Record numbers of Americans seek British citizenship: what are the routes?

7 March 2025

Home Office statistics reveal record numbers of Americans applying for UK citizenship, with newspapers reporting Donald Trump’s presidency as well as US and UK tax changes as contributory factors to a surge in applications. The data reveals a 26% rise in applications year-on-year from 2023.

This is unsurprising for us UK immigration practitioners as we have been answering many questions from our American friends, referrers and clients since the run up to the US election. With President Trump using his first weeks in office to sign multiple executive orders impacting the lives of LGBTQ+ Americans, many have been immigration enquiries from LGBTQ+ communities.

Another factor perhaps influencing a rise in Americans looking for routes to long-term UK residence is the current US bill to end the double tax hit on Americans living outside the US, ending US taxation on worldwide income based on citizenship, rather than residence in the US. (The Residence-Based Taxation of Americans Abroad Act is currently a draft bill and as such subject to amendment). At the same time, the UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves has announced that plans to abolish non-dom status (which enables people who live in the UK to avoid paying UK tax on money made abroad because their home for tax purposes is elsewhere) will be softened to allow a more generous phase-out of the tax benefit.

It’s not just HNW individuals looking to make their home in Britain, and as well as economic reasons, there are other pulls for Americans – social, cultural, such as a great choice of schools, universities, arts, culture and properties.

So, what are the most common routes that our clients from the US can avail themselves of if they want to settle in Britain? Below is a link to Vanessa Ganguin’s latest article in Think Global People, as well as a link to our quick overview of the current available routes.

Feel free to share it with anyone who may be interested, and if you have any questions about any of these UK visas and immigration matters, please do get in touch at enquiries@vanessaganguin.com , on +44(0)207 033 9527, or using the form below.