The number of people granted British citizenship reached record levels last year, new figures reveal.
Government data published yesterday shows 164,635 foreign citizens became British last year, up 7% on the previous 12 months.
Separate figures showed the migrant worker population in the north and north-east swelled by more than 16,000 in 2006 and 2007.
The number of foreign citizens registering for national insurance numbers in Aberdeen topped 6,000 during the period.
Elsewhere in the north-east, 1,020 registered in Banff and Buchan, 560 in Moray, 590 in Gordon and 630 in Angus.
Around 3,000 registered in the Highlands and islands, 2,000 in Dundee, 1,500 in the Perth area, and 820 in Argyll and Bute.
Inverness Chamber of Commerce chief executive Casia Zajac said the impact of foreign workers on the north’s economy had been very positive.
“Employers tell me the tourism industry in particular wouldn’t be able to function properly if wasn’t for migrant workers,” she said.
“There is a problem where the jobs aren’t valued as high as they should be.
“Having said that, migrant workers generally make very good employees.”
Aberdeen and Grampian Chamber of Commerce policy manager Kate Yuill said a shortage of skills was the biggest single issue affecting all sectors of business in the north-east.
“With an unemployment rate of only 1% in Aberdeenshire, and 1.3% in the city – much lower than the Scottish average of 2.8% – there is virtually no extra capacity to grow the workforce,” she said.
“Therefore our economy is dependent on attracting and encouraging people to locate in the area in order to grow our workforce.”
The number of new British citizens outstripped the previous record of 161,700 in 2005.
“These figures are extraordinary,” said shadow immigration minister Damian Green.
“Given the Government’s record at granting passports to people like Muktar Ibrahim Said – the July 21 ringleader – the public will be alarmed that passports are being handed out at such a rate.”
Other national figures showed a 16% rise in asylum applications in the first three months of this year, to 6,595, compared with the same period last year. The number of failed asylum seekers deported from January to March was down 13% to 2,805, while the total number of people removed – including foreign criminals – was up 12% to 16,760.
“People in Britain welcome legal migrants who work hard and play by the rules,” Immigration Minister Liam Byrne said.
“We will not tolerate law-breakers, which is why we will prioritise their expulsion from Britain.”