MORE than 32,000 Britons – around the population of Motherwell – have become New Germans in the last four years as the UK prepared to leave the European Union.

New figures show that in 2019 alone 14,600 Brits received their new German EU passports, compared to just 500 in 2015. Britain was not, however, top of last year’s list for German passports – that honour went to Turkey, with 16,200.

A further 6000 applications came from Poland, 5800 from Romania and 4600 from Iraq, followed by Ukraine (4300), Syria (3900), Iran and Kosovo (both 3800).

The National reported in January 2017 how authorities in Frankfurt had started preparing the year before for a potential influx of banking staff from the UK who were due to lose their “passporting” rights – allowing financial services firms to operate in any EU or European Economic Area (EEA) country without being subject to further authorisation from each.

That came after HSBC and Swiss bank UBS announced the transfer of up to 2000 jobs from London. Barclays was also considering routing its activities through Ireland and Germany and US bank Goldman Sachs said it would move up to 1000 staff from London to Frankfurt.

Lloyds of London later confirmed it was establishing a new European subsidiary in Brussels to protect its post-Brexit business interests.

Udo Seiwert-Fauti, who reports European affairs for Scotland and Scottish affairs to German-speaking audiences across Europe, told The National then that Germany was prepared for the influx, which would have far-reaching effects: “It means less taxes, less investment in shops, in supermarkets, less investment into National Insurance, in flats and houses and could mean a hole somewhere in the UK budget.

“These highly paid investment bankers have families, children who also want to be fed and housed. That could mean about 3-4000 people leaving.”

He added yesterday that the new Germans would be allowed to vote for the Bundestag and would have “free movement, to go where and when they please”.