Last year, the number of Americans applying for British citizenship reached an all-time high. This is drawing attention because Americans choose to move to the UK while Britons seek to escape the UK by applying for Irish citizenship for economic and political reasons.
Citing the announcement by the U.K.’s Interior Ministry, the U.K.’s Financial Times (FT) reported on Sunday that the number of U.S. citizenship applicants increased by 26 percent year-on-year to more than 6,100 last year. The figure is the highest since records began to be tallied 20 years ago. In particular, the number of applications reached 1,700 in the fourth quarter of last year, a whopping 40 percent increase year-on-year. The FT said that the number of applications for British citizenship increased by 6 percent year-on-year to 251,000 last year due to the growing number of Americans’ applications.
Lawyers specializing in immigration said that Americans’ interest in British citizenship has increased ahead of the U.S. presidential election in November last year, and pointed out that President Trump’s re-election has affected Americans’ immigration growth. Elena Hinchin, a partner lawyer at law firm Farrer & Co, said, “The U.S. political situation is a factor that greatly increases interest in living in the U.K.,” adding, “Since the U.S. presidential election began in earnest last year, Americans’ interest in British citizenship has increased, and much more attention has been paid to Trump than during his first term in office.” This means that Americans planned to immigrate to the U.K. because they were concerned that political turmoil in the U.S. would intensify and affect daily life due to President Trump’s re-election. Attorney Hinchin also cited the U.K.’s tax reform, which abolished the tax exemption for non-residents, as one of the reasons behind the increase in Americans’ applications for British citizenship. Last year, the U.K. abolished the “non-residents tariff exemption” system, which actually lives in the U.K., but does not tax income generated by non-residents who have legal permanent residences abroad unless they bring income from foreign countries into the U.K.
As a result, wealthy foreigners living in the UK considered moving to Italy, Switzerland, and Malta, among whom the wealthy applied for British citizenship before leaving the UK. “American wealthy people staying in the UK applied for British citizenship to give their children more options before leaving the UK due to the abolition of tax exemption,” explained lawyer Hinchin. To apply for British citizenship, you must have lived in the UK for five years or have parents with British citizenship.
While Americans are seeking to acquire British citizenship due to President Trump’s return to power, Britons are applying for Irish citizenship and are seeking to escape from the U.K., which is not included in the EU. According to the FT, 23,456 British applications for Irish grandparents or citizenship channels for parents in Ireland reached last year. The figure is the highest since 2013 when the country started digital records. “Some people have come up with alternatives such as immigration due to the suspicious political situation in the U.K.,” said Leza Nezam, an immigration lawyer. “The U.K. economy is still not attractive to young people, and those who are about to retire are also concerned about the wealth tax,” he said. “The number of FBR applications will continue to increase.”
SAM KIM
US ASIA JOURNAL
