living below the poverty line.

The high number of Indian immigrants might have been affected by India’s historical relationship with the United Kingdom. India was under a British colony until it gained its independence in August 1947. With the establishment of the East India Company in the 1900’s, Indians were recruited as lascars. The others were employed as ayahs, nannies and household help by the wealthy British nationals. The enactment of the British Nationality Act 1948 allowed 800 million subjects including Indian nationals to work and live in the United Kingdom even without owning a visa. But this act was countered by the Commonwealth Immigrants Act which was passed in 1962 to restrict or limit the numbers of immigrants to United Kingdom.

As part of India’s independence under the British colony, Indian migrations increased. Early Indian immigrants worked as drivers or laborers in factories. The latter group of immigrants opened their own businesses like opening small shops.

So with India’s historical ties with the United Kingdom, it is not a surprise if the Indian nationals are the largest population of immigrants.