UK citizens residing in Germany opt for dual citizenship amid uncertainty

With the UK's departure from the EU looming and the terms of Brexit still uncertain, some British citizens living in Germany have opted to take on their adopted homeland's nationality, the media reported on Wednesday. At a ceremony held in Berlin, six British citizens were among a larger group of people from other countries who acquired German nationality without renouncing their own, two months before the UK is slated to leave the EU, Efe news reported.

Florence Ford, a violin maker from England who has lived in Germany for 10 years and was one of the Brits who gained dual citizenship on Tuesday, said she was not certain Brexit would actually happen: "It keeps going back and forth." She said it took her over a year to complete the process of applying for citizenship.

As part of the ceremony, those adopting citizenship had to recite a line promising to defend the German Constitution. Fraser Patterson, from Scotland, staying in Germany for six years and working for an international NGO, also took on citizenship.

He acknowledged the uncertainty about whether or not Brexit would happen, but said he began the process of acquiring dual British-German nationality five months ago. Innes Wilson, a Scotsman who has lived in Germany since 2001, had been toying with applying for citizenship for years so he would be able to vote, but the UK's decision to leave the EU was the final straw.

He said he had hoped Scotland would become independent from the UK. At the end of the ceremony, the new German citizens were given bread and salt as a symbolic welcome gesture.

Britain is scheduled to leave the bloc on March 29, after the UK electorate narrowly voted in favour of such a move in a referendum in 2016. A deal brokered between the UK government led by Prime Minister Theresa May and the EU was rejected by members of Parliament earlier in the month.

(With inputs from agencies.)