Accredited official statistics

How many people are granted settlement or citizenship?

Updated 13 June 2024

Back to ‘Immigration system statistics, year ending March 2024’ content page.

This is not the latest release. View latest release.

Data relates to year ending March 2024 and all comparisons are with year ending March 2023 (unless indicated otherwise). All data includes dependants, unless indicated otherwise.

1. Settlement

People in the UK who meet certain criteria may be entitled to settlement. This allows them to remain in the UK indefinitely.

There were 129,029 grants of settlement in the UK in year ending March 2024, a 2% increase compared with year ending March 2023.

The number of people granted settlement each year will reflect the number of migrants coming to the UK in earlier years and policies regarding the length of time they are required to live in the UK before becoming eligible for settlement. Details and key rule changes affecting the long-term trends in grants of settlement by route were published in the Immigration system statistics, year ending March 2023.

Figure 1: Grants of settlement in the UK, by leave type^1,2, years ending March 2015 to March 2024

Source: Settlement - Se_D02

Notes:

1. ‘Leave type’ relates to type of leave held immediately prior to being granted settlement.
2. ‘Refugee’ includes grants under the Family Indefinite Leave to Remain exercise and grants under resettlement schemes.

Figure 1 shows the number of settlement grants have increased since the year ending June 2017 (58,262), reaching a high of 129,029 in year ending March 2024. This remains lower than the peak in settlement grants in year ending September 2010, when there were 241,586 grants.

Table 1: Grants by leave type^1,2,3 and refusals of settlement in the UK, years ending March 2023 and March 2024

Reason	Year ending March 2023	Year ending March 2024	Change	Percentage change
Total grants of which:	126,445	129,029	+2,584	+2%
Work	35,498	44,183	+8,685	+24%
Refugee	42,084	32,800	-9,284	-22%
Family	30,502	37,621	+7,119	+23%
Other	18,361	14,425	-3,936	-21%
Total refusals	1,954	3,071	+1,117	+57%
Total decisions	128,399	132,100	+3,701	+3%

Source: Settlement - Se_D02

Notes:

1. Trends in numbers applying for settlement will in part reflect policies and patterns of migration some years earlier.
2. ‘Other’ includes grants on the basis of Long Residence, Private Life, BN(O) routes and grants on a discretionary basis. Also includes a small number of cases where the category of leave immediately prior to the grant of settlement has not been recorded.
3. ‘Refugee’ includes grants under the Family Indefinite Leave to Remain exercise and grants under resettlement schemes.

Settlement grants to people on work routes accounted for over a third (34%) of the total settlement grants in year ending March 2024, and were 24% higher than the year ending March 2023. Settlement grants for ‘Skilled workers’ accounted for 72% of all grants within the work category.

There were 22% fewer grants of settlement to refugees in the year ending March 2024. These changes will reflect patterns of grants in refugee status in earlier years. The Migrant journey: 2023 report shows that nearly two-thirds of people granted refugee permission since 2007 went on to get settlement after 6 years, with 94% having some form of indefinite leave to remain after 10 years.

There were 37,621 grants of settlement to people on family routes in year ending March 2024, 23% higher than the previous 12-month period.

Settlement grants to those previously in the UK for other reasons, primarily long residence or discretionary leave, decreased by 21% to 14,425.

For information on those granted settlement via the EU settlement scheme, see How many people are granted settlement via the EU settlement scheme.

2. Citizenship

People with British citizenship have the right to live and work in the UK without any immigration control and may apply for a British passport. British citizenship is defined by the British Nationality Act 1981. People may be eligible for British citizenship (or ‘naturalisation’) for a number of reasons. Further details on eligibility can be found on GOV.UK.

There were 215,706 grants of British citizenship in the year ending March 2024, 19% more than the year ending March 2023.

There were 50,194 grants of citizenship to EU nationals, 13% more than in year ending March 2023. There were 165,512 grants of citizenship to non-EU nationals, 21% higher than the previous 12-month period, and continuing the upward trend seen since the year ending March 2021.

Figure 2: Number of grants of British citizenship for EU and non-EU nationals, years ending March 2015 to March 2024

Source: Citizenship detailed datasets - Cit_D02

Figure 2 shows the number of citizenship grants to year ending March 2024. Recent increases in citizenship grants have been driven by the rise in grants to non-EU nationals.

The most common non-EU nationalities granted British citizenship in year ending March 2024 were Indian (19,477), Pakistani (17,345), and Nigerian (9,573) nationals. These 3 nationalities accounted for over one-quarter (28%) of grants to non-EU nationals in year ending March 2024.

Italian nationals were the top EU nationality granted citizenship in year ending March 2024 (11,463), followed by Romanian (6,566), and Polish (6,120) nationals. These 3 nationalities accounted for almost half (48%) of the grants of British citizenship to EU nationals over that period and have consistently accounted for over 40% of grants to EU nationals each quarter since 2013.

Grants by reason and refusals of British citizenship can be found in the Citizenship summary tables.

3. About these statistics

The statistics in this section refer to individuals who have leave to remain in the UK who wish to make their right to remain in the UK permanent.

More information about the statistics can be found in the user guide.

3.1 Settlement

Settlement can be granted to individuals – subject to immigration control – to allow them to work, study and travel into and out of the UK without restriction. To be granted settlement, individuals generally must have lived in the UK for a certain length of time in a qualifying category. Those granted settlement can access state benefits and register their UK-born children as British citizens. It does not entitle the individual to a British passport (which requires British citizenship) or to vote in a general election (which requires British, Commonwealth, or Irish Republic citizenship).

The statistics in this section show the number of grants and refusals on applications for settlement in the UK. They take account of the outcomes of reconsiderations and appeals.

3.2 Citizenship

British citizens can live and work in the UK free of any immigration controls. They can apply for a British passport, register to vote in all forms of election and referenda, and share in all the other rights and responsibilities of their status.

Dual citizenship (also known as dual nationality) is allowed in the UK. This means people can be both a British citizen and a citizen of other countries.

If someone is not already a British citizen based on where and when they were born, or their parents’ circumstances, they can apply to become one.

The statistics in this section show the number of applications and grants for British citizenship.

In May 2024, the Home Office published the Migrant journey: 2023 report, which explores changes in non-EEA migrants’ visa and leave status as they journey through the UK’s immigration system.

4. Data tables

Data referred to here can be found in the following tables:

• Settlement summary tables
• Detailed settlement datasets
• Citizenship summary tables
• Detailed citizenship datasets

We welcome your feedback

If you have any comments or suggestions for the development of this report, please provide feedback by emailing [email protected]. Please include the words ‘PUBLICATION FEEDBACK’ in the subject of your email.

We’re always looking to improve the accessibility of our documents. If you find any problems or have any feedback relating to accessibility, please email us.

See section 6 of the ‘About this release’ section for more details.