Home
Insights
Attitudes to Immigration in Scotland 2026: Growing polarisation, hardening views

Attitudes to Immigration in Scotland 2026: Growing polarisation, hardening views

The fourth wave of our annual representative survey of public attitudes to immigration in Scotland finds views becoming more restrictive, a hardening on both sides of the debate, and social contact emerging as a key dividing factor.

Download the report (PDF, 1.8 MB) View the topline data

Front cover of Attitudes to Immigration in Scotland 2026: Growing polarisation, hardening views

The 2026 survey at a glance

64% of people with social contact with immigrants support increasing skilled worker migration Compared with 46% of those with no contact
63% of those with social contact see immigration's impact on Scotland as positive Versus 37% of those without
2,161 respondents to the February 2026 survey Via Diffley Partnership's ScotPulse panel
4th wave of the annual survey Tracking attitudes since 2023

Each February we ask a representative sample of adults in Scotland what they think about immigration: how much there should be, what impact it has, and how policy should respond. The 2026 survey is the fourth wave, giving us four years of directly comparable data. The charts below track the headline trends from 2023 to 2026.

Question-by-question results for all four waves are available in the topline results tables (PDF).

Key findings

Attitudes have become more restrictive. This continues a trend apparent since 2024. As in previous years, however, views are less restrictive where questions are couched in more specific terms.
Views are hardening on both sides. The overall drift towards greater restriction masks a hardening of views on both sides of the immigration debate, suggesting fewer people hold nuanced or uncertain views open to persuasion in either direction.
Social contact is a key factor. There is a clear relationship between the extent of social contact people have with immigrants living in Scotland and their views across a whole range of questions. Those with no social contact are much more likely to hold negative or restrictive views, though this should not be read as a simple causal relationship.
Views strongly correlate with voting behaviour, demonstrating the more intense political contestability of immigration in Scotland. Views divide broadly along a growing left-right split, with Reform UK voters often expressing significantly more negative views than supporters of any other party.

The survey was carried out between 1 and 4 February 2026 through Diffley Partnership’s ScotPulse panel (2,161 respondents). Report authors: Sarah Kyambi and Rebecca Kay.

How much immigration do people want?

Preferences for the overall level of immigration to Scotland, tracked across all four waves of the survey.

Preferred level of immigration to Scotland, 2023 to 2026. Source: Migration Policy Scotland Attitudes to Immigration Survey.

How much immigration do people want?
Year	Increased a lot	Increased a little	Remain the same as it is	Reduced a little	Reduced a lot
2023	12.3	26.5	33.6	12.1	15.5
2024	10.5	20.9	26.4	16.8	25.4
2025	9	18.5	27.2	18.3	27
2026	6.6	16.1	27.1	17.7	32.5

Preferences change when questions get specific

Asked route by route, respondents take a markedly different view of numbers than they do of immigration in general.

Preferred change in numbers by visa type, 2026. Source: Migration Policy Scotland Attitudes to Immigration Survey.

Preferences change when questions get specific
Visa route	Increase	Remain the same	Reduce	Don't know
Skilled worker visa	54.6	28.7	10.7	6
Health and social care visa	43.9	25.7	22.7	7.7
Humanitarian visas (e.g. Ukraine)	38	35.1	21.9	5
Seasonal and temporary workers	36.6	35.6	20.4	7.4
Students	31	40.4	23.2	5.4
People seeking asylum	25.7	23.9	44.6	5.8
Immediate family of British citizens	24.1	38.9	28.3	8.6
Family of workers (work visa)	20.2	36.9	34.6	8.2
Extended family of British citizens	19.9	32.1	39.3	8.6
Family of students (study visa)	13.8	28.7	48.4	9

Download the topline data

Topline results 2026 – Attitudes to Immigration in Scotland

Support for recruiting from abroad

Views on employers’ ability to recruit workers from abroad, by type of role.

Support for recruitment from abroad by type of role, 2026. Source: Migration Policy Scotland Attitudes to Immigration Survey.

Support for recruiting from abroad
Statement	Agree	Neither agree nor disagree	Disagree	Don't know
Enforce wage regulations better so workers from abroad do not undercut British workers	80.6	10.4	5.1	3.9
Sectors with critical shortages (e.g. health and social care) should be able to recruit from abroad	73.2	10.4	15	1.4
Temporary and seasonal sectors (e.g. farming) should be able to recruit from abroad	70.5	12.7	15.3	1.5
Employers recruiting from abroad should pay into a UK skills training fund	62.8	20.5	11.7	5
Employers should be able to recruit from abroad to fill vacancies	52.7	19.1	26.9	1.3
Employers should not be able to recruit from abroad, even without British staff available	14.1	13.5	69.5	3

Who should be able to access benefits?

Views on when migrants should become eligible for benefits and social housing, by length of time in Scotland.

Preferred qualifying period for benefits eligibility, 2026. Source: Migration Policy Scotland Attitudes to Immigration Survey.

Who should be able to access benefits?
Year	12 months or less	1-2 years	3-5 years	6-10 years	Longer than 10 years	Only UK citizens should be eligible for benefits and social housing	Don't know
2024	14.8	23.4	24	7	4	20.1	6.7
2025	13.4	20.6	23.8	7.4	4.9	23.5	6.3
2026	10.7	17.6	23.5	10.6	7	25.4	5.2

How do people rate the impact of immigration?

Average scores for the perceived impact of immigration on Scotland, tracked over time.

Mean perceived impact of immigration on Scotland (0 to 10), 2023 to 2026. Source: Migration Policy Scotland Attitudes to Immigration Survey.

Views on diversity

Net agreement with statements about diversity in Scotland, tracked over time.

Net agreement with statements on diversity, 2023 to 2026. Source: Migration Policy Scotland Attitudes to Immigration Survey.

Read the full report

The full 2026 report, with complete analysis and commentary from report authors Sarah Kyambi and Rebecca Kay, is available to download now.

Download the report (PDF)

Previous editions

2025: Changing, complex, contradictory
2024: Cautious pragmatism?
2023: A view from Scotland