80% leap in EU requests for UK passports

SOARING numbers of European Union nationals have applied for UK passports in the aftermath of the Brexit vote.

Since last year’s referendum there has been an 0 per cent surge as thousands from EU countries seek British citizenship. Some 2 ,502 EU citizens applied for naturalisation in the year to June, up from 15, 71 in the previous 12 months.

It was mainly driven by an increase of applications from the so-called EU14, the countries of western Europe. Home Office figures reveal bids from Germans almost tripled to 2,33 , rose 16 per cent to 2,50 from the French and 166 per cent to 2,950 from Italians.

Jonathan Portes, professor of economics and public policy at King’s College London, said: ‘Historically immigrants from outside the EU have been much more likely than EU migrants to apply for UK citizenship.’

In the past, many citizens of fellow EU countries chose not to adopt British nationality because they already have full rights to live and work here.