The Home Office has published latest statistics on British citizenship acquisition and grants. According to the data, over 40,000 citizenship applications in first quarter of 2018 alone, of which
- 70% of applications received for naturalisation
- 30% of applications received for registration
- 5% of applications were refused.
- India, Pakistan and Poland are the top three nationalities applying for citizenship
- 6000 applications received for naturalization based on marriage.
- 55% of applications received for residence based naturalisation
- 1608 British overseas territories citizenship granted in the British overseas territories in 2017 and 4 citizenships granted for residents of Hong Kong
- 36,430 British citizenship ceremonies held in London in 2017
- Over 3000 citizenships refused for bad reputation or character
- In 2016, 741 british citizens have renounced their nationality.
| Total | Naturalization | Registration | Granted | Refused or withdrawn | Refusal rate | |
| 2018 Q1 | 40,385 | 28,201 | 12,184 | 45,565 | 2,550 | 5% |
| Quarter of grant | All grants | Naturalisation based on residence | Naturalisation based on marriage | Registration of minor children related to a British citizen or on a discretionary basis | Registration on other grounds |
| 2018 Q1 | 45,565 | 25,223 | 6,130 | 10,760 | 3,452 |
Citizenship by naturalisation
If you’ve lived in the UK for the last 5 years you may be able to:
- if you’ve had indefinite leave ILR to remain for the last 12 months
- if you’re from the EEA and you’ve had permanent residence status for the last 12 months
Windrush nationals can apply for citizenship under a special windrush scheme
| British citizenship applications | 2018 Q1 |
| India | 4,460 |
| Pakistan | 3,195 |
| Poland | 2,599 |
| Nigeria | 2,422 |
| Romania | 1,383 |
| Italy | 1,199 |
| Bangladesh | 988 |
| France | 966 |
| Zimbabwe | 954 |
| Germany | 876 |
| Ghana | 872 |
| South Africa | 840 |
| Sri Lanka | 815 |
| United States | 766 |
| Somalia | 765 |
| Iran | 754 |
| Philippines | 713 |
| Bulgaria | 697 |
| Jamaica | 621 |
| Spain | 620 |
| China | 593 |
| Australia | 529 |
| Hungary | 520 |
| Nepal | 490 |
Refusals
British citizenship has been refused for these reasons
| Reason for refusal | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 |
| Incomplete applications | 558 | 608 | 827 | 1,310 | 1,596 | 929 | 530 | 447 | 380 | 414 | 661 | 687 | 728 | 254 | 128 | 52 |
| Parent not a British citizen | 531 | 775 | 1,100 | 1,669 | 2,161 | 2,533 | 1,306 | 1,692 | 786 | 627 | 514 | 553 | 510 | 749 | 931 | 300 |
| Not of good character | 798 | 945 | 1,187 | 1,663 | 1,764 | 1,693 | 2,667 | 2,747 | 2,168 | 2,369 | 2,428 | 2,295 | 1,095 | 4,524 | 5,525 | 3,119 |
| Delay in replying to enquiries from UKVI | 1,269 | 1,756 | 1,600 | 2,161 | 1,953 | 2,232 | 819 | 584 | 767 | 314 | 306 | 423 | 1,234 | 1,254 | 1,698 | 1,319 |
| Residence | 3,338 | 4,277 | 6,509 | 6,259 | 4,740 | 4,137 | 2,219 | 3,651 | 2,409 | 2,216 | 2,105 | 2,264 | 1,224 | 2,825 | 2,632 | 1,659 |
| Oath not taken in time | 70 | 115 | 186 | 339 | 105 | 38 | 37 | 26 | 9 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 14 | 9 | 1 |
| Insufficient Knowledge of English and KOL | z | z | z | 234 | 502 | 2,365 | 608 | 267 | 382 | 143 | 103 | 62 | 489 | 531 | 673 | 720 |
| Other | 363 | 500 | 709 | 896 | 789 | 796 | 548 | 488 | 692 | 483 | 400 | 536 | 423 | 495 | 996 | 544 |
| Total refusals | 6,927 | 8,976 | 12,118 | 14,531 | 13,610 | 14,723 | 8,734 | 9,902 | 7,593 | 6,576 | 6,517 | 6,820 | 5,709 | 10,646 | 12,592 | 7,714 |
| British already | 1,225 | 1,395 | 1,501 | 1,861 | 1,442 | 659 | 264 | 285 | 316 | 227 | 281 | 375 | 383 | 312 | 496 | 598 |
| Withdrawn | 179 | 184 | 199 | 250 | 257 | 246 | 88 | 64 | 65 | 81 | 80 | 74 | 82 | 125 | 220 | 120 |
| Total refused or withdrawn | 8,331 | 10,555 | 13,818 | 16,642 | 15,309 | 15,628 | 9,086 | 10,251 | 7,974 | 6,884 | 6,878 | 7,269 | 6,174 | 11,083 | 13,308 | 8,432 |
| Rejected applications | z | z | z | 3,261 | 6,105 | 255 | 41 | 131 | 200 | 151 | 139 | 97 | 81 | 525 | 1,852 | 838 |
Renunciations
Renouncing british nationality
| Â | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 |
| Renunciations of British nationality | 1,194 | 755 | 680 | 589 | 601 | 583 | 537 | 568 | 597 | 492 | 609 | 602 | 614 | 428 | 741 | 416 |
| Applications for renunciation of British nationality refused | 21 | 11 | 10 | 11 | 9 | 12 | 6 | 14 | 9 | 10 | 18 | 41 | 67 | 62 | 107 | 28 |
