--- description: Thousands of Brits have been exploring other citizenships since their country voted to leave the E.U. title: Brexit Triggers Surge of Britons Seeking New Nationalities image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Thousands of Britons Have Been Making Inquiries About New Passports Since Brexit by [Casey Quackenbush](/author/casey-quackenbush/) ## Casey Quackenbush Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 30, 2016 8:33 AM CUT by [Casey Quackenbush](/author/casey-quackenbush/) ## Casey Quackenbush Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 30, 2016 8:33 AM CUT Underlying [immigration](http://time.com/4150676/david-cameron-european-union-brexit-talks/?iid=sr-link1 "undefined") fears driving last week’s [Brexit](http://time.com/4381042/leave-eu-referendum-brexit-vote/?iid=sr-link4 "undefined") vote have backfired into fears of emigration, as thousands of Britons now scour the world for alternative nationalities. With political [turmoil](http://time.com/4383419/brexit-labour-party-jeremy-corbyn/?iid=sr-link3 "undefined") erupting since David Cameron’s [resignation](http://time.com/4381240/brexit-david-camerons-resignation-speech-in-full/?iid=sr-link4 "undefined") and Scotland and Northern Ireland [threatening](http://time.com/4381190/brexit-ireland-scotland-leave-united-kingdom/ "undefined") to split off and attempt to remain in the E.U., many Britons are exploring other citizenships that guarantee greater job opportunities in a freer global economy than in what they see as a post-Brexit, isolated Britain. Ireland’s passport office in London received 4,000 immigration inquiries on Monday alone, up from the average of 200, the _Times of London_ [reports](http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/surge-in-britons-keen-to-move-abroad-5hvfwv3hx "undefined"). For three days following the Brexit referendum, U.K. visitors to New Zealand’s immigration site spiked from an average 2,000 to 5,500 per day. Canada saw a surge of 325% in online inquiries in the 24 hours after the decision. Similar inquiries made to Australian authorities rose 118%. In a call out, the _Guardian_ [heard](http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/jun/27/leave-vote-prompts-rush-dual-nationality-eu-passports "undefined") from 1,500 Britons seeking dual nationality. Once the U.K. formally divorces itself from the E.U. — projected to take about two years — free movement of labor will come to a halt. “A British passport when you can’t travel and work anywhere else in the E.U. is not worth as much,” a British mother living in the Netherlands [told](http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p03zwq70 "undefined") BBC. “We’d like our children to have those chances too, to move and work, encounter cultures, and have job opportunities you simply wouldn’t have in the United Kingdom.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4388975/brexit-britons-new-passports-nationality/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4388975/brexit-britons-new-passports-nationality/"},"headline":"Thousands of Britons Have Been Making Inquiries About New Passports Since Brexit","datePublished":"2016-06-30T08:33:24.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T22:57:07.890Z","description":"Immigration inquiries from Brits interested in moving to New Zealand, Ireland, Australia and Canada have skyrocketed","url":"https://time.com/4388975/brexit-britons-new-passports-nationality/","keywords":["Economy","Immigration","United Kingdom","Brexit"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Casey Quackenbush","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/casey-quackenbush/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4388975/brexit-britons-new-passports-nationality/","name":"Thousands of Britons Have Been Making Inquiries About New Passports Since Brexit"}}]}] ```