There was a dramatic fall in the number of Turkish passport holders applying for British citizenship in 2014, figures have revealed.
Home Office data obtained by Londra Gazete revealed 4,115 Turkish nationals applied to become British citizens in 2013, but that the figure plunged by two-thirds to 1,370 the following year.
There was also a fall, albeit a smaller one, in the number of people applying to settle in the UK by receiving “permanent leave to remain” status.
2,620 people applied in 2013, but this number fell to 1,995 in 2014.
The Home Office figures, which were obtained by Londra Gazete under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, were rounded to the nearest five.
They showed the vast majority of Turkish applications for settlement or citizenship were granted. The proportion of rejected applications, meanwhile, appeared to be gradually creeping downwards: 16.1% of applications to the Home Office were turned down in 2009, whereas the number of refusals five years later in 2014 was 10.7%.
Londra Gazete also asked the Home Office for the number of citizens from the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus who had applied to settle in the UK or become a British citizen.
The figures reveal the largest number of Turkish Cypriot applications was in 2005, with 375 citizenship applications, but that this had dropped sharply the following year to 65. By 2014, just 10 applications were made for citizenship, the Home Office said.
There was a similar trend in Turkish Cypriot applications for permanent leave to remain in the UK. 300 applications were recorded for 2005, which fell to 105 in 2006. By 2014, the number of applications for Turkish Cypriot citizens to permanently settle in Britain was just 15.
