Applying for British Citizenship

IN THIS SECTION

British citizenship can be acquired automatically, by registration or through the process of naturalisation.

If you have lived in the UK for more than five years with settled status, you may be eligible to apply for British citizenship by making a naturalisation application.

Naturalisation is a costly process and you will lose your fee if your application is refused. There is also no right of appeal. With so much at stake, it will be important to get your application right first time.

 

Applying for British citizenship

Unless you are British by descent, you must apply to the UK Home Office be granted British citizenship. The application process will require you to show you meet the eligibility requirements. These will be determined by whether you are applying on the basis of residence, through marriage, birth or descent.

To be eligible to naturalise as a British citizen, you must be over 18 years of age and have held valid status in the UK under either indefinite leave to remain, permanent residence or EU settled status for at least 12 months. If you are married to a British citizen, you can apply as soon as you are granted settled status and will not need to wait 12 months to apply.

 

British citizenship by naturalisation

You are eligible to apply to naturalise as a British citizen on the basis of residence if you satisfy the following criteria:

  • Age You must be 18 years old or over.
  • Residency You have spent 3 continuous years in the UK prior to your application date (the ‘qualifying period’). Your total number of absences from the UK over the qualifying period does not exceed 270 days. Your total number of absences from the UK during the 12 months prior to application does not exceed 90 days
  • Immigration status You have held for at least 12 months Indefinite Leave to Remain in the UK, or as an EEA national have permanent residence in the UK or have been granted EU settled status.
  • Good character You meet the good character requirements and not have a serious or recent criminal record.
  • Knowledge of language and life in the UK You must satisfy the English language requirements and pass the Life in the UK test.
  • Compliance with immigration rules You have been compliant with UK immigration rules throughout the qualifying period.
  • Intent to reside You intend to remain in the UK.

 

Good character requirement

The good character requirement is a complex area and a common ground for British citizenship application refusal.

Applicants over the age of 10 applying to naturalise or register as a British citizen will have to satisfy the good character requirement. This includes proving you do not have a recent criminal record and you have not tried to deceive the Home Office or breached the UK immigration rules in the 10 years preceding your application.

Previous offences and convictions are likely to affect your British citizenship application, although this does depend on a number of factors, including the type of conviction or offence. You will be required to submit details in your application of cautions, warnings, drink driving offences, fixed penalty notices and road traffic offences, civil judgments, civil penalties for illegal working and if you have been declared bankrupt at any time, details of the bankruptcy proceedings.

While full disclosure is mandatory, not all convictions may be taken into account when your application is being processed, for example where the conviction is considered ‘spent’. This could affect the timing of your application.

 

Life in the UK Test & English language 

To qualify for UK nationality, you will need to demonstrate your knowledge of the English language and ‘life in the UK’ are to the required standard.

The language requirement can only be met with a degree taught or researched in English or by passing a Home Office approved Secure English Language Testing (SELT).

Certain exemptions to the language requirement apply, including nationals from Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Canada, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, New Zealand, Ireland (for citizenship only), St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago and the USA.

You must also pass the Life in the UK test, a computer-based, multiple choice test with questions on British life, traditions, politics and customs.

Only once you have passed can you proceed with your application for British citizenship.

If you have already passed the Life in the UK test as part of your application for indefinite leave to remain, you will not need to take the test again for your citizenship application.

 

British citizenship application form 

To apply for British citizenship as an adult, you will need to complete Form AN.

It is important to complete Form AN correctly and to submit all the required supporting documentation. Also ensure that your referees meet the criteria.

Incorrect or incomplete applications will be rejected, without refund of the application fee.

You will be required to make an appointment to attend a UKVCAS centre to submit your supporting documents, fingerprints and photograph.

Your British citizenship application will be reviewed and checked by UKVI to verify your visa status, tax status and any immigration, criminal or even civil legal issues.

If you are granted citizenship, you will receive an invitation to attend a citizenship ceremony to receive your certificate of naturalisation.

 

Supporting documents for a UK citizenship application 

The Home Office is clear that it will not process UK nationality applications that are without the required supporting documents. In many cases, it may also be advisable to supply additional documents to ensure comprehensive evidence is provided for consideration.

As a minimum, supporting documents will need to include identification, evidence that you meet the standards for knowledge of Life in the UK and English language, proof of your UK residence, evidence that you currently hold valid settled status in the UK, and documents confirming your nationality, marriage and earnings if you are not paid through PAYE.

 

How long does a British citizenship application take? 

Applications for British citizenship can take up to 6 months. In some cases it may take longer if there are issues with your documentation or application form. This makes it critical to ensure your submission is fully complete and accurate.

 

How much does British citizenship cost?

 

UK nationality applications

Application category

Fee from April 2022

Naturalisation £1,250
Naturalisation British overseas territory citizens £1,000
Nationality registration as a British citizen – adult £1,206
Nationality registration as a British citizen – child £1,012
The arrangement of a citizenship ceremony (including the administration of a citizenship oath and pledge at the ceremony) £80
The administration of a citizenship oath, or oath and pledge where the oath, or oath and pledge, are not administered at a citizenship ceremony or by a justice of the peace £5
Nationality registration – British overseas territory citizen, British overseas citizens, British Subjects, British protected persons – adult £901
Nationality registration – British overseas territory citizen, British overseas citizens, British Subjects, British protected persons – child £810
Renunciation of nationality £372
Certificate of Entitlement Nationality Right of Abode (In the UK) £372
Nationality review £372
Status Letter (Nationality) £250
Non-acquisition Letter (Nationality) £250
Nationality correction to certificate £250
Nationality – supply of a certified copy of a notice, certificate, order or declaration £250

 

Additional costs may also be payable.

 

British citizenship by marriage

If you are married to a British citizen, you will need to show:

  • Age You are over 18 years of age.
  • Residency You have not been outside of the UK for more than 90 days in the past 12 months or 270 days in the past three years or your spouse/civil partner is in the Crown or a designated service outside of the UK.
  • Immigration status You have been granted Indefinite Leave to Remain in the UK, or as an EEA national have permanent residence in the UK or have been granted EU settled status.
  • Good character You meet the good character requirements and not have a serious or recent criminal record.
  • Knowledge of language and life in the UK You have passed the British citizenship ‘Life in the UK’ testand satisfy the English language requirement.
  • Compliance with immigration rules You have been compliant with UK immigration rules throughout the qualifying period.
  • Intent to reside You intend to remain in the UK with your spouse or civil partner.

 

EU nationals applying for British citizenship

EEA nationals may be eligible to become a British citizen once they have been living in the UK for a period of five years or more.

As an EEA national, you can apply for British citizenship after 12 months with full EU settled status, whereby you will be required to provide evidence that you meet the residency requirements.

 

British citizenship & dual nationality

Dual nationality is permitted in the UK, which means you can hold British citizenship and citizenship of another country at the same time, provided your original country of nationality allows this.

It is not a requirement under UK law to have to renounce your existing nationality in order to be eligible for British citizenship. Likewise, UK nationals can apply for foreign citizenship and retain their British citizenship.

You will need to check the rules on dual nationality for your country of existing nationality by contacting its UK embassy, as you may required to notify of your change in nationality status and in some cases, you may have to relinquish your original citizenship if proceeding to naturalise as a British citizen.

 

Types of British nationality

Under UK rules, there are six different types of British nationality:

  • British citizenship
  • British overseas territories citizen
  • British overseas citizen
  • British subject
  • British national overseas
  • British protected person

 

Qualification and eligibility vary between the different categories, as do the requirements on whether individuals need to register or apply for their status.

Depending on where and when you were born, as well as your parents’ immigration status at the time of your birth, you may be able to apply to register as British.

Where a child is born overseas to a parent who is a British citizen otherwise than by descent, that child will automatically acquire British citizenship.

If born in the UK, an individual might be automatically classed as a British citizen where they meet the requirements. For example, an individual will automatically qualify as a British citizen where they were born in the UK on or after 1 January 1983 and at the time of their birth, one of their parents was a British citizen or ‘settled’ in the UK.

Individuals born in the UK to parents who were neither British citizens nor settled in the UK will not have acquired British citizenship by birth.

Under UK nationality rules, British citizens are classed as either having British citizenship by descent or British citizenship otherwise than by descent.

Citizens otherwise than by descent can normally pass on British citizenship through one generation to children born abroad, although the child will be unable to pass on their citizenship to subsequent generations overseas.

With British citizenship by descent, however, you cannot normally pass citizenship to children born outside of the UK, unless they were born to a parent in Crown, designated or EU service.

Even where you have not automatically acquired British citizenship, you might still be able to apply to register as a British citizen, for example, where you have another type of British nationality, or apply to become a British citizen through the process of naturalisation.

 

British citizenship by birth

Under British law, not all children born in the UK are automatically recognised as British citizens.

A child will automatically qualify as a British citizen where they were born in the UK on or after 1 January 1983 and at the time of their birth one of their parents was a British citizen or ‘settled’ in the UK.

If the child was born in the UK to parents who were neither British citizens nor settled in the UK, the child will not have acquired British citizenship by birth.

 

British citizenship by descent

Under British citizenship by descent rules, individuals born outside the UK may become UK citizens where one or both of their parents, or in some cases grandparents, are British citizens.

With British citizenship by descent, however, you cannot normally pass citizenship to children born outside of the UK, unless they were born to a parent in Crown, designated or EU service.

You can be a British citizen otherwise than by descent where you were born or adopted in the UK before 1 January 1983; born in the UK on or after 1 January 1983 to a mother or, if your parents were married, a father, who was a British citizen or settled in the UK; born in the UK on or after 1 July 2006 where either parent is a British citizen or settled in the UK; or where you have been given citizenship after applying for it in your own right, for example, by being naturalised or registered as a British citizen.

 

British citizenship by registration

In the event that you were born in the UK before 1 January 1983, typically you will be automatically classed as a British citizen and will not need to apply to register your citizenship. You can apply for a British passport as proof of your nationality.

Where you were born in the UK on or after 1 January 1983, and one of your parents was a British citizen or settled in the UK, you should automatically attain citizenship and can apply for a passport.

You may however need to register as British if you were born on or after 1 January 1983 and either you are under 18 and since your birth one of your parents became a British citizen, or got permission to stay in the UK permanently, or you lived in the UK until you were 10 years old or older.

 

Registration for under 18s

To apply under this route, you must be under 18 years old when you submit your application. Once a child reaches the age of 18 they must apply for British citizenship as adults, either by registration if they have an entitlement, or by naturalisation.If you were born on or after 1 January 1983 and one of your parents considered the UK as their home, you may be able to register your citizenship where any of the following applied to one of your parents after your birth:

  • They became a British citizen
  • They were granted indefinite leave to remain in the UK
  • They were granted settled status, also known as indefinite leave to remain under the EU Settlement Scheme
  • They were granted indefinite leave to enter the UK

 

Registration if you lived in the UK until you were 10 

If you were born on or after 1 January 1983 and you lived in the UK until you were aged 10 or older, you can again register to become a British citizen if you satisfy the following criteria:

  • You were born in the UK on or after 1 January 1983
  • You are 10 years of age or over
  • You have spent no more than 90 days outside the UK in each of the first 10 years of your life, although in special circumstances the Home Secretary may make an exception to this requirement
  • You are of good character

 

If you were born in the UK on or after 1 January 1983 and at the time you were born one of your parents was a British citizen or settled in the UK, you may automatically be treated as a British citizen and, therefore, will not need to apply to register for British citizenship.

Settled means living in the UK without any time restrictions. This includes people who have indefinite leave to remain, settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme, permanent residence status or a right of abode.

In these circumstances, rather than applying to register for British citizenship, you can instead apply for a UK passport, or even a letter confirming your status.

 

How to register a child for British citizenship

To register your child for British citizenship, you will need to complete Form MN1 and provide evidence they meet the relevant eligibility requirements either through birth or adoption.

A parent can apply for British citizenship under Form AN at the same time as submitting their child’s form MN1.

Parents should be aware of the possibility that the child may be considered eligible for registration, but that their own application may be refused. Section 7 of Form MN1 invites the parent to confirm that, in this event, the child should still be registered as a British citizen.

If the relevant box is not ticked, the child’s application will be treated as having been withdrawn at the point when the parent’s application is refused. The child’s application fee will not be refunded.

Once an individual reaches the age of 18, they apply for British citizenship as an adult, either by registration if they have an entitlement, or by naturalisation using Form AN rather than form MN1.

 

What is a British overseas territories citizen?

Whether or not you are a British overseas territories citizen, previously referred to as British dependent territories citizenship, will depend on the date you were born. If you were born before 1 January 1983, you would have become a British overseas territories citizen on that date (when the British Nationality Act 1981 came into force), where you were a citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies (CUKC) on 31 December 1982, and you had connections with a British overseas territory because you, your parents or your grandparents were born, registered or naturalised in that British overseas territory.

If you are a woman who was married to a man who became a British overseas territories citizen on 1 January 1983, you too will have become a British overseas territories citizen on that date.

If, on the other hand, you were born after 1 January 1983, you will be classed as a British overseas territories citizen where you were born in a British overseas territory, and at the time you were born one of your parents was a British overseas territories citizen or legally settled in a British overseas territory.

Finally, if you were adopted in an overseas territory by a British overseas territories citizen you will also be classed as a British overseas territories citizen, or if you were born outside the overseas territory to a parent who gained British overseas territories citizenship in their own right.

As a British overseas territories citizen, you are entitled to hold a British passport. However, unless you are also classed as a British citizen, you will still be subject to immigration controls.

As of 21 May 2002, when the British Overseas Territories Act 2002 came into force, British citizenship will have been automatically conferred on you if your British overseas territories citizenship was gained by connection with a qualifying territory. The qualifying territories are as follows:

 

British overseas territories citizenship: 

  • Anguilla
  • Bermuda
  • British Antarctic Territory
  • British Indian Ocean Territory
  • The British Virgin Islands
  • Cayman Islands
  • Falkland Islands
  • Gibraltar
  • Montserrat
  • Pitcairn Islands
  • Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha
  • South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
  • Turks and Caicos Islands

Where you have not automatically acquired British citizenship, you may still be eligible to register as a British citizen where you became a British overseas territories citizen after 21 May 2002 and meet certain conditions.

 

Who qualifies as a British overseas citizen?

You will have become a British overseas citizen on 1 January 1983 if you were a citizen of a CUKC, ie; citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies, on 31 December 1982, and you did not become either a British citizen or a British overseas territories citizen on 1 January 1983.

As with a British overseas territories citizen, as a British overseas citizen you are entitled to hold a British passport but will still be subject to immigration controls, i.e. you will not have the automatic right to live and work in the UK.

Again, however, you may be eligible to register as a British citizen where you meet certain conditions.

 

Who is classed as a British subject?

You will have become a British subject on 1 January 1983 if you were either a British subject on 31 December 1948 who did not become a citizen of the UK and Colonies, a Commonwealth country, Pakistan or Ireland, in other words a British subject without citizenship, or a person who had been a citizen of Ireland on 31 December 1948 and had made a claim to remain a British subject.

If you are a woman who registered as a British subject on the basis of your marriage to a man in one of the categories above, you will have become a British subject on 1 January 1983.

As with a British overseas territories citizen and a British overseas citizen, as a British subject you are entitled to hold a British passport but will not have the automatic right to live and work in the UK.

Again, however, as with the other types of British nationality, you may be eligible to register as a British citizen where you meet certain conditions.

 

What is a British national overseas?

Any British overseas territories citizens from Hong Kong who hadn’t registered as British nationals overseas, and held no other nationality or citizenship on 30 June 1997, automatically became British overseas citizens on 1 July 1997.

You will have been eligible to register as a British national overseas prior to 1 July 1997 if you were a British overseas territories citizen by connection with Hong Kong.

As with other types of British nationality, you can hold a British passport but will need to register as a British citizen to acquire the right to live and work in the UK free from immigration restrictions.

 

What is a British protected person?

You will have become a British protected person on 1 January 1983 if you were a citizen or national of Brunei, already a British protected person or the child of a British protected person and would otherwise have been born stateless in the UK or an overseas territory.

However, you may have lost your British protected person status in circumstances where the territory you were connected with became independent and you became a citizen of that country, or you otherwise gained any other nationality or citizenship.

Again, as with all other types of British nationality, you can hold a British passport but will need to register as a British citizen to acquire any additional rights.

 

How do you register British nationality?

If you are a British overseas citizen, a British protected person, a British subject or a British national overseas you can apply to register as a British citizen using online Form B(OS).

However, for your application to succeed you will need to satisfy a number of requirements under British nationality law.

In addition, since 4 July 2002, or 19 March 2009 if you’re a British national overseas, you must also not have renounced any citizenship or nationality, voluntarily given up any citizenship or nationality, or lost any citizenship or nationality through action or inaction.

You will need to submit documentary evidence of your British nationality, as well as evidence of no other citizenship or nationality, for example, from the country where you were born.

You will also need to enrol your biometric information, ie; a digital photograph of your face and a scan of your fingerprints, at an additional cost of £19.20.

In the event that your application is successful, and you are living in the UK and aged 18 or over, you will be invited to attend a citizenship ceremony to swear an oath of allegiance to the Crown and to pledge your loyalty to the UK. You will then be presented with your certificate of registration as a British citizen.

Use form B(OTA) to register as a British Citizen if you live in the Channel Islands, Isle of Man, a British Overseas Territory or if you live elsewhere and want to apply by post and are a British overseas territories citizen, British Overseas citizen, British protected person, British subject or British National (Overseas), where you are a British Overseas Territories citizen, a British Overseas citizen, a British protected person, a British subject (under the 1981 Act) or o a British National (Overseas), and you are of good character, and you meet the 5-year residence requirements (having spent no more than 450 days abroad during that time, and no more than 90 days abroad in the last 12 months) OR you have worked as a Crown servant at any time, for example, in the armed forces or overseas civil service OR you meet the alternative requirements for British Overseas Territories citizens.

In either case, or when using Form B(OTA), as with an application using Form B(OS), you will need to attend a citizenship ceremony if your application is successful and you are aged 18 or over.

 

Need assistance? 

DavidsonMorris are UK immigration specialists. We support individuals with all types of UK citizenship and nationality applications, including guidance on applications to naturalise or register for British citizenship. For expert advice, contact us.

 

British citizenship FAQs 

What are the requirements to become a citizen of England?

The requirements to become a British citizen are that you: - Are over 18 years old. - Are of “good character” - Are currently living in the UK. - Meet the English language requirements. - Pass the Life in the UK test.

How much does a UK citizenship cost?

The British citizenship naturalisation application fee is £1,330. British Registration fee is £1,206.

How long does it take to get a British citizenship?

British citizenship applications can take 6 months to process.

Does UK allow dual citizenship?

Yes, the UK does allow dual citizenship. You will also need to check that your existing country of nationality also allows dual nationality.

 

Last updated: 3 January 2023

 

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