Brits looking to renounce their British citizenship must now pay almost £50 per person more to do so.
The Home Office recently raised the renunciation fee from £321 to £372, a decision which has brought accusations of the government looking to cash-in on Brexit.
The UK’s decision to leave the European Union has led to a huge increase in the number of Brits looking to assume citizenship of another European country in a bid to keep hold of an EU passport.
While many of these Brits will keep their British citizenship and look to adopt dual nationality, some countries, including Austria and the Netherlands, have restricted – and even banned – this practice.
In this instance, people are not only having to pay to apply for citizenship of their adopted home, but also to renounce their British citizenship.
Recent figures from Eurostat showed that the number of Brits seeking citizenship from another country increased by 165 per cent in the year of the Brexit referendum compared to the year before.
There was a 283 per cent increase in the number of Brits applying for Dutch passports. The Netherlands currently does not allow its citizens to hold dual citizenship.
Catherine Beader, a Liberal Democrats MEP, described the price hike as “the Home Office giving Brits in the EU one last kick out of the door.”
Article published 5th June 2018