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.
If you were born in the UK
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.
If you have not applied to the EU Settlement Scheme
You might still be able to apply for settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme. You can then use this to apply for citizenship.
The deadline for most people to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme was 30 June 2021. You can still apply if you have ‘reasonable grounds’ for not being able to apply by the deadline.
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)
If you’re a Commonwealth citizen
You may be eligible to apply for citizenship under the Windrush Scheme if both:
- you or one of your parents arrived in the UK before 1973
- you’ve lived in the UK and not been away from it for more than 2 years
If your parent arrived in the UK before 1973, you must have either:
- been born in the UK
- arrived in the UK before you were 18
Adult Naturalisation (over 18)
Apply for British citizenship by Naturalisation if your spouse is a British Citizen
You can apply for British citizenship by ‘naturalisation’ if you:
- are 18 or over
- are married to, or in a civil partnership with, someone who is a British citizen
- have lived in the UK for at least 3 years before the date of your application
You can apply as soon as you have one of the following:
- indefinite leave to remain (ILR) 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 must also:
- prove you were in the UK exactly 3 years before the day the Home Office receives your application
- prove your knowledge of English, Welsh or Scottish Gaelic
- show you’ve passed the life in the UK test
- be of good character
- meet the residency requirement
Apply for British citizenship by Naturalisation if you have Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR)/Settled Status under the EU Settlement Scheme
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.
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 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
- meet the residency requirement
How long it takes to get a decision
You’ll usually get a decision within 6 months – some applications can take longer. If yours will take longer, you’ll be told before 6 months have passed.
Child Registration (under 18)
Registration as a British citizen: children under 18 as a British citizen
The British Nationality Act 1981 contains provisions for children to be registered as a British citizen. The child may be eligible under:
- provide registration by entitlement of people born in the UK after 1 January 1983
- provides an entitlement provision for either a child or an adult
- provide registration by entitlement of minors born outside the UK and qualifying territories to British citizens by descent
- a discretionary provision for registration as a minor
If you’re under 18
You can register to become a British citizen if one of your parents considered the UK as their home and did any of the following after you were born:
- became a British citizen
- got indefinite leave to remain in the UK
- got ‘settled status’ (also known as ‘indefinite leave to remain under the EU Settlement Scheme’)
- got indefinite leave to enter the UK
- got permanent residence status
You must have been born in the UK and be under 18 when you apply.
Children who have not yet reached the age of majority (age 18) to become British citizens under the following sections of the British Nationality Act 1981.
Citizenship through entitlement and discretion
There are a number of routes for children to apply for British citizenship.
- some routes give them a right under British nationality law to apply and be registered as British citizens. These are entitlements.
- other routes allow children to be granted on the decision of the Home Secretary. In these cases, applications must show that the child meets existing criteria that the Home Secretary has already agreed should allow children to be registered as British. Or, in other cases, they should demonstrate that it would be right for the Home Secretary exceptionally to allow a child to be registered as a British citizen because of the compelling nature of the child’s circumstances. These are at the Home Secretary’s discretion.
Children who have not yet reached the age of majority (age 18) to become British citizens under the following sections of the British Nationality Act 1981
Section 1(3) birth in the UK to parents who are now settled in the UK or have become British citizens
Section 1(3A) birth in the UK to parents who have joined the armed forces
Section 3(1) child whose parents are applying for British citizenship
Section 3(2) birth abroad to parents who are British by descent and have lived in the UK or a qualifying British overseas territory
Section 3(5) birth abroad to parents who are British by descent but are now living in the UK or a qualifying British overseas territory
Section 3(1) – registration at the Home Secretary’s discretion
Section 4D birth abroad to parents serving in the armed forces It does not cover:
British Overseas Territories citizenship
British overseas citizenship
British subjects
Children born outside the UK who are, and always have been, stateless (have no citizenship) see
Children born in the UK who are, and always have been, stateless (have no citizenship)
Section 1(4) Children born in the UK who have lived there for at least the first 10 years of their life
Children born on or after 4 February 1997 in Hong Kong
Children who would have become British citizens automatically if their parents had been married.
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)
If you’re a Commonwealth citizen
You may be eligible to apply for citizenship under the Windrush Scheme if both:
- you or one of your parents arrived in the UK before 1973
- you’ve lived in the UK and not been away from it for more than 2 years
If your parent arrived in the UK before 1973, you must have either:
- been born in the UK
- arrived in the UK before you were 18
If you lived in the UK until you were 10
If you lived in the UK until you were 10 you might automatically be a British citizen. This can depend on if your parents were British citizens or ‘Settled’ in the UK when you were born.
‘Settled’ means you are living in the UK without any time restrictions. This includes people who have one of the following:
- ‘Indefinite Leave to Remain’
- ‘Settled Status’ (also known as ‘Indefinite Leave to Remainunder the EU Settlement Scheme’)
- Permanent Residence status
- ‘Right of Abode’
If you’re not automatically a British citizen, you might be able to register to become one.
You were born after 31 December 1982 and before 1 July 2006
You’re automatically a British citizen if, when you were born, either:
- your mother was a British citizen or settled in the UK
- your father was a British citizen or settled in the UK and was married to your mother
You can register to become a British citizen if, when you were born, either:
- both of your parents were not British citizens or settled in the UK
- your father was a British citizen or settled in the UK and was not married to your mother
You must not have spent more than 90 days outside the UK in each of the first 10 years of your life.
Explain on the form if there are special reasons that you spent more time outside the UK.
You were born on or after 1 July 2006
You’re automatically a British citizen if, when you were born, one of your parents was a British citizen or settled in the UK.
You can register to become a British citizen if, when you were born, neither of your parents were British citizens or settled in the UK.
You must not have spent more than 90 days outside the UK in each of the first 10 years of your life.
Explain on the form if there are special reasons that you spent more time outside the UK.
British Overseas
To register a child under 18 as a British citizen by descent, you should apply before the child turns 18, as they may not be eligible for citizenship by descent after that age. To qualify, the child’s parent who is a British citizen by descent must have lived in the UK or a qualifying British overseas territory for at least three years before the child’s birth. The parent must not have been absent for more than 270 days during that time.
UK-born stateless person
You may be eligible to apply to ‘register’ as a British citizen if you’re not recognised as a citizen of any country (‘stateless’).
How you apply depends on when and where you were born.
You were born on or after 1 January 1983
How you apply depends on where you were born.
You were born in the UK or a British overseas territory
You can apply if you:
- are under 22 years old
- have lived in the UK or a British overseas territory for at least 5 years before the date of your application
- were in the UK or a British overseas territory exactly 5 years before the Home Office receives your application
You should also have spent no more than 450 days outside the UK or British overseas territory during those 5 years.
If you’re under 18, you’ll have to show it’s not reasonable to expect you to get citizenship of another country, for example by your parents registering your birth at an embassy or high commission.
You were born outside the UK or a British overseas territory
You can apply if:
- one of your parents was British citizen, British overseas territories citizen, British overseas citizen or British subject when you were born
- you’ve lived in the UK or a British overseas territory for at least 3 years before the date of your application
- you were in the UK or a British overseas territory exactly 3 years before the Home Office receives your application
You should also have spent no more than 270 days outside the UK or British overseas territory during those 3 years.
You were born before 1 January 1983
You’re probably already a British citizen if you were born in the UK before 1 January 1983. You’re automatically a British citizen if you were born in the UK before 1 January 1983, unless:
- your father was a diplomat working for a non-UK country
- your father was ‘an enemy alien in occupation’ and you were born in the Channel Islands during World War 2
You can apply for a UK passport instead, or ask for a letter confirming your citizenship (your ‘immigration status’).
You may be eligible for or have rights in any of the above categories depending on your visa status or circumstances.
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