Immigration Solicitors

The UK is granting British citizenship to record levels of people, according to figures from the European Commission’s official statistics organisation Eurostat.

The UK now awards citizenship more than any other of the 28 member states of the EU, with 193,000 people given British citizenship in the year to 2012. British citizenship is an important step to being able to apply for a British passport.

A total of 14.6% of those awarded British citizenship were from India, followed by migrants from Pakistan (9.5%), Nigeria (4.6%) and the Philippines (4.2%).

In 2012, nearly one million (820,000) people were granted citizenship by the 28 EU member states – but Britain led the way in welcoming foreigners, awarding citizenship to nearly one-quarter (23.7%) of migrants to the EU.

Out of all EU member states, Britain ranks fifth on the list of most popular countries for non-EU migrants to come to, however – Germany followed by France are the most popular destinations for migrants, refugees and asylum seekers.

Germany granted the second highest number of citizenships after the UK, with 114,000 newcomers given German citizenship to 2012.

France awarded French citizenship to 96,000 newcomers.

The UK has also seen mass immigration from Eastern Europe after border restrictions were lifted, starting with Poland in 2004.

Since 2000, more than 2.1 million people have been granted British citizenship

Sir Andrew Green of think tank MigrationWatch UK said:

“Clearly, Britain remains the number one EU destination for migrants from outside the EU.”

Applying for British citizenship requires an individual to have lived in the UK for five years or more.

In the year 2013-2014, the number of migrants awarded British citizenship rose to 208,000, according to Home Office figures.

Deputy director of the Migration Observatory at Oxford University, Dr Carlos Vargas-Silva, said:

“The UK is the leader in terms of people acquiring citizenship in the EU – and one of the reasons this is happening is because of migration from the Commonwealth.”

Duncan Lewis Immigration Solicitors

Duncan Lewis is a leading firm of specialist immigration solicitors and can advise on applying for British citizenship, as well as right to work in the UK and student visas.

Duncan Lewis is one of the UK’s leading providers of Legal Aid and can also advise on:

• Asylum in the UK
• Asylum appeals
• Fast-track Detention process
• Marriage in the UK
• Spouse and partner visas
• Visa overstays.

For expert legal advice on UK immigration law, call Duncan Lewis immigration solicitors on 020 7923 4020.