Accredited official statistics

How many people are granted settlement or citizenship?

Published 21 August 2025

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Data relates to the year ending June 2025 and all comparisons are with the year ending June 2024 (unless indicated otherwise).

1. Settlement

People in the UK who meet certain criteria can apply for settlement in the UK. A settlement grant provides individuals with indefinite leave to remain in the UK, removing any limitations on the duration of their stay. Information on the number of people granted settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme is not included in this chapter, but in the separate chapter on the EU Settlement Scheme, see ‘How many grants of settlement are made via the EU Settlement Scheme?’

The number of people granted settlement each year will reflect the number of migrants coming to the UK in earlier years, and the policies regarding the qualifying period required to live in the UK before becoming eligible for permanent residence. Key rule changes affecting the long-term settlement grant trends by route were summarised in the Immigration system statistics, year ending March 2023.

The increase in settlement grants in the latest year reflects the continuation of a broader upward trend observed since 2018.

In the year ending June 2025, there were 163,353 grants of settlement, representing an 18% increase compared with the previous year. The number of grants has followed an upward trajectory since 2018, although there was a decline in grants in quarter 2 2025 (April to June), 5 years since the COVID-19 pandemic began.

Settlement grants increased across all major routes in the latest year. A summary detailing the number of grants is provided below.

• Refugee: There were 39,946 settlement grants issued to individuals whose most recent leave was under refugee status, humanitarian protection, discretionary leave, or exceptional leave to remain
• Family: There were 45,170 settlement grants issued to individuals on a family route; this is the second highest annual total of such grants since the year ending March 2014
• Work: There were 59,766 settlement grants issued to individuals on a work-related route; this is the second highest annual total since the year ending September 2013 and continues a general upward trend since 2018
• Other: There were 18,471 settlement grants issued to individuals whose most recent leave was categorised within the “Other” leave group; this is the highest annual total since the year ending December 2022

Figure 1: Grants of settlement in the UK, by leave type^1,2,3, year ending June 2011 to year ending June 2025

Source: Settlement - Se_D02

Notes:

1. ‘Leave type’ relates to type of leave to remain in the UK held immediately prior to being granted settlement.
2. ‘Other’ includes grants based on Long Residence, Private Life, BN(O) routes and grants on a discretionary basis. Also includes a few cases where the category of leave immediately prior to the grant of settlement has not been recorded.
3. The ‘Refugee’ category refers to individuals granted settlement in the UK following a period of residence after being recognised as refugees or receiving another form of protection, such as exceptional leave, humanitarian protection, or discretionary leave.

Table 1: Grants by leave type^1,2,3 and refusals of settlement in the UK, year ending June 2024 and year ending June 2025

Reason	Year ending June 2024	Year ending June 2025	Change	Percentage change
Total grants of which:	138,074	163,353	25,279	18%
Work	50,053	59,766	9,713	19%
Refugee	34,137	39,946	5,809	17%
Family	38,708	45,170	6,462	17%
Other	15,176	18,471	3,295	22%
Total refusals	2,378	3,230	852	36%
Total decisions	140,452	166,583	26,131	19%

Source: Settlement - Se_D02

Notes:

1. ‘Leave type’ relates to type of leave to remain in the UK held immediately prior to being granted settlement, except for Long Residency.
2. ‘Other’ includes grants based on Long Residence, Private Life, BN(O) routes and grants on a discretionary basis. Also includes a few cases where the category of leave immediately prior to the grant of settlement has not been recorded.
3. The ‘Refugee’ category refers to individuals granted settlement in the UK following a period of residence after being recognised as refugees or receiving another form of protection, such as exceptional leave, humanitarian protection, or discretionary leave.

1.1 Work

Settlement granted to individuals whose most recent type of leave was work-related increased by 19% to 59,766 in the latest year, from 50,053 in the previous year. A decline in grants was observed in the second quarter (April to June) of 2025 however, coinciding with the 5-year anniversary of the onset of the global pandemic, which resulted in fewer individuals being granted entry clearance.

The overall rise in settlement grants to individuals on work-related visas has been predominantly driven by an increase in grants under the Skilled Worker route. While other notable work routes have also recorded increases, their contributions to the overall growth in the latest year are comparatively lower.

Individuals on the Skilled Worker route accounted for three-quarters of all settlement grants within the work category. This group includes individuals employed in roles defined within the UK Skilled Worker visa occupation list, those granted leave as Health and Care Workers, and dependants of the skilled worker main applicant. Settlement grants for this group increased by 19% compared with the previous year, reflecting an increased number of Skilled Workers entering the UK in recent years.

Settlement granted to individuals on a ‘high value’ route increased by 6% compared with the previous year. Most individuals on the ‘high value’ route held a Global Talent visa, which aims to attract talent within academia and research, arts and culture, and digital technology to the UK. Settlement is normally available after 5 years, although those endorsed as established leaders, or meeting other qualifying criteria, may be granted settlement after 3 years.

In the latest year, a 60% increase in settlement grants for individuals who held a work permit was observed. The work permit category primarily includes individuals who previously held leave to remain in the UK under the Turkish European Communities Association Agreement (ECAA) route, as well as those who were representatives of overseas businesses.

The Migrant Journey: 2024 report revealed that of the individuals granted leave to enter the UK on a work visa in 2019, 20% had been granted indefinite leave to remain after 5 years. This continues the upward trend observed since the 2015 cohort, indicating a growing proportion of work visa holders successfully progressing to settlement.

1.2 Family

In the year ending June 2025, settlement granted to individuals on family visas increased by 17% from the previous year to 45,170. Of these, nearly two-thirds (63%) were wives who had previously joined their spouses in the UK.

Over the same period, 2,437 individuals were granted settlement under the Family Life (10-year route), increasing by nearly 60% when compared with the previous 12 months. Grants under this route have been rising steadily since 2022. This route, introduced in the Family and Private life 2012 Immigration rules, allows individuals who do not meet the criteria for the 5-year route to settlement but who have established genuine family life in the UK to apply for indefinite leave to remain.

The Migrant Journey: 2024 report shows that those who arrive on a Family visa are much more likely to obtain settlement than those arriving on Work or Study routes. In 2024, among individuals who had arrived in the UK on a family visa 10 years earlier, 77% had obtained indefinite leave to remain. This compares with 19% of those who had arrived on a work visa and 6% of those who had arrived on a study visa, highlighting that individuals who enter on family visas are more likely to obtain settlement than those who arrive through work or study routes.

1.3 Refugee

Settlement granted to individuals who had arrived in the UK as refugees or had been granted another form of protection status following an asylum application increased by 17% compared with the previous year. This increase reflects the increase in the number of individuals granted asylum or resettlement between 2015 and 2019. There was a decline in people being granted refugee status in the second and third quarters of 2020, coinciding with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. This has likely contributed to a marked reduction in settlement grants in the second quarter of 2025.

The Migrant Journey: 2024 report shows that, of people granted refugee permission as their first form of leave to remain since 2007, nearly two-thirds went on to obtain settlement within 7 years of applying for asylum, with the vast majority (94%) having obtained some form of indefinite leave to remain after 10 years.

1.4 Other

Settlement granted to individuals whose most recent leave type did not fall under work, refugee, or family-related routes, categorised as ‘other’ (18,471), increased by over 20% from the previous year. Within this category, most grants were issued under the Long Residence route, which qualifies an individual who has lived lawfully and continuously in the UK for at least 10 years for settlement.

Individuals who have lived in the UK for a long period but have not met the 10-year lawful and continuous residence requirement may instead be eligible to apply for settlement under Appendix Private Life. Like the Family Life route, the Private Life route was introduced in 2012. The first instances of settlement grants under this route occurred in 2022. In the latest year, there were 2,162 grants of settlement from this route, 11% fewer than the previous year.

2. Citizenship

People with British citizenship have the right to live and work in the UK without any immigration control and can apply for a British passport. British citizenship is defined by the British Nationality Act 1981. People may be eligible for British citizenship (or ‘naturalisation’) for several reasons. Further details on the eligibility to apply for British citizenship can be found on GOV.UK.

British citizenship grants remain high, largely due to the substantial number of non-EU nationals acquiring citizenship through naturalisation, although citizenship grants to former EU nationals remain higher than they were prior to the UK’s departure from the EU.

Figure 2: Grants of citizenship in the UK, by application type, year ending June 2011 to year ending June 2025

Source: Citizenship detailed datasets - Cit_D02

Notes:

1. Naturalisation and Registration are legal processes through which an adult or a child can become a British citizen and obtain the same rights and privileges as someone who was born a British national. Further details on these legal processes can be found in the user guide.

There were 256,864 grants of British citizenship in the year ending June 2025, an increase of 4% compared with the previous year, continuing a period of high volume. From 2014, up to and including 2022, there were fewer than 200,000 citizenship grants each year. In the latest year, there were 183,977 grants of citizenship through naturalisation, almost double the number recorded 5 years earlier (99,736). This broadly aligns with the trends observed in grants of settlement over similar periods.

Many of those granted settlement become eligible for naturalisation. Naturalisation is the process by which a non-British adult may acquire British citizenship following a qualifying period of lawful residence in the United Kingdom, and have been granted indefinite leave to remain, or permanent residence status. In addition, naturalisation provides a route to British citizenship for individuals granted settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme.

There were 72,887 grants of British citizenship through registration in the latest year, which represents a 4% decrease compared with the previous year. Registration enables individuals, through either a legal entitlement or a discretionary process, to acquire British citizenship. This route is most used by children, or those with a defined connection to the United Kingdom, or its overseas territories.

Figure 3: Citizenship grants from the year ending June 2011 to the year ending June 2025, by EU and non-EU applicants

Source: Citizenship detailed datasets - Cit_D02

Figure 3 shows the numbers of citizenship grants are higher for non-EU nationals than for EU nationals. In the year ending June 2025, there were 202,971 grants to non-EU nationals, representing an 8% increase in the latest year. During the same period, grants of British citizenship to EU nationals (53,893) decreased by 7%.

Figure 4: Top 10 nationalities for citizenship grants, by application type group, year ending June 2025

Source: Citizenship detailed datasets - Cit_D02

British citizenship was granted to individuals from more than 200 different countries in the latest year. Figure 4 shows that the top three nationalities granted British citizenship in the latest year were India, Pakistan and Nigeria. Grants to Pakistani nationals have more than doubled (up 103%) since the year ending June 2019, while grants to Indian and Nigerian nationals have increased by 77% and 65%, respectively.

Despite the recent year-on-year decline, the number of grants to EU nationals remains high compared with pre-2018 levels. EU nationals had benefited from free movement under the United Kingdom’s membership of the European Union, which reduced the incentive to acquire British citizenship. The subsequent rise in grants to EU nationals is likely linked to the UK’s departure from the EU and the introduction of the EU Settlement Scheme, which enabled eligible EU nationals to obtain settled status and, in turn, qualify for citizenship.

Italian nationals were the most common EU nationality granted British citizenship in the year ending June 2025 (10,772), followed by Romanian and Polish nationals. Collectively, these 3 nationalities have accounted for over 40% of all grants of citizenship to EU nationals since 2012 and account for the nationalities with the highest number of settled status grants through the EU Settlement Scheme.

Grants by reason and refusals of British citizenship can be found in the Citizenship summary tables.

3. About these statistics

The statistics in this section refer to individuals who have leave to remain in the UK who wish to make their right to remain in the UK permanent. More information about the statistics can be found in the user guide.

The underlying casework systems on which this data is based are undergoing a process of change and therefore the published numbers may change in future quarters. In some cases, data will be unavailable. For more information see section 2.7 of the user guide.

3.1 Settlement

Settlement can be granted to individuals – subject to immigration control – to allow them to work, study and travel into and out of the UK without restriction. To be granted settlement, individuals generally must have lived in the UK for a certain length of time in a qualifying category. Those granted settlement can access state benefits and register their UK-born children as British citizens. It does not entitle the individual to a British passport (which requires British citizenship) or to vote in a general election (which requires British, Commonwealth, or Irish Republic citizenship).

The statistics in this section show the number of grants and refusals on applications for settlement in the UK. They take account of the outcomes of reconsiderations and appeals.

3.2 Citizenship

British citizens can live and work in the UK free of any immigration controls. They can apply for a British passport, register to vote in all forms of election and referenda, and share in all the other rights and responsibilities of their status.

Dual citizenship (also known as dual nationality) is allowed in the UK. This means people can be both a British citizen and a citizen of other countries.

If someone is not already a British citizen based on where and when they were born, or their parents’ circumstances, they can apply to become one.

The statistics in this section show the number of applications and grants for British citizenship.

In May 2025, the Home Office published the Migrant Journey: 2024 report, which explores changes in migrants’ visa and leave status as they journey through the UK’s immigration system.

4. Data tables

Data referred to here can be found in the following tables:

• Settlement summary tables
• Detailed settlement datasets
• Citizenship summary tables
• Detailed citizenship datasets

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