Priyanka Tiwari
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Fueled by US President Donald Trump's return to office and changes to UK tax laws, the number of Americans seeking UK citizenship reached a record high in 2024. According to the UK Home Office, over 6,100 Americans filed for UK citizenship last year, which is an increase of 26% from 2023. This is the highest number since records began over twenty years ago.
In total, there was also a record high for applications to the UK on citizenship, rising to 251,000, an increase of 6%. This growth was most evident in the final quarter of 2024 with applications from American citizens increasing by 40% compared to the previous year, and reaching almost 1,700 according to the Financial Times.
Political matters affect migration interest
Immigration lawyers say that these numbers show that Trump's re-election was a major factor in increased interest towards obtaining UK citizenship. A partner at law firm Farrer & Co, Elena Hinchin described the current US political landscape as “a very serious driver’” of interest British residency. She continued by highlighting that there have been increasing numbers of American citizens attempting to regularize their immigration status in the UK since the start of Trump's most recent campaign.
“Interest is higher than it was during the last Trump administration,” Hinchin said while giving the election cycle as one of the reasons.
Wealthy Immigration: Tax Reform Musings of the British Isles
“Shifting policies of the UK government have prompted an influx of American expatriates in the UK to look for UK citizenship. The Financial Times reported, alongside political motives, tax changes in the UK have significantly motivated multiple high net worth Americans living in Britain to apply for British citizenship. The British government’s removal of the non-dom tax status and its associated loophole, which used to grant astonishingly wealthy foreign residents complete tax amnesty on their non-UK earnings, has set off a stampede by many Americans to change their citizenship status so that they can retain their British status while they still can. Wait, what? Isn't that the opposite of american exceptionalism?"
Consider these remarks from tax consultant Robert Hinchin: “High-net-worth individuals are coming to terms with the fact they might have to leave the UK because of the tax changes. It is no longer how and why people were educated. The gap is closing rapidly. Suddenly being over the age of 18 gives you a lot more possibility now. It increases their options and flexibility.” To no one’s surprise, he managed to boost the economy in Britain.
Leading to an increase of citizenship applications from US, the most recent home of statistics of 2022 saw britons in the US surge. While It was most remarkable, the previous year the best prepared estimate was estalished by American travelers. According to the Director of the Migration Observatory at Oxford University, Sumption, “people have noticed a general tendency that decisions are not taken solely based on economic reasons."
“Politics is a third or fourth order factor of consideration that people from safe countries tend to move from, not one of the reasons for movement by itself,” Sumption stated. However, immigration attorneys have started noticing a pattern in the volume of searches for UK visas and citizenship during US election periods. According to Ono Okeregha, Director at Immigration Advice Service, searches for British citizenship records “stood out” with the day after Trump won the November election as well as the first few months of his second term. Okeregha stated that this notable increase is something that takes advantage of an uptrend that started a few years back. “US applications began growing some years back, capturing the legacy of the first Donald Dash,” he explained, referring to those Americans who moved to the UK during the initial stages of Trump's rule and are now able to apply for British citizenship. Other than English, Okeregha noted that application for Irish citizenship has seen a rise too. Ioamianism is a global phenomenon and America has its share of followers. The Iris government statistics reveal that there has been a growth of 46 percent in citizens of North America piped in the year 2024 highlighting the Irish America and their roots stemming from Ireland.
With the progression of Trump’s second term and ongoing changes to UK tax legislation, specialists anticipate that Americans’ interest in obtaining Irish and British citizenship may still be remarkably pronounced.
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