Brexit Damaged the Value of British Citizenship and Three in Four Brits Think it Weakened the British Cultural Brand, New CS Global Partners Survey Shows

The London-based citizenship experts had carried out a similar survey in 2017 and the comparison show some interesting shifts in British people's priorities and perceptions. When asked which countries they would prefer to gain citizenship from, nearly four times more British nationals cited Ireland, which has now jumped to second poll-position. The United States rose from second position to first choice with one in every five Brits expressing their wish to become American citizens. Australia used to be British nationals' most desired citizenship, but has now dropped to third position, on par with Canada. Brits' favourite countries for second citizenship has also changed over the course of the past two years, with six out of ten being EU member states.

The 2019 CS Global Partners survey highlights an important distinction between citizenship of a country and its passport. The main reason British nationals look for second citizenship is increased freedom and human rights, unlike two years ago, when travel opportunities were quotes as the key motivator, which has now dropped to second poll-position. "The Brexit debate made many more aware of what a citizenship actually entails and – at times – what it does not entail," explains Ms Emmett.

In terms of visa-free travel, unlike countries of choice for second citizenship, British nationals that took part in the CS Global Partners survey this year wanted access to the United States and Australia most of all, as was the case in 2017. However, in the top 10 most desired countries Brits want to visit visa-free, six are EU members, namely France (#4), Germany (#5), Ireland (#6), Italy (#7), Spain (#8) and Netherlands (#9). Two years earlier, Germany was the only Top 10 EU country that British nationals wanted to be able to travel to hassle free, whereas now there are five new entrants, all of whom are EU members.

As a government advisory and legal experts in citizenship, CS Global Partners outline a number of potential changes affecting British nationals post-Brexit. Amongst them are reconsidering one's retirement plans abroad, including pension, mortgage and healthcare access; queuing at EU airports along with other non-EU nationals; and paying more for British produce due to insufficient supply on the market. While Irish ancestry appears to be the safety net of many Brits, it is not unlikely to see some exploring unusual routes such as citizenship by investment in the Caribbean, like the Commonwealth of Dominica, St Kitts and Nevis or St Lucia.

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