The Federal Statistics Office (FSO) on Tuesday said that the number of Britons seeking German citizenship increased by 361 per cent in 2016.
The office said that many were concerned that the vote will make it more difficult for them to live and work in the European Union in future.
“In total, that 2,865 Britons took German citizenship in 2016. The rise is likely to be far greater this year as it takes several months to obtain a German passport. The link to Brexit seems clear,” the office said.
Some Britons may be concerned that Britain will make a hard Brexit, leaving it outside the single market and with limited freedom of movement in the bloc.
Britain is due to leave the European Union in 2019.
Although the last week’s election disaster for Theresa May, who remains Prime Minister but without an overall majority in parliament, has raised questions over what kind of a Brexit deal will be agreed.
The Office said a total of 110,400 foreigners took up German citizenship last year, a 2.9 per cent increase from the previous year, with the biggest rate of rise among Britons.
The largest group of people taking up German citizenship came from Turkey although the total of 16,290 was down 17.3 per cent from 2016.
Some 6,632 Poles became Germans in 2016, an increase of 11.3 per cent.
