Applications for Irish citizenship from the UK hit a post-Brexit high last year as a growing number of workers and pensioners tried to gain “backdoor” access into the EU.
The increase comes as the UK faces a weakening economic outlook and the prospect of tax rises, while European countries tighten property market access for UK investors.
Applications to Britain’s Foreign Births Register (FBR), a citizenship route for people with Irish grandparents or parents, increased 15 per cent in 2024 to 23,456, according to official data shared with the Financial Times.
This was the highest figure since digital records began in 2013, surpassing the previous peak in 2019, the year before the…