 "A sign is seen at the arrivals passport control area of Terminal 5, at Heathrow Airport, London, Britain. File image/ Reuters")
According to figures released Thursday by the UK’s Home Office, over 6,000 US residents applied to either become British citizens or to live and work in the country permanently during the 12 months before March.
This is the highest such number since comparable records began in 2004, the Home Office stated.
6,618 Americans filed for British citizenship during that time; almost 1,900 of those applications were received during January and March, the majority of which occurred at the start of Donald Trump’s second term as US president.
The rise in applications at the start of 2025 resulted in the largest number for any quarter on record, according to The Guardian.
These numbers coincide with efforts by British officials under Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labour administration to lower immigration to the UK.
Starmer recently vowed to take “back control of our borders” and warned that unchecked immigration may lead to the UK “becoming an island of strangers, not a nation that walks forward together.”
Before Starmer, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper told the British Parliament that there will be “provisions to qualify more swiftly that take account of the contribution people have made.”
Cooper also said that the British government will “introduce new, higher language requirements” because “the ability to speak English is integral to everyone’s ability to contribute and integrate”.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsHowever, the surge in US applications to the UK may not reflect current political realities in either country.
Most of the 5,521 settlement applications submitted by US residents last year came from those who qualified due to family or spousal ties.