Britons Obtaining Belgian Citizenship Up Tenfold Since Referendum - Ministry

BRUSSELS (Sputnik) - Around 2,700 UK nationals have received Belgian citizenship since the Brexit referendum in 2016, which is around 90 Britons every month, while in the six years prior to Brexit this figure stood at only nine per month, the Belgian Interior Ministry said on Wednesday.

According to the ministry, to obtain Belgian citizenship, a UK citizen should provide proof they have lived in Belgium for at least five years and integrated into the receiving society. UK nationals have the right to retain UK citizenship after becoming Belgians.

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In January, Belgian Foreign Minister Didier Reynders assured Britons living and working in Belgium that they would not be affected if the United Kingdom withdrew from the European Union without an agreement. According to the Belgian authorities, about 25,000 UK citizens currently live and work in Belgium.

In May, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker called on the Belgium authorities to grant citizenship to UK employees of EU institutions concerned about their post-Brexit status.

The United Kingdom is scheduled to leave the bloc on March 29 but has yet to secure a withdrawal agreement. The UK parliament rejected May's Brexit deal in January by a record majority of 230. Last week, lawmakers agreed to have another vote on the Brexit terms by mid-March, with an option to delay the exit altogether if both the new deal and a no-deal scenario were rejected.