America's rich and famous are leading the charge out of the US and flocking to exclusive pockets of Britain in record numbers in a desperate bid to escape life under Donald Trump.

The increasingly 'volatile' political landscape across the pond, most recently fuelled by President Trump's explosive Oval Office spat with Volodymyr Zelensky, is increasingly leading to rich Americans fleeing, experts told MailOnline today. 

This coupled with America's strong dollar against the pound is making UK property investment more attractive to US families, who are particularly making swift exits to London's prime areas such as Notting Hill, Kensington and Hampstead. 

The so-called 'Donald Dash' has been backed up by Home Office figures this week which revealed that applications for UK citizenship soared in the last quarter of 2024, rising 40 per cent year on year.

In fact more than 6,100 US citizens applied last year, the most since records began two decades ago and 26 per cent more than in 2023.

Celebrities including Ellen DeGeneres and her wife Portia de Rossi, designer Tom Ford and Hollywood star couple Ryan Gosling and his wife Eva Mendes are among those who have fled America for the UK.

Other high-profile stars including actress America Ferrera are rumoured to have relocated to the UK. The Ugly Betty star was allegedly spotted checking out schools in west London - after saying she wanted to leave the US when Trump was elected.

One Notting Hill estate agent, who revealed the amount of wealthy American families they are moving in has 'skyrocketed' since Trump, told MailOnline today: 'We moved a Marvel actress into a house very near here in the last week.' 

We can reveal Trump's return to the White House forced one American couple who had sold their Holland Park mansion in hopes of returning to a Kamala Harris-led America to completely U-turn and stay - having to fork out on a brand new property.

Meanwhile, the Trump impact appears to be so severe that a wealthy octogenarian couple from New York even told us they were weighing up the idea of moving to London, motivated by the 'madness' in America.

Another wealthy American brother and sister launched a quick exit from New York to London with an eye-watering budget of £7,000-a-month for a two-bed property in Notting Hill because they 'just wanted out of Trump's America'. 

Leading immigration and property experts have told MailOnline that they have seen a spike in wealthy 'liberal, left-leaning' clients looking to get out of the US amid concerns over an 'unstable' life under Trump.

Lawyer Lynsey Blyth said the figures 'don't come as a surprise', adding: 'With the increasing volatility in the Oval Office and a wealth of UK immigration options on offer, I anticipate that we'll see more and more of this over the next 4 years.' 

Ms Blyth, an immigration partner at national law firm Michelmores LLP, said events including the Oval Office row and the backlash from Europe 'will motivate those that have been considering a move to the UK to get the ball rolling with their applications.'

When MailOnline visited Notting Hill, estate agents, business owners and Americans themselves reported seeing a rise in those making the move from the US to London.

Steven Pattin, a lettings negotiator for Marsh & Parsons in Notting Hill, said: 'Especially after Trump, we have seen lots of family coming from the States, buying or renting. It's skyrocketing. 

'It's definitely gone up by 30 to 40 per cent. It's about 60 inquiries per week that are American.

'It is mainly since the [election] in November when all the Americans came across, buying and renting mews houses.'

Mr Pattin revealed how one couple based in Notting Hill's Holland Park agreed to sell their house because they thought Kamala Harris was going to be elected. 

When she lost out to Trump, the couple decided to stay in Holland Park but had to buy a new house because they had already agreed the sale.

Speaking about the wealthy clients he is dealing with day-to-day, Mr Pattin told MailOnline: 'This is a very affluent area. A brother and sister I spoke to this morning living in New York have a big budget of £7,000 per month just for a two-bed. 

'They have lived in New York for nearly 10 years and they just want out of America.'

Mr Pattin said he is mainly dealing with American families who are renting but added that there are celebrities they are moving in, including a Marvel actress, who he did not name, just last week. 

He added: 'I have noticed in the last year, I'm dealing with 10 to 15 Americans a week, whereas usually it is one or two. I'm working with 70 people actively now, at least 50 of them are American.'

Mr Pattin said the most popular areas for Americans are Notting Hill, Holland Park, Kensington and Hampstead - all of which are wealthy parts of the capital.

American Susan Springer, who has lived in the stunning Holland Park Mews for more than 40 years, is renting out further properties in the same area and believes they will be snapped up by those fleeing the US.

Her properties are a stone's throw away from celebrities who have mansions in the area including the Beckhams. 

She told MailOnline: 'I'm doing up a couple of flats to rent out and I've no doubt that I'll probably get American clients who might want to rent before buying anything. 

'With the parks here and easy access to getting out of London, you can see why.'

Ms Springer, who left the US for London in 1980 in response to Republican Ronald Reagan being elected, said the political landscape in America was 'definitely' a factor for the influx of Americans here and is something that will 'only get worse'.

She added: 'I was a Democrat in America and there was no way I would've voted for Trump. My poor brother still lives there and they're just beside themselves. My friends wish they could leave but one can't just change country easily.'

Ms Springer, who is about to put two Holland Park flats on the market, said Americans are 'embarrassed to be associated' with Trump and are 'ashamed that their president is like this'.

Fears over living in Trump's America have even led to octogenarians contemplating moving to the UK.

Steven Hyman, an 84-year-old partner at New York law firm McLaughlin & Stern, recently found out he was entitled to a British passport through his father, leading to him and his wife Mimi, 83, flirting with the idea of leaving America.

Mr Hyman, whose father is from Glasgow and his grandparents from Eastern Europe, told MailOnline: 'The recent activities that have taken place with President Trump have motivated me to at least get a British passport.

'It's the thought of having an alternative to what's going on in a country where we are turning on our allies and becoming something that I can't imagine would ever happen in the United States. I'm not moving tomorrow, but the possibility always exists.

'What's happening here is almost indescribable to what this country has stood for and what I have believed in, so I guess having a backup plan is not a bad idea.

'Political parties and differences are understandable, and we live through them, and all is fine. But what's going on now is a form of madness. I can't explain it and other people feel the same way.'

Speaking about the recent Trump and Zelensky row, Mr Hyman, who has lived in New York all of his life, said: 'That was horrific that we would treat someone who is in the middle of a war trying to save his country from invasion, and to treat him in that manner, is just, despicable.'

Another American, 30-year-old Kristin Mujury, who was on holiday in Notting Hill from New York, said: 'I think there's a disillusion with the US for Americans right now under Trump. 

'Things seem better in other places and feel more in line with people's values. People are curious about moving outside of the US. 

'People think it will be an easier transition moving away from the US and escaping what feels to be very toxic in the country right now.'

Opposite the exclusive Holland Park Road is The Mitre Pub, where the bar supervisor revealed they have seen an increase in American regulars who are not afraid to splash the cash.

Aidan, 23, who is from Australia, told MailOnline that although the majority of regulars are English, 'There's definitely there's been at least three or four [Americans] that have started to come in more regularly.'

He said that a couple 'live just round the corner and have moved in recently'.

On the type of American customers he is seeing, Aidan said: 'A lot of the customers we get are from New York and other wealthy areas.

'A lot of people say, 'Ah, can we get this drink!' and I say, 'We don't make that so we're probably going have to charge you a bit differently, it's quite expensive', but they say 'It doesn't matter'. They just don't even think about it.'

Aidan, who works in Holland Park but lives in Hampstead, says that he also notices huge amounts of Americans in the posh north-west London suburb.

'Everyone is American at the pubs there, it's mental. It's super bizarre. I've noticed it more there because I spend more time there,' he said.

Erin Lytwyn, 36, from Connecticut, who works in cloud sales for Google, previously revealed that she and her husband, Daniel, 34, were planning to leave London and move back to the US after welcoming their daughter, Charlotte.

Instead, they changed their minds and bought a house in Camden, north-west London. 

Ms Lytwyn told The Standard in January: 'We were approved in the US to buy a house and get a mortgage. Trump started making several scary moves, like the people he's appointed, and it made us think about what was important for us.

'Trump is saying he's going to deport millions of people on his first day in office — it's hard living in a country where people have lived for 30 years and might be removed.'

Mrs Lytwyn accepted that while immigration is still a major issue in the UK, 'there's not the same level of racism' as in the US. She added: 'All the Americans I know here feel grateful we're here already; we feel like we don't have to get up and move.'

Another American couple, Ellie and Michael Coverdale, are hoping to move to London this spring from their current home in Seattle, and are looking at Richmond, Hampstead or Greenwich.

Mrs Coverdale, 42, told The Standard: 'Trump's presidency only made me more wary of where the US is going and whether it's my way or not. Political language feels so divided and radical that it is increasingly difficult to imagine a future there.'

Several immigration lawyers backed up that they have seen a major spike in wealthy US citizens flocking to the UK, especially to areas such as west London, since Trump was re-elected in November.

Raman Kaushal, an immigration and human rights solicitor, said: 'There is no doubt about it, USA nationals coming to the UK are currently at record level numbers.

'I would say this is partly due to economics as the dollar is currently performing well against the pound and there is value there but also our high end properties in affluent areas of London such as Bayswater and Chelsea are at their lowest prices for decades. 

'However, the elephant in the room is Trump. The return of the Don is without a doubt the biggest contributing factor in wealthy and influential people heading to the UK. The tax breaks Trump would allow the wealthy classes should mean they're better off in the USA, however, despite that they're heading to the UK in their droves. 

'Tom Ford and Ellen moved here recently in affluent areas such as Chelsea and Cotswolds, and I classify them as self - imposed refugees with strong links to the LGBTQ+ communities and they feel marginalised and at risk in their own country. 

'They are without a doubt political refugees but because of their wealth they can come by legal means and the UK needs them right now as our wealthy citizens are leaving in droves.'

David Lesperance, a leading tax and immigration adviser to the ultra-wealthy, said many of his new US clients 'don't want to live in a wildfire zone in MAGA America'.

'There's a group who think they are in the crosshairs. They think they are on a list. And then are those who just turned off the news because they can't stand watching the latest abomination and are saying 'I just don't want to be here.'

'They are saying "When I get up in the morning and I drop my kids off at school, I don't want to worry is today the day the mass shooter comes".

Mr Lesperance highlighted how his clients are reacting to everyday Trump actions, including the executive orders against trans people.

He revealed: 'I got retained by seven families with trans children in nine days within the last month.'

Mr Lesperance added: 'Maybe 15 to 20 per cent of our clients are same sex couples... the people who call me are people who are targets.'

John Kiely, head of immigration at Howard Kennedy, also revealed a huge uptake in wealthy US clients since the November election.

He told MailOnline: 'The last week or two we've again seen a spike and that's led to more clients on boarding.

Mr Kiely said his clients are tending to be 'left leaning liberals' and those in the tech sector. 

He also revealed: 'This isn't usually the profile client that I have necessarily but I've seen a lot of same-sex couples who really feel nervous about what life is going to be like for them and and their rights living under a Trump administration and they seem to be nervous.'

Mr Kiely said incidents like the Oval Office fight is only going to fuel Americans' desire to leave due to the unpredictability in the country.

'I don't think the Trump Administration are planning two weeks in advance, so who knows what will happen?'

The UK's abolition of non-dom tax status had also already encouraged some wealthy Americans living in Britain to seek citizenship before they left.

Roger Gherson, a partner at Gherson Solicitors, said: 'In the run-up to the US elections – and subsequently – we have seen a huge uptick in the number of inquiries from US nationals keen to make the move across the pond. 

'It is quite clear that those who disagree with changes in US Government policy are looking for other options. 

'Whether they will be welcomed in the UK by Sir Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves, who have gone out of their way to rid the country of those immigrants who can more than pay their own way and who have created wealth and employment, remains to be seen. 

'That said, the recent non-dom tax changes are less biting on our American clients because of their liability to worldwide taxation in any event.'

Home Office data shows applications by Americans have risen steadily since the end of 2022. They surged in the last quarter of 2024 in particular, rising 40 per cent year on year to about 1,700.

Overall, applications for UK citizenships were up 6 per cent last year to 251,000, another record.

Eligibility for UK citizenship entails having lived in the UK for five years or having parents with British citizenship. Anyone who is married to a Brit and has lived in the UK for three years can also apply.

Miles Dean, head of international tax at Andersen LLP, told MailOnline: 'I have personally spoken with a number of business owners, retirees and directors of listed companies, all of whom are considering relocation because of what they perceive to be a politically volatile US.

'The recent Zelensky saga has only furthered this feeling of discontent among the wealthy, as despite Trump's attempts to reduce the taxation of large businesses, the overall sentiment of those I have spoken to is that the country is not in a stable position.'

DeGeneres notoriously stormed out of Hollywood last year incensed by the election of Donald Trump and moved to England for a fresh start in the Cotswolds.

US media reported Ellen and wife Portia, who donated money to Kamala Harris's doomed election campaign, decided to 'get the hell out' of the US after Donald Trump's victory, apparently vowing to never return.

Elsewhere, Trump's election victory cemented Ugly Betty star Ferrera's decision to flee the US in search of the 'best opportunities' for her children in the UK.

'America is sick that Donald Trump is President again,' an insider told DailyMail.com exclusively last November. 'She is devastated that Kamala lost. She thought the country she lived in was better than that.'

Others have quit for the benefit of their children, including Ryan Gosling and Eva Mendes, while others including British Game of Thrones star Sophie Turner has hinted at 'getting the f*** out of America due to gun violence and the overturning of Roe v Wade. 

American actress Elizabeth Olsen, who lived in Richmond, south-west London, with her rock star husband Robbie Arnett during Covid, said in November that she thinks she is 'supposed to live in England'.

She told The Standard: 'I don't think I'm supposed to live in the United States. London feels like a place you can work very hard and diligently, and you can stop, and you can be in parks and nature.'

She added: 'I know every country has its faults, but anytime you leave the United States, your nervous system shifts. You're not consciously preparing for a random act of violence to occur.' 

British actress Minnie Driver said last July that she had returned to the UK after 27 years of living in Los Angeles, and would not return to a Republican state if Trump was re-elected – although she would be 'somewhat insulated' in California.

Sacha Wooldridge, partner and head of Immigration at law firm Birketts, said: 'The UK and London in particular has long been favoured by celebrities and the world's internationally wealthy.'

Mr Wooldridge said US clients often move to destinations such as South Hampstead and Notting Hill due to its close proximity to well-respected American schools and other leading private schools. 

Musician Liam Jessup, who is Canadian but lives in LA, told MailOnline: 'I think Trump winning was disastrous for the entire world.

'I think that if i didn't work in the industry that i worked in, I would debate moving here but that's more just because I love it here, and I would honestly never live in America regardless. There's nothing that does it for me there other than work.'

Laura, an American student from New York whose partner Ben grew up in Notting Hill, said that many fantasise about leaving for the UK but aren't always able to.

She explained: 'I think people, especially on the left, say it especially in jest when they're like 'everything is bleak right now and what's happening sucks', but i think there's some real realities for people who don't have the option to leave. 

'There's real implications on real people's lives so when you talk about people moving to London and to the UK, I think you're talking about a very specific sect of socio-economic class in America. 

'I think for your average American, it's not something on their radar.'

Laura, who is a student in Barcelona currently, said: 'I'm aware that it's a very tough climate in the US right now, and not being part of that, it does save me peace of mind. I just find myself really worrying about the US all the time.' 

Her partner Ben added: 'The people worse off from Trump, they don't have the option to leave the country.'

Discontent with Trump has amplified in the week among his detractors after he was accused of deliberately escalating an angry clash with President Zelensky.

The President told off Zelensky in their Oval Office meeting last Friday, telling him to be more 'thankful' for US support against the invading Russian army in the three-year-old war and demanding he 'make a deal' with Moscow.

On Monday, the US suspended intelligence sharing with Ukraine and military aid.

A day later, Zelensky insisted he is ready to work under Trump's 'strong leadership' and said he wanted to 'make things right' after their 'regrettable' White House clash.