Applications for British citizenship hit a record high last quarter. Analysts said the surge reflects a rush to secure a "safety valve" as major parties tighten immigration controls and uncertainty rises with U.S. President Donald Trump's return to office.
According to the Home Office on the 26th, British citizenship applications in the fourth quarter of last year totaled 90,555. That was up 44% from the previous quarter and marked the highest quarterly level since statistics began in 2004. However, actual approvals fell further: total settlement (permanent residence) approvals in 2025 decreased 10% year over year, and citizenship approvals also dropped 13%.
The trend appears to coincide with a period when Britain's political parties competed to promise tougher immigration controls. On Sept. 9, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said at the Labor Party convention that the basic residence period required to obtain permanent residence would be doubled and that English proficiency and public finance contribution requirements would be significantly tightened. In addition, Reform UK, which currently leads in party support ratings, proposed reviewing the legal status of those with "indefinite leave to remain (ILR)" and converting it into a renewable five-year visa.
The legal community says the mere possibility of changes in immigration policy spurred citizenship applications. Nicholas Rollason, a partner at the London-based law firm Kingsley Napley, said, "The Labor Party's plan to tighten settlement requirements and Reform UK's proposal to review ILR are pressuring swift action," adding, "Even those who have held ILR for years but did not bother to obtain citizenship are now hurrying to apply."
The increase in applications by U.S. nationals also stood out. For the year through December 2025, U.S. citizens filed 8,790 applications for British citizenship, up 42% from a year earlier. Since Trump's return, rising political tensions in the United States have spurred professionals in particular to seek British citizenship, and a rule introduced in 2022 allowing "Americans with a British grandmother" to apply for citizenship also appears to have boosted demand.
Applications by European Union nationals who secured settled status before Brexit (Britain's exit from the EU) also contributed to the increase. In the fourth quarter, applicants from India, Pakistan and Italy rose 55%, 28% and 84%, respectively, from the previous quarter. The total number of test takers for the citizenship exam reached 59,472 in the fourth quarter, up 48% from the previous quarter, setting a record high.
Kelvin Tanner, a partner at the law firm Charles Russell Speechlys, said, "Frequent immigration policy changes and British and global political uncertainty are driving simultaneous interest in settlement and citizenship," adding, "Even those who already hold settled status are securing citizenship as insurance, considering the possibility that Reform UK could take power in the next general election."