Brexit Fuels Record Increase In Britons Seeking German Citizenship In 2016

The number of Britons who became naturalized German citizens jumped a record 361 percent in 2016 as the UK chose to leave the European Union, figures from the Destatis showed Tuesday.

The statistical agency said that 2,865 Britons became German citizens in 2016, marking an increase of more than 2,200 persons from 2015.

This is the highest figure ever recorded for British citizens, the Destatis said, adding that "some link with the Brexit issue" was clear.

In June 2016, the UK decided to leave the European Union in a referendum. The exit is set to take place in 2019.

Concerns have risen about the fate of Brexit talks, after the inconclusive election in the country last week that has led to a hung parliament.

One of the main reasons behind the surge in Britons seeking the German citizenship could be the ease of working and doing business in the EU.

Meanwhile, the number of Turkish citizens seeking naturalization continued to decline significantly, down 17.3 percent last year. Yet, they remained the largest group of the naturalized last year with 16,290 becoming German citizens.

Poles were the second largest group with 6,632 becoming German citizens, an increase of 11.3 percent.

Serbians and Romanians were second and third, respectively, in terms of the increase in naturalization.

In 2016, a total 110,400 foreigners became naturalized German citizens, which was an increase of more than 3,000 or 2.9 percent from 2015, the Destatis said. Naturalization had declined in the previous two years.