Americans apply for British citizenship at record high rate

CNN reported that more than 6,100 Americans applied for British citizenship last year, the highest number since records began in 2004, when fewer than 3,000 Americans applied.

That number was up from less than 5,000 in 2023.

Applications from American citizens surged in the last quarter of 2024, with 7,700 applying, more than any other quarter in the past two decades.

The increase is reminiscent of the surge recorded in the first six months of 2020, when more than 5,800 Americans renounced their citizenship. That was almost three times the number in all of 2019.

Analysts argued at the time that the surge came after Trump’s first term and changes in tax policies, and was largely driven by Americans who had been living in the UK for some time.