The number of Britons seeking German citizenship nearly quadrupled last year. The number is expected to rise as Brexit nears.
Image: imago/AFLO/blickwinkel
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The number of Britons receiving German citizenship soared last year as the British voted to leave the European Union, Germany's Federal Statistic Office said on Tuesday.
In all, 2,865 Britons were granted German citizenship in 2016 - a 361 percent increase over the previous year.
"A connection with Brexit is obvious," the statistic office said, noting it was the highest ever recorded number for British citizens.
Many Britons are concerned a hard Brexit will leave them outside the EU's single market and cherished free movement within the bloc.
The number of Britons seeking German citizenship may rise further this year as the process takes time and people calculate the benefits of a German passport before Britain is scheduled to leave the bloc in 2019.
Still, Britons made up a small portion of the 110,383 foreigners who received German citizenship last year, a 2.9 percent increase over the previous year.
At 16,290, Turkish citizens remained the largest group seeking a German passport, although applications dropped by nearly 17 percent. Poles came in second at 6,632, an increase of 11 percent compared to 2015.
Foreigners can apply for German citizenship after eight years of residence. The average naturalized person was 33 years old and had been living in Germany for 17 years.
Brexit will put German village at center of Europe
Post-Brexit, Gadheim's 89 inhabitants will find themselves at the center of the European Union. The German village is so small it doesn't even have a mayor of its own.
Welcome to Gadheim, soon the center of the EU
Its handful of houses are set in the rolling hills of Bavaria's wine country, clustered around a solitary road that winds its way through fields overlooked by a cluster of wind turbines.
Typical Bavarian village
Gadheim's locals are proud to see some attention paid to their home and the vineyards, endless fields and the winding Main River that make it up.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/D. Roland
Gadheim the center of Europe? Must be a hoax
"Most people here first heard the news on the radio," said Jürgen Götz, mayor of nearby Veitshöchheim - Gadheim itself is too small for a mayor of its own. "We thought it was an April Fool's joke at first," Götz said. Here, the mayor spreads out the EU banner together with farmer Karin Kessler, who wasn't aware why her town came to fame overnight.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/D. Karmann
The rapeseed at the heart of the EU
After thinking her neighbor would have to cope with being in the middle of the EU, Karin Kessler's son sent her a message with a map of the exact coordinates and a message they were for a spot in her field of rapeseed. "The fact that it's only happening because of this Brexit is a bit of a shame for me," she said.
Image: picture alliance/dpa/D. Karmann
Another village bemoans the loss, sort of
In Westerngrund, some 60 kilometers (40 miles) northwest of Gadheim, people also rue the British decision - it will cost the small town with a fondness for Apfelwein its status as the center of the EU. It claimed the title when Croatia joined in July 2013. Local pupils checked that around 6,000 people from 93 countries had signed visitors' books kept at the neat lawn laid down to mark the spot.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/N. Armer
Tourists weren't that enthusiastic after all
German and EU flags overlook tranquil hillside fields in what is still the center of the EU. "We thought Chinese buses would be coming there every week. It didn't really turn out that way," said local Westerngrund baker Christoph Biebrich, who crafted ring-shaped loaves with the hole representing the navel of the EU, surrounded by stars.
Image: picture-alliance/ dpa/R. Hettler
Frexit would have shattered Gadheim's dream of being the center of EU
Baker Biebrich's advice for the people of Gadheim? Don't get too attached to their place in the sun. "It will move again. That's just the way it is," the baker said. People in both Westerngrund and Gadheim hope that the next time the center of the EU moves, it will be because of a new member, not another exit.
