BREAKING: Brexit Leads to 14% Increase in British Citizenship Applications
Latest Immigration figures released today show there was a 14% spike in applications for British Citizenship by European Union nationals living in the UK in the run-up to the EU referendum in June.
Latest figures published by the Office for National Statistics show that annual net migration to Britain actually fell by 9,000 to 327,000 in the 12 months to March 2016.
The detailed figures also show a sharp fall in the number of overseas students coming to Britain in the year to March. Their numbers are down by 28,000 to 164,000 and the lowest level since 2007.
Polish nationals have over-taken Indians as comprising the biggest foreign-born national population. There are now approximately 831,000 Poles living in the UK (the UK’s total population is 64.1 million).
Work remains the most common reason for the arrival of new long-term migrants – who come to live in Britain for more than 12 months – accounting for 303,000 new migrants. Of these, 176,000 had a definite job to come to while 127,000 were looking for work.
Asylum applications reached 44,323 in the 12 months to June – the sixth successive year that the total has risen. The largest numbers applying for refugee status came from Iran and Iraq.
Delays in issuing permanent residence Cards and British Citizenship
The surge in applications for permanent residence Cards and British Citizenship is starting to cause significant processing delays. At OTS Solicitors, our Immigration lawyers are now dealing with many applications which were refused by the Home Office back in February/March 2016. We are now working with applicants to appeal these refusals.
EU nationals who wish to obtain a permanent residence Card or apply for British Citizenship should do so now, as applications are likely to spike again when the Government triggers Article 50, which will begin the process of Britain formally leaving the EU. This is expected to happen sometime next year.
OTS Solicitors is regarded as one of the best Immigration law firms in the UK. If you need advice on permanent residence Cards or British Citizenship, please phone our office on 0203 959 9123 to talk to one of our dedicated Immigration solicitors.