Market guide
The UK market is driven by one thing above all: the loss of automatic rights of residence and study across the European Union, and what can lawfully replace them.
British nationals lost free movement in Europe and now face the same third-country rules as any other visitor, including limits on days spent in the Schengen area. For families with property, businesses or children studying in Europe, that is a practical constraint rather than an abstract one.
The available answers are a European residence permit, a European citizenship where an ancestral claim exists, or a citizenship program that improves flexibility without a European right of residence. They are not equivalent, and the choice depends on whether you need to be there or merely to move freely.
Reviewed 2026-08-06 by the Savory & Partners advisory desk. General information, not legal or tax advice.
A substantial share of UK enquiries have an Irish, Italian, Polish, German or other European grandparent. Where a descent claim exists it is by far the cheapest route to an EU citizenship, and it restores full free movement. It is administratively slow and requires original civil records, but there is no investment threshold.
We check this first as a matter of course.
A residence permit in an EU state gives the right to live in that state. It does not by itself grant the right to live and work across the union, although it does change how time spent in the issuing country is counted. If the objective is a family home in one country, a permit works. If the objective is unrestricted movement across Europe, only citizenship delivers it.
UK files are generally straightforward: HMRC filings, bank and investment statements, company records at Companies House, and property records. The friction points are proceeds from property sales without a completion statement, and directors drawing income through structures that do not appear in personal filings.
Commonly considered
A starting point based on what applicants from this market typically need, not a recommendation.
Questions
Next step
You receive a written shortlist with our professional fee separated from every government and third-party charge.
English