The UK daily reported on Tuesday that the fee hike by the Home Office in April came in response to a wave of Britons living abroad who have renounced their nationality.

Liberal Democrat MEP Catherine Bearder was quoted as saying that the measure was the “Conservative Brexit government… giving Brits in the EU the last kick out the door.” She further suggested the Home Office was “cashing in on Brexit”.

Dual nationality is not permitted in some countries, such as the Netherlands and Austria, forcing some desperate Britons to renounce their British nationality entirely to remain where they live.

The fee per person rose from £321 to £372. The department responsible told The Independent that the increase reflects the cost of handling applications.

The number of UK nationals who acquired citizenship from an EU member state more than doubled in 2016, the year of the referendum, from 2,478 to 6,555, according to Eurostat. A total of 3,315 people acquired Luxembourg nationality that same year. It is not known what proportion were British nationals, however, it is possible to hold dual nationality as a Luxembourg citizen.

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