Don't forget, in the 'citizenship' question, you can tick more than one box (and must do it you have multiple citizenships). I put down NZ, British and European (as a write in). Next census I'll be able to add Irish
I presume you mean the "national identity" question as there's no 'citizenship' question. If someone puts in "European" in the passport question, I would think it'll be rejected as there's no such thing.
You can put in anything for "14, How would you describe your national identity?", even Cornish! The paper form gives you these tick boxes:
British
English
Welsh (edit: to correct my mistake)
Scottish
Northern Irish
Other (write your own answer)
https://census.gov.uk/help/how-to-answer-questions/paper-questions-help/how-would-you-describe-your-national-identityWhy we ask this question
Your answer helps your community by giving your local authority a better understanding of how people in your area identify themselves.
This information can highlight areas of deprivation among different cultural groups in your community. This gives public bodies a clearer picture of the communities they serve.
The census first asked this question in 2011.
It’s up to you how you answer this question. Select all the national identities that apply. You can select more than one.
Your national identity is what you think it is
Your national identity could be the country or countries where you feel you belong or think of as home. It's not dependent on your ethnic group or citizenship.
This question allows you to record an identity that isn't listed, if you want to.
For example, you can:
answer as "British" and/or one of the other UK identities
answer with a British or other identity separately from recording your ethnic group in the next question
Example
Tina was born in Kenya but now lives in England. Her mother is Japanese and her father is English. Tina has spent a great deal of time in Japan and feels a strong connection to the country. Tina describes her identity as British-Japanese.
Tina selects the tick box option that says: "British".
She also selects the tick box option that says "Other" and writes "Japanese".
National identity not listed
If yours isn't listed, select "Other" and write in your national identity in the space provided, such as Cornish, Irish, Polish or Indian. You can give more than one answer if you want to.
You can also use this space to record a community or regional identity.
The idea that answering "European" to "14, How would you describe your national identity?", somehow supports a campaign for the UK to rejoin the EU is dubious. They should be writing "EU" instead.
Europe does not equal the EU, the EU is not Europe. Is there even a "European national identity"? I would suggest "European" more commonly means "white" in relation to people, would a non-white Briton ever describe themselves as "European"? It's more likely they will say they're from Europe or from a "European country" if they didn't want to name a specific country, not that they are "European".