After the first Brexit referendum, the number of Britons who applied for and received a German passport increased tenfold. While 622 Britons were granted a second citizenship in Germany in 2015, this figure had risen to 7493 by 2017. 2018, it remained high, with a slight drop to 6640 naturalisations. This results from a joint study by the Social Science Research Centre Berlin (WZB) and the Oxford-Berlin Research Alliance (OX/BER).
‘The drive to acquire German citizenship in addition to British citizenship, which stems from the impending Brexit, encompasses all economic and social strata,’ says Daniel Auer, research associate in the Migration, Integration, Transnationalisation department at the WZB. At the heart of the study are 50 interviews with Britons living in Germany, which Daniel Tetlow conducted for OX/BER and which he analysed with Auer.
Auer and Tetlow have just published a preliminary report, while the actual study will appear in early 2020. The data situation still needs improvement, explains the WZB researcher. The initial figures, which show a tenfold increase in naturalisations in Germany and a sixfold increase for the EU as a whole, come from the OECD, which evaluates immigration figures from statistical offices across the EU. According to Auer, the Berlin team is currently adding its figures from the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) for 2018.
Fear of Losing EU Citizen Status
The OECD’s forecast for EU immigration of British citizens assumes a further number increase. After reaching an interim low of 46,000 immigrants in 2012, the number climbed to 58,000 in 2015, rising sharply to 68,000 in 2016 and 72,000 in 2017. For 2019, Auer is forecasting a figure of around 84,000 British migrants settling in EU countries. The drop of around 850 naturalisations in Germany for 2018 could be due to the interim hope of a ‘good’ deal, a new referendum, or a backlog of naturalisation applications, says Auer.
But who are the people who want to settle permanently in Germany? ‘Right across society. Academics who fear for their career prospects. Freight forwarders who see their business jeopardised by Brexit, or ex-military personnel who were stationed in Germany and stayed here,’ says Auer, outlining the group of respondents. ‘Three major mechanisms’ had motivated British nationals to apply for a German passport or to emigrate to Germany in the first place. Firstly, they had already established a livelihood in Germany before 2016. They did not want to ‘run the risk of losing their residence status as EU citizens’.
Even though the German government repeatedly assures Britons that they will not be deported. Even in the event of Brexit: ‘You gain a second passport and therefore the right to stay in the EU and in Germany,’ says Auer. For Britons in Germany, however, the option of a no-deal Brexit is problematic. It is associated with great fears of having to decide in favour of citizenship like other non-EU citizens and giving up their British citizenship. ‘A heartbreaking and impossible prospect for many,’ says the preliminary report.
German Passport Restores Lost Security.
The second group, related to the first, came to Germany after the 2016 referendum. The economic uncertainty in the UK had become too great for them, says Auer. But they also include a young Scotsman with leukaemia. He moved with his parents because the family feared a shortage of medication for his chemotherapy.
The ‘severe emotional strain’ caused by the impending Brexit is a third mechanism. Auer says that many could no longer bear the uncertainty of whether the UK would remain in the EU and what the future would bring. Many are also ‘convinced Europeans’ who do not want to be part of leaving the EU.
Excerpts from the interviews show how emotional the situation can be for Britons living here. ‘German citizenship gives me a whole new sense of self-confidence – and gives me back the security I had lost,’ says Rachel, who comes from Loughborough. Start-up entrepreneur Alex, who moved to Germany with his family in 2013, sees no chance of naturalisation due to his lack of German language skills. ‘But I wouldn’t give up my British passport either. I must trust the German government to keep their word and not kick us out.’