Number of UK nationals getting citizenship of another EU member state more than doubled in the year of the Brexit referendum

The number of UK nationals acquiring citizenship of another EU member state more than doubled in 2016, according to European statistical agency Eurostat.

The number more than doubled from 2,478 people in 2015, to 6,555 people in 2016 – the year of the EU referendum. That marked a rise of 165 per cent during the year when Britain voted to leave the bloc, and many sought to pick up a German passport.

The number of people seeking British citizenship also rose by 27 per cent to 149,372 in 2016.

In 2016, around 995,000 people acquired citizenship of a member state of the EU, up from 841,000 in 2015.

Read more: Businesses face Brexit “storm” of regulatory changes

Most new citizenships in 2016 were granted by Italy, Spain, the UK, France and Germany – and they accounted for 74 per cent of the new citizenships granted in the EU for that year.

Eurostat said the median age of persons acquiring citizenship in the whole of the EU was 31, and overall around 40 per cent of those granted citizenship of an EU-28 country were younger than 25.

All but three member states granted citizenship to more people in 2016 than they did in 2015, with the largest relative increase in Croatia, Greece and Malta.

The number of citizenships granted dipped in three member states for the year, with the largest decrease in Ireland – falling 26 per cent from 13,565 to 10,038.

Of the total number granted, 12 per cent were former citizens of another EU member state, while the majority were non-EU citizens or stateless.

The largest group seeking citizenship of an EU member state where they lived in 2016, came from Morocco, ahead of Albania, India, Pakistan, Turkey and Romania.

Read more: City watchdog cuts back new work as it says Brexit prep will cost £30m