BRITISH CITIZENSHIP

There are different ways to apply for British citizenship (or ‘naturalisation’) based on your circumstances. If you’re eligible in more than one way you can choose which way to apply.

If you’ve applied for citizenship, you’ll need permission to stay in the UK until you’re granted citizenship. Your permission needs to last until you have had your citizenship ceremony.

If you have indefinite leave to remain (ILR) or settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme, this counts as permission to stay.

You do not automatically get British citizenship if you were born in the UK. It depends on when you were born and your parents’ circumstances. You need to check if you’re a British citizen.

You may be eligible to apply for citizenship if you were born in the UK and are not automatically a British citizen.

If you’re married to or in a civil partnership with a British citizen

To apply as the spouse or civil partner of a British citizen you must have lived in the UK for the last 3 years.

You’ll also need to have either:

indefinite leave to remain (ILR)
settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme

If you do, you’ll be eligible to apply for citizenship immediately.

If you have indefinite leave to remain (ILR)

You can usually apply for ILR after you’ve lived in the UK for 5 years.

To apply for citizenship with ILR you must usually have lived in the UK for 12 months after getting it.

If you have ‘settled status’ under the EU Settlement Scheme

To apply for citizenship with settled status you must usually have lived in the UK for 12 months after getting it.

Other ways you can be eligible

You may be eligible to apply for citizenship if:

you have a British parent

you have another type of British nationality

you have a parent with British overseas territories citizenship

you’re stateless

you previously gave up (renounced) your citizenship

other special circumstances apply to you
you’re a Chagossian descendant (a direct descendant of someone born in British Indian Ocean Territory)

Apply for citizenship if you have indefinite leave to remain or 'settled status'

Eligibility and fees

You can apply for citizenship if you’ve lived in the UK for 5 years and have had one of the following for 12 months:

indefinite leave to remain in the UK

‘settled status’ (also known as ‘indefinite leave to remain under the EU Settlement Scheme’)

indefinite leave to enter the UK (permission to move to the UK permanently from abroad)

You do not need to wait 12 months to apply if you’re married to a British citizen.

You must also:

be over 18
prove you were in the UK exactly 5 years before the day the Home Office receives your application
prove your knowledge of English, Welsh or Scottish Gaelic
have passed the life in the UK test
intend to continue living in the UK
be of good character - read the naturalisation guidance

Residency requirements

You must have lived in the UK for at least 5 years before the date of your application. You also should not have broken any UK immigration laws.

If you have indefinite leave to enter or remain, the Home Office will not usually check if you broke any immigration laws before then.

You cannot include any time spent in the UK when you’re exempt from immigration control as a:

diplomat

member of a diplomat’s staff or household

member of visiting armed forces

Time you’ve spent outside the UK

You should not have:

spent more than 450 days outside the UK during the 5 years before your application
spent more than 90 days outside the UK in the last 12 months
broken any UK immigration laws (for example living illegally in the UK)
You may have lost your indefinite leave to remain or enter if you’ve been away from the UK for:
more than 2 years at any time since you got it (you’ll need to apply for a Returning Resident visa)
more than 5 years if you have settled status
more than 4 years if you are a Swiss citizen, or the family member of a Swiss citizen, and you have settled status

This is one way to apply for British citizenship. Check if you’re eligible another way.

When to apply

You must have been physically present in the UK exactly 5 years before the Home Office receives your application.
Your application may be rejected if you were not in the UK exactly 5 years before the Home Office received it. This depends on the reason why you were not in the UK. The Home Office will consider if there are special circumstances, for example:
you were not able to live in the UK at the start of the 5 year period because of health reasons or travel restrictions

you were told to leave the UK during the 5 years but this decision was later