Surge in US applications for UK residency: Record 6,618 Americans applied for British nationality in past 12 months, data shows

During the 12 months leading up to March, as many as 6,618 US citizens have applied to either become British nationals or to live and work there indefinitely, according to data released by the UK Home Office.

This is the highest such number since comparable records began in 2004, the Home Office said.

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More than 1,900 applications were received between January - when US President Donald Trump began his second term - and March, the data showed.

The surge in applications at the start of 2025 made that the highest number for any quarter on record, The Guardian reported.

The figures come even as British authorities under Prime Minister Keir Starmer's Labour government try to reduce immigration to the United Kingdom. Recently, Starmer vowed to take “back control of our borders” and warned uncontrolled immigration could result in the UK “becoming an island of strangers, not a nation that walks forward together”.

Before Starmer, home secretary Yvette Cooper told British Parliament there would be "provisions to qualify more swiftly that take account of the contribution people have made.”

Cooper further said the British government would "introduce new, higher language requirements” because “the ability to speak English is integral to everyone’s ability to contribute and integrate”.

However, the increase in US applications to the UK may not necessarily reflect political conditions in either country. Of the 5,521 settlement applications from US citizens last year, most were from people who were eligible via spousal or family links.