UK Residency Rush: Migrants, Including Nigerians, Seek Settlement Before Rules Tighten

The United Kingdom has recorded a surge in migrants applying for citizenship and permanent settlement ahead of planned government restrictions, according to Home Office data. The spike comes as Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood pushes changes that would force migrants to wait longer before gaining residency rights.

In the year through June 2026, 199,628 people were granted settlement, giving them the right to live, work and study in the UK permanently. That is a 24% increase from a year earlier and the highest figure since 2010.

Record citizenship applications

Over the same period, 245,520 people were granted British citizenship, slightly lower than a year earlier. But the number of citizenship applications surged 17% to a record 315,224. Refusals also jumped, rising 44%.

Most people granted indefinite leave to remain can apply for citizenship after 12 months. The proposed reforms would double the qualification period from five to ten years, a move that has divided the governing Labour Party.

Political pressure and uncertainty

The government is consulting on the stricter settlement rules. New Prime Minister Andy Burnham is under pressure from Labour MPs to reconsider the changes, first announced under his predecessor Keir Starmer. Migration remains a difficult political issue for Burnham, with the Conservatives and Reform UK proposing to remove settlement rights from people who currently hold them.

Nuni Jorgensen, researcher at the Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford, linked the rise in applications to uncertainty. “The data do not tell us why, although it is possible that government and opposition party debates about restricting rights or removing people without citizenship may have played a role. Research suggests that uncertainty can encourage migrants to secure their status by applying for citizenship,” she said.

More than 9,400 US nationals applied for British citizenship over the last year. But the US remains behind India, Pakistan, Italy, Nigeria, Romania and Poland in the list of nationalities seeking citizenship.

Asylum hotel numbers fall

The figures also showed a sharp drop in asylum seekers housed temporarily in UK hotels, a flashpoint for community tensions. The number stood at 16,021 at the end of June, down 50% year-on-year and the lowest since data was first reported in 2022. Mahmood said the Labour government is “restoring control” of the asylum system.

For Nigerians, the UK remains a key destination. With Nigeria listed among the top nationalities applying for British citizenship, the proposed crackdown could push more eligible applicants to move quickly before settlement rules become tougher. Those already in the UK may want to secure their status now, as the political debate raises the possibility of stricter conditions ahead.