Record number of Americans applying for UK citizenship
Americans are seeking to move to the United Kingdom in record numbers, according to new data from the British Home Office.
More than 6,600 U.S. citizens applied for citizenship in the U.K. over the year ending in March — a 30 percent increase over the previous 12 months. Significant spikes were reported around the time of President Trump's election in November and his return to the White House in January.
The 1,931 American applicants who sought British citizenship in the first three months of 2025 marked the most in any quarter over the country's two decades of record-keeping; the final quarter of 2024 was the second highest at 1,723.
American applications for U.K. citizenship similarly jumped after Trump's first election in 2016.
The U.K. Home Office didn't immediately respond to The Hill's request for comment, but the news comes as British officials have stressed their desire to lower their country's net migration numbers. Countries in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa had the most natives seeking U.K. citizenship in the 12 months through March, the new data shows.
"Throughout our history, Britain has been strengthened by people coming here to start new businesses, study at universities, contribute to our cultural and sporting excellence and do some of the toughest jobs in our country," British Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, a member of the Labour Party, told Parliament in an address earlier this month. "However, to be successful, effective and fair, our immigration must be properly controlled and managed."
Trump and his allies have been laser-focused on cracking down on migrants coming to the U.S., with some controversial exceptions, such as dozens of white Afrikaners from South Africa who were given refugee status.
“Thanks to President Trump’s leadership, America is back – companies and countries from all over the world are clamoring to invest in the United States, jobs are returning, and we are negotiating new trade deals that put American workers first. That’s something all Americans can celebrate,” White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson told The Hill.
Updated at 8:52 p.m. EDT.