Number of UK Citizens Naturalized in Germany Rises by 360% in 2016

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The number of foreign citizens that were naturalized in Germany in 2016 has seen an over four-fold increase when compared to the figures of the previous year, with numbers of UK citizens moving to Germany showing a rapid rise, the German Federal Statistical Office said on Tuesday, adding that the UK migration could be attributed to the outcome of the Brexit referendum.

According to the office, the total number of new German citizens in 2016 increased by 2.9 percent, compared to a fall of 1 and 3.5 percent in 2015 and 2014, respectively. Of the total 110,383 people naturalized in 2016, as many as 2,865 came from the United Kingdom (2.6 percent of the total number). When compared to 622 in the previous year (0.6 percent of the total number) it makes a sharp rise of 360.6 percent.

"The number of citizens of the United Kingdom who were naturalised as German citizens increased in particular, which suggests some link with the Brexit issue," the Federal Statistical Office said.

On June 23, 2016, 51.9 percent of UK citizens voted in favor of leaving the European Union during a nationwide referendum. On March 29, 2017, London officially started the process of withdrawing from the bloc by triggering Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty.