UK-born expats are one of the fastest-growing populations in Spain, with new figures showing a major spike in applications for citizenship. While the number of British nationals fleeing the country has remained relatively stable in recent years, with departures totalling 252,000 in the year to June 2025 and 257,000 in 2024, a growing number appear to be choosing Spain as their new home.
Figures from the country’s National Statistics Institute (INE) show a spike in the number of approved applications over the last decade of 842.86%. While small in absolute terms, marking a rise from seven people in 2014 to 66 in 2024, the trend reflects a wider global demand for residence in Spain, despite a number of hostile protests across the Iberian Peninsula linked to overtourism.
The overall number of foreigners granted citizenship in Spain rose to 9,366 in 2024, according to the Majorca Daily Bulletin, an increase of nearly 300% from 2017, when only 2,349 arrivals were allowed to settle.
Julian Claramunt, political scientist and member of the analyst group Passes Perdudes, said the high proportion of UK expats could be linked to Brexit as well as Spain’s in-demand jobs market, especially on the Balearic archipelago.
“Our economic system demands far more labour than the islands themselves can supply,” he told the Daily Bulletin.
“People come from abroad to fill these jobs and, after years of work, acquire citizenship.”
Anti-tourism sentiment reached its peak across the country in summer 2025, with coordinated protests calling for foreigners to “go home” and blaming second homeowners for driving house prices up.
While the number of Brits permanently settled in hotspots including Majorca appears to still be on the rise, tourist footfall shrunk last year, seemingly in response to the local backlash.
July saw an overall 0.8% drop in visitor numbers to the biggest Balearic island, with the number of British tourists falling by 2.2%.
Regional governments are also taking action to discourage non-locals from scooping up desirable properties and disadvantaging residents, with the centre-right El Pi party campaigning for limitations on home purchases by foreign individuals and companies.
New data also revealed at the end of last year that the total number of Majorcan properties held by non-Spanish citizens had risen to 92,030, accounting for just over 16% of the island’s total housing stock.