Become a British Citizen by Naturalisation

Who can apply for naturalisation

Naturalisation is the usual route to British citizenship for adults who have made the UK their home. GOV.UK lists several ways to qualify — if you fit more than one, you choose which to use.

Naturalisation is a discretionary grant of citizenship to an adult who has settled in the UK. There are two main residence routes: the standard 5-year route for anyone holding indefinite leave to remain (ILR), settled status or indefinite leave to enter, and a shorter 3-year route for the spouse or civil partner of a British citizen. You must keep permission to stay in the UK until your citizenship ceremony — ILR, settled status or pre-settled status all count as permission.

Eligibility in detail

You must meet all of the following requirements set by the Home Office. The figures in brackets show how the spouse route differs.

• Age

  You must be aged 18 or over on the date of application.

• Residence

  You must have lived in the UK for at least 5 years before the date of application (3 years if you are the spouse or civil partner of a British citizen).

• Physically present at the start of the period

  You must have been in the UK on the day exactly 5 years (3 years) before the Home Office receives your application. The Home Office may accept special circumstances such as health reasons, travel restrictions, or a removal decision that was later overturned.

• Settled status

  You must hold ILR, settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme or indefinite leave to enter, and on the standard route must have held it for at least 12 months. Spouses and civil partners of British citizens can apply immediately.

• Absences from the UK

  No more than 450 days outside the UK during the 5 years (270 days during the 3 years on the spouse route), and no more than 90 days in the final 12 months on either route.

• No breaches of immigration law

  You should not have broken any UK immigration laws, for example by living in the UK illegally. If you hold indefinite leave the Home Office will not usually check for breaches before it was granted.

• Knowledge of language

  You must prove your knowledge of English, Welsh or Scottish Gaelic to the standard required by the Home Office.

• Life in the UK test

  You must have passed the Life in the UK test before you apply, unless you are exempt.

• Good character

  You must be of good character. GOV.UK directs applicants to the Home Office naturalisation guidance, which covers criminal and immigration history.

• Future intention

  On the standard route you must intend to continue living in the UK after naturalisation.

Time that cannot be counted towards your residence, according to GOV.UK:

• Any time you were exempt from immigration control as a diplomat.
• Any time as a member of a diplomat’s staff or household.
• Any time as a member of visiting armed forces.

Check you have not lost your settlement

Long absences can end indefinite leave before you ever apply for citizenship.

Indefinite leave to remain or enter

Lost after more than 2 years away at any time

Settled status (EU Settlement Scheme)

Lost after more than 5 years away

Settled status — Swiss citizens and their family members

Lost after more than 4 years away

If you have lost ILR through absence you will need a Returning Resident visa before you can settle again, and the 12-month clock restarts from the new grant. If you are eligible for the EU Settlement Scheme but never applied, you may still be able to apply for settled status with reasonable grounds for missing the 30 June 2021 deadline, and then use it to apply for citizenship.

Fees and costs

Figures as published on GOV.UK, last updated 16 January 2025 (naturalisation guides) and 4 December 2024 (Life in the UK Test).

Naturalisation application

£1,709

Citizenship ceremony fee

£130

Total Home Office cost (adult)

£1,839

Biometric enrolment (fingerprints and photo)

No fee

Life in the UK test (paid when you book)

£50 per attempt

Register a child as a British citizen

£1,000 per child

Child’s ceremony fee if they turn 18 during the application

£130

Fine for not returning your BRP within 5 working days

Up to £1,000

Processing times

Citizenship has its own service standard, separate from the 8-week visa timescale.

Naturalisation — standard route

Usually within 6 months

Naturalisation — spouse route

Usually within 6 months

If your application will take longer

You are told before 6 months have passed

Faster decision

GOV.UK does not publish a standard time

Return your BRP after your certificate

Within 5 working days

If you apply online your application counts as received the same day; a postal application takes longer to be received, which matters for the “physically present” test. During processing you may be asked for more information or to attend an interview, where you must speak without an interpreter. You must tell UK Visas and Immigration if your circumstances change — for example you move house, get married or are arrested.

Documents you will need

GOV.UK directs applicants to the Home Office guidance for the full list and tells you what to upload when you apply. The requirements above mean you should expect to provide the following.

• Your current passport or travel document, and evidence of your identity.
• Proof of your indefinite leave to remain, settled status or indefinite leave to enter — an eVisa share code or your biometric residence permit — and the date it was granted.
• A record of every trip outside the UK during the qualifying period, using your own records such as emails or boarding passes; the Home Office checks its records and fills in any gaps.
• Your Life in the UK test unique reference number (or the test reference letter if you passed before 17 December 2019).
• Evidence of your knowledge of English, Welsh or Scottish Gaelic to the required standard.
• Spouse route: your marriage or civil partnership certificate and evidence that your partner is a British citizen.
• Pre-settled status route: evidence of 5 continuous years of working, looking for work, studying or being self-sufficient.
• For children being registered: their birth certificate and evidence of your status at the time of their birth.
• Certified translations of any document not in English or Welsh.

Applying for your children

Children are never added to an adult’s naturalisation form. Each child is registered separately.

You can apply to register your child as a British citizen if they were born outside the UK, or inside the UK before you were granted indefinite leave to remain. It costs £1,000 per child, with a possible fee waiver if you cannot afford it, and a £130 ceremony fee is added if the child turns 18 while the application is being decided.

• A child born in the UK after you were granted indefinite leave to remain is usually a British citizen automatically and does not need to apply — you can simply apply for their passport.
• A child born in the UK whose other parent was a British citizen at the time is also usually British automatically.
• Children under 16 apply for a child passport; those aged 16 and over apply for an adult passport.

Application process

From confirming eligibility through to your citizenship ceremony and first passport.

The Life in the UK test

The test has 24 questions drawn from the official Guide for New Residents, lasts 45 minutes and costs £50. You must book online at least 3 days in advance at one of more than 30 centres, using ID that exactly matches the name on your booking, and bring the same original ID on the day. The pass mark is 75%; a pass gives you a unique reference number that is quoted in your application and checked by the Home Office.

You do not need to take the test if any of the following applies to you.

• You are under 18.
• You are aged 65 or over.
• You have passed it before — for example as part of your settlement application.
• You have a long-term physical or mental condition and provide an exemption form or a letter from a doctor.

After you get your certificate

Citizenship brings new obligations before you can travel on it.

• Return your biometric residence permit to the Home Office within 5 working days of receiving your certificate, even if it has expired. Cut it into 4 pieces, put it in a windowless envelope with a note giving your name, date of birth and document number, and post it to Naturalisation BRP Returns, PO Box 195, Bristol BS20 1BT. The fine for not doing so is up to £1,000.
• You cannot enter the UK using your BRP or your certificate of British citizenship. Apply for a British passport, or for a certificate of entitlement if you do not want a passport.
• Dual citizens may be able to travel to the UK on an expired UK passport, a passport of their other nationality or a national identity card — check the GOV.UK guidance for dual citizens.

Common reasons applications are refused

• Too many days outside the UK — more than 450 days over the 5-year period (270 over the 3-year spouse period), or more than 90 days in the final 12 months.
• Not physically present in the UK exactly 5 years (or 3 years) before the Home Office received the application, without special circumstances the Home Office accepts.
• Holding ILR, settled status or indefinite leave to enter for less than 12 months on the standard route, where the spouse exemption does not apply.
• Failing the good character requirement as set out in the Home Office naturalisation guidance — for example criminal convictions or breaches of immigration law such as living in the UK illegally.
• No Life in the UK test pass, or a pass that cannot be verified because the unique reference number or pre-2019 letter is missing.
• Not proving knowledge of English, Welsh or Scottish Gaelic to the required standard.
• Counting time that does not qualify — for example years spent exempt from immigration control as a diplomat or a member of visiting armed forces.
• Applying on the spouse route when the partner has died, or without evidence that the partner is a British citizen.
• Losing permission to stay before the ceremony — the grant depends on you keeping valid status until you have taken the oath.
• Incomplete or inaccurate information, or missing evidence of residence, identity or status.

Source note

Information sourced from GOV.UK (Check if you can become a British citizen, last updated 17 January 2025; Apply for citizenship if you have indefinite leave to remain or ‘settled status’, 16 January 2025; Apply for citizenship if your spouse is a British citizen, 16 January 2025; Life in the UK Test, 4 December 2024) and reproduced under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Rules change; we verify requirements at the point of instruction.

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