Naturalisation as a British citizen

• To successfully apply for British Citizenship, applicants must follow the requirements below.

• You must have lived in the UK for 5 years and have had one of the following for 12 months:

• Indefinite leave to remain in the UK - Please check your eligibility for this here.

• ‘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)

• The candidate must:

• 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 - this could be done through having an English qualification at B1, B2, C1 or C2 level, or obtaining a degree taught or researched in English.

• Have passed the ‘Life in the UK test’

• Intend to continue living in the UK

• Be of good character

• Have not broken any immigration laws

• Residence requirement

• For naturalisation, student visas and other temporary visas are not applicable. This relates to medical visas, tourist visas, short-term work visas or other temporary or short-term visas.

• Please note, that you cannot include any time spent in the UK when you are exempt from immigration control as:

• Diplomat

• Member of a diplomat’s staff or household

• Member of visiting armed forces

• Please note that you must log in and be prepared to detail the number of days you were outside the UK on your application. A standard applicant must ensure they have not:

• Spent more than 450 days outside the UK during the 5 years preceding the application. Please note, when applying for ILR visas beforehand, you must not exit the country for over 180 days in any given year.

• Spent more than 90 days outside the UK in the last 12 months.

• Lost their indefinite leave to remain or enter.

• You do not need to wait 12 months to apply if you're married to a British Citizen.

• The home office may be able to consider an applicant with special circumstances, such as:

• You were not able to live in the UK at the start of the 5 years because of health reasons or travel restrictions

• You were told to leave the UK during the 5 years but this decision was later overturned

There are two ways to apply for naturalisation. You can either make an application for yourself or hire an agent or representative. You can also apply by post, but please note that this would take longer.

• If you hire a representative, they must be registered in one of the main UK bodies, such as:

• The OISC

• Law Society of England and Wales

• Chartered Institute of Legal Executives

• Faculty of Advocates

• General Council of the Bar of Northern Ireland

• Law Society of Northern Ireland

• Applications submitted to a different receiving authority must be sent, or handed in to that authority. The appropriate receiving authorities are:

• The Home Secretary if, on the date of receipt, the applicant is in Great Britain or Northern Ireland.

• The Lieutenant-Governor if, on the date of receipt, the applicant is in any of the Islands (for example, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man).

• The appropriate Governor if, on the date of receipt, the applicant is in a British overseas territory.

• The Home Secretary if, on the date of receipt, the applicant is elsewhere (including in a Commonwealth country).