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It is not all that long ago that to be German in Britain was a burden to be borne stoically against the incoming flak of side-splitting jokes and hilariously funny walks. Germans were at best like their cars — boring and reliable. At worst, well, you know.

What a difference a referendum vote makes. Since the UK voted in June to leave the EU, barely a day passes without someone remarking about “how lucky” I am to have that crimson passport stamped with the golden Bundesadler (federal eagle).

The media, meanwhile, carry reports of British Jews reclaiming their right to a citizenship stripped from their ancestors by the Nazis. And German local authorities have reported sharp increases in citizenship applications from British expatriates; the embassy in London has also seen a spike in inquiries. Everyone, it seems, wants to be German.

This is a world away from my youth when it was not uncommon for Germans to happily exchange their passports for more popular alternatives, or at the very least seek to sublimate national identity in a greater European context. Now surveys put a German passport in pole position, with Sweden, when it comes to visa-free travel around the world.

Enthusiasm for becoming German extends beyond the practicalities of securing a post-Brexit EU identity. In case you hadn’t heard, Berlin is Europe’s coolest city. It is edgy, arty, brimming with history, and — even better for the scarred veterans of the London property market — cheap. The German capital sits at the heart of a bigger overhaul of Brand Deutschland.

The country is a more open and relaxed place, seemingly more at ease with itself, certainly more heterogenous. Angela Merkel, her recent setbacks notwithstanding, is the most respected of world leaders, and the national football team is more stylish than previous offerings and still wins international tournaments (unlike some others).

Throw in a healthy economy and good quality of life and it starts to look like an attractive package. It’s becoming quite a familiar story: the London property has been put up for rent and life on the Kreuz-Koelln borders beckons. Kraut rocks. (I have yet to meet many people extolling the delights of German grammar, but give it time.)

Becoming German, as those who have had to deal with the bureaucracy there know, is not totally straightforward.

As a member of the rootless, cosmopolitan class (I’d say “elite” but I live in Lambeth) now so out of favour with the May administration, I have been guilty of a woefully cavalier attitude to our family’s passport arrangements. Between four of us we can muster passports from three countries.

This was never an issue but Brexit brings with it the prospect of curtailed freedom of movement for some of us, and the newfound status (for one of us) of being a “bargaining chip” in forthcoming negotiations between London and other EU member states. And so evenings are given over to searching for birth certificates and getting acquainted with the finer points of pettifogging rules around properly notarised surnames.

The newfound enthusiasm for Germany comes at a difficult moment for the country itself. The question of national identity is high on the political agenda following the influx of huge numbers of refugees and will be a significant factor in federal elections next year.

Outsiders might look to Germany as an oasis of stability in a union and a wider region that seems increasingly volatile. To many in Germany, things look less rosy. Expectations that the country plays a more central role on the world stage may be understandable given its size and wealth. But for many Germans it is a role they are uncomfortable with, whether for historical reasons or because they do not want be left carrying an unsustainable burden and would rather have a quiet, and prosperous, life.

That may no longer be possible. One of the countless received wisdoms offered up after the Brexit vote is that the UK leaving will make the EU more German as the balance of power shifts with the departure of one its biggest members. How that really plays out remains to be seen. But one thing is already clear: Brexit is actually making more Germans, much to many people’s surprise.