Accredited official statistics

Citizenship

Published 26 November 2015

Valid: 26 November 2015 to 24 February 2016

All data below relate to the year ending September 2015 and all comparisons are with the year ending September 2014, unless indicated otherwise.

Back to ‘Immigration statistics July to September 2015’ content page.

This is not the latest release. View latest release.

1. Key facts

Applications for British citizenship fell by 13% in the year ending September 2015 to 142,074.

There were 125,292 decisions about British citizenship, 20% fewer than in the previous year (156,303). Correspondingly, there were 22% fewer people granted British citizenship (-33,475 to 115,807).

The number of grants fell in the second and third quarters of 2014 as UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) resources were used to assist HM Passport Office and increased in the fourth quarter of 2014 and first quarter of 2015 as this work was completed and resources returned to UKVI. Grant rates fell to 92% in the year ending September 2015 following the introduction of enhanced checks on cases requiring higher levels of assurance in April 2015, e.g. those cases with previous asylum refusals and cases with adverse immigration histories.

The 33,475 fall in grants of British citizenship was reflected in lower numbers of people granted citizenship in all broad categories.

These year-on-year comparisons of decisions numbers can be affected by changes in case work resource allocation. Such fluctuations can be examined in more detail in the quarterly data that are also available in the published tables.

2. Grants and refusals of citizenship

Year Total decisions Total grants On basis of residence On basis of marriage As children Other grounds Refusals and withdrawals
Year ending September 2011 186,733 179,532 92,627 36,969 44,734 5,202 7,201
Year ending September 2012 191,264 184,741 101,257 37,602 40,629 5,253 6,523
Year ending September 2013 205,978 198,891 108,141 41,925 44,475 4,350 7,087
Year ending September 2014 156,303 149,282 80,268 32,871 32,173 3,970 7,021
Year ending September 2015 125,292 115,807 58,216 23,435 30,313 3,843 9,485
Change: latest year -31,011 -33,475 -22,052 -9,436 -1,860 -127 +2,464
Percentage change -20% -22% -27% -29% -6% -3% +35%

Table notes

Source: Home Office, Immigration Statistics July to September 2015, Citizenship tables cz 01 q and cz 02 q.
‘Other grounds’ includes Entitlement and Discretionary registration as an adult, Entitlement and Discretionary registration on other grounds and registration under section 5 of the British Nationality Act 1981. See Table cz 07 and the user guide for more detail.

The chart below illustrates longer-term trends in grants of citizenship by calendar year.

The chart shows the number of grants of British citizenship between 2004 and the latest calendar year. In 2008 staff resources were temporarily transferred from decision-making to deal with new applications.

Chart notes

Source: Home Office, Immigration Statistics July to September 2015, Citizenship table cz 03.

The number of grants in 2014 (125,653) is the lowest since 2002 (120,121).

Between 2009 and 2013 there was a general increase in applications for and grants of citizenship, which is likely in part to reflect increased grants of permission to stay permanently (known as settlement) up to 2010. After a period of residence those granted settlement become eligible to apply for citizenship. There were 207,989 grants of citizenship in 2013, more than double the level seen in 2001 (90,282) and the highest comparable annual total since records began in 1962.

There were notable increases in British citizenship applications made in 2005 (211,911) and 2013 (232,262). The increase in 2005 may have reflected people anticipating the introduction of the Knowledge of Life in the UK test on 1 November that year. Similarly, the increase in 2013 may, in part, have been due to people anticipating the rule change to the English language element of the Life in the UK test as of 28 October 2013. See the Policy and Legislative Changes Timeline. Applications in 2014 fell to 127,259, a level not seen since 2004 (125,668). This may partly be due to the rule change to the English language element of the Life in the UK test as of 28 October 2013 and fewer grants of settlement since 2010.

4. Top 5 previous nationalities granted citizenship, 2014

(Total number of grants 125,653)

The chart shows grants of citizenship by previous nationality in 2014. Former Indian and Pakistani nationals had the highest numbers of citizenship grants in most years from 1998 to 2014 - over a quarter (28%) of grants in 2014.

Chart notes

Source: Home Office, Immigration Statistics July to September 2015, Citizenship table cz 06.

5. Data tables

Further data on British citizenship are available in Citizenship tables cz 01 to cz 10.

In addition to applications and detailed breakdowns of decisions, these include information on refusals, citizenship ceremonies attended and renunciations of citizenship.

6. Background information

The figures in this section relate to the number of people who are granted or refused British citizenship.

The numbers of decisions made are not always fully comparable over time. This is because, as well as reflecting changes in the levels of those settling in the UK, the figures are influenced by policy and legislative changes, for example, when changes are made to English language requirements or the Life in the UK test. In addition, the level of decisions made may be affected by the resources available in the Home Office.