05/27/2008
AFP: Britain is Europe's top asylum destination: figures
Britain is Europe's most popular destination for asylum seekers, official figures out Tuesday showed, as a report found that the term had developed negative connotations among native Britons. Figures from the Office for National Statistics and the Home Office showed that Britain received 7,700 asylum applications (including dependants) this year -- 300 more than France, the second most popular destination in Europe.
Some 164,635 foreign nationals became British, up seven percent on 2006. The number outstripped the previous record of 161,700 set in 2005, when there was a rush to beat new tests on "Britishness" and the ability to speak English. Nationalities with the largest numbers of citizenship applications granted were Indian with 14,490, Filipino (10,840), Afghan (10,555), South African (8,150) and Pakistani (8,140).
For the complete report click from AFP on this link
15:20 Posted in Britain, Economy, EU, immigrants | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this | Tags: Britain, immigrants, EU, Economy