A record number of Britons took up German citizenship in 2017, according to authorities who cited Brexit as the “obvious” reason for the leap in numbers.



Germany’s Federal Office of Statistics (Destatis) said 162% more British passport holders had become Germans last year compared with 2016. The total number of new Germans of British origin was 7,493.

In 2016 the number was 2,865, a leap of 361% from 2015, when 622 Britons made the move.

Destatis said it had been watching the growing trend with interest over the past three years. “Just as we saw last year, it was Britons who were the nation in particular where we saw a rise in people becoming [German] citizens,” a spokesman said. “In 2017, as in 2016, a new record has been set.”

Britons were second only to Turks in the list of nationals who took up German citizenship. “A connection with the impending Brexit seems obvious: in the years 2016 and 2017 a total of 10,358 Britons acquired German citizenship – more than double the figure during the entire period between 2000 and 2015,” the spokesman said. The total number over those fifteen years was 5,092.

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Of 2017’s successful applicants who applied for German citizenship from abroad, about 9% were those who had been persecuted under the Nazis, the majority of them Jews, and their descendants.

The average age of people who have been dubbed by the German press neue Deutschbriten or “new German Britons” is 52.8, considerably above the age of those becoming Germans from other EU countries (40.9) and of those from all countries(34.8).

Unlike other non-EU citizens, Britons who become German citizens while Britain is still in the EU are able to retain their British citizenship. After the expected exit date of 29 March 2019, Britons wishing to become German would have to give up their British passports.

Ingrid Taylor, 61, a translator who has lived in Germany for 30 years, said she was relieved to have acquired German citizenship in March 2017, motivated, like other Britons, by worries that she would lose her right to live and work in Europe’s largest economy.

“It finally made me feel safe from the shenanigans of the negotiating process. It means, quite simply, I can continue working and living here as a citizen of the EU, enjoying the advantages that come with that and the uncertainty has gone,” she said.

A co-founder of the Bavaria branch of the campaign group British in Germany, she said she believed the figure of Britons becoming German citizens would reach a peak this year.

“People are gradually getting more and more nervous realising that they could be very disadvantaged in their careers and way of life without an EU passport. Even many of those who have said: ‘it’ll be alright’ have stopped putting their faith in the politicians. Our advice is: don’t wait, do it as soon as you can.”

Only 10% of the Britons who are eligible for German citizenship – who have lived in Germany for eight years and can prove competence in the German language – have so far acquired it. “There are a lot of people who have yet to apply,” said Taylor.

It remains unclear whether applications will still be considered during the transition period, which is due to end on 31 December 2020.