Following the 2016 UK referendum on leaving the EU, which resulted in a vote to leave the European Union, there was a large increase in applications by British citizens (particularly from Northern Ireland) for Irish passports, so that they can retain their rights as EU citizens after the UK's withdrawal from the EU. There were 25,207 applications for Irish passports from Britons in the 12 months before the referendum, and 64,400 in the 12 months after. Applications to other EU countries also increased by a large percentage, but were numerically much smaller.