A Massive Surge In Residency And Citizenship Applications By UK Citizens

The insecurities rooting from the very popular Brexit Saga has got many UK citizens looking for ways to safeguard their access to the EU. In the two months following the vote by UK citizens to exit the bloc, there has been an extraordinary increase in either the applications for citizenship, European Union passport applications or enquires about their European Permanent Residency status, as reported by 16 European embassies and high commissions.
The opening of the UK has been considered as a new market by all those European countries that are operating a Citizenship or Residency by Investment Program, where British investors are extremely careful about shielding their rights to freely travel and work anywhere in the EU. Ireland, the most closely connected country to Britain, announced in August that it had received a 17% increase in the applications for citizenship. Moreover, it was shared by the Portuguese Embassy that they faced a constant surge in the number of queries regarding the acquirement of Portuguese nationality, while Greek and Latin officials also witnessed a higher than usual interest. Furthermore, according to the Hungarian Consulate, an estimated number of 220 inquiries relating to Citizenship And Residency were received from Britons since June 23rd, which is a considerable raise from the fewer than 10 inquires received in the first half of the year. Meanwhile, the Bulgarian Embassy also noticed an escalation in citizenship inquiries by 30 times approximately. Second Secretary, Tsvetin Spasov, stated that under normal circumstances they don’t usually receive this many requests from UK citizens, and this trend came into being since the referendum was held.
Then there are other European countries that are coming across Brits who are seeking to obtain citizenship or residency based on ancestry links. Austria received more than double the applications for passports or identification cards in the month of July 2016, in comparison to the applications received in July 2015. Moreover, the weekly Citizenship Applications received by Swedish Embassy increased sevenfold at the time of June 23 vote – going up to an astonishing number of 150 requests in the week itself – before the surge alleviated over the summer. Even Poland’s Embassy witnessed a substantial rise in applications as they usually only receive an average of 100 applications for citizenship throughout the year, but this time they received 111 applications in just the first half of 2016.
It was stated by Meghan Benton, a senior policy analyst at the Migration Institute in Washington, that there is a possibility of receiving two kinds of applications; the first application being from people who are worried about their freedom of movement, which they often utilize. The second kind of application is filed by those people who possess a strong link to the EU, which they do not want give up. “They probably feel cheated, not wanting to lose their rights.”
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