If you’re looking to become a British Citizen, there are a few requirements that you must meet before you’re able to apply. Here, °®¶¹ÊÓƵ helps you to understand what you must do to apply for British Citizenship in the UK.
Read more to learn about applying for British Citizenship.
British Citizenship is a legal status that says you are a member of the country, and should therefore be exempt from immigration laws that govern a person’s right to live and work in the UK. It also means that you have a legal right to a British passport too.
You’re naturally a British Citizen if you were born here and have parents who are British Citizens - if you’re unsure whether you are a British Citizen, you can check your citizenship status. You may also have a different type of British Citizenship, such as:
If you are looking to become a British Citizen, then you will need to apply for citizenship through the UK Home Office. There are some requirements that will affect whether you are eligible to apply.
If you are not naturally a UK citizen, then there may be specific routes that you’ll need to take to be eligible to apply. Your route to apply for British Citizenship will depend on your personal circumstances, such as:
If you’re legally married or in a civil partnership with someone who is a registered British Citizen, then you may be able to apply for British Citizenship if you’ve lived in the UK for the past 3 years (presumably on a spouse visa). At the point of application, you will need to have either settled status or Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR).
To be able to apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain, you usually have to have lived in the UK for 5 years - after you have Indefinite Leave to Remain, you'll be able to apply for citizenship in the UK 12 months after getting it.
If you have settled status as part of the EU settlement scheme, you must have lived in the UK for at least 12 months after getting it.
The UK Government suggests that you can automatically apply for citizenship if:
To be able to apply for British Citizenship, you’ll need to take and pass a Life in the UK test via the . Within this test, you’ll answer questions about various aspects of living in the UK, such as customs, traditions, history and lifestyle. You won’t need to take the Life in the UK test if:
Naturalisation means that you become a legal citizen of a country that you weren’t born in. If you don’t have a British parent and you weren’t born in the UK, then naturalisation is the most common route to gaining British Citizenship.
To become a naturalised citizen of the UK, you’ll need to apply to the Home Office and meet the criteria found within the British Nationality Act 1981. If you meet the criteria, then the application will be granted and you can attend a ceremony to become a British Citizen and obtain a Certificate of Naturalisation.
Applying for naturalisation in the UK involves filling out an application form and paying a fee on the UK Government website. However, before you do so, you should check that you have met the following requirements:
°®¶¹ÊÓƵ uses human examiners to run SELT tests. This allows for more flexibility than computer-adapted tests do.
With over 20 SELT test centres across the UK, °®¶¹ÊÓƵ offers tests seven days a week. You can choose from 100's of slots based on the date, time, and location that works best for you.
Learn more
Provisional GESE results are emailed by 9am the day after the exam, a link to access your digital certificate is emailed within 4-7 days after the exam date.
Learn more
For just £30 (on top of your exam fee), Exam Protect will allow you to:
Available to buy up to 24 hours before your test time.
Learn more
Many countries don’t accept dual citizenship, but the UK does. This means that while you’re legally a British Citizen, you’re also a legal citizen of another country. You don’t need to apply for dual citizenship - for example, if you’re a British Citizen, you maintain this status even if you apply for citizenship in another country. does come with its own restrictions, so it's worth checking these on the UK government website.
If you've successfully applied to become a British Citizen, then you’ll be invited along to a British Citizenship ceremony - usually within 3 months of being accepted. Here, you’ll take an oath of allegiance (or an affirmation if you prefer not to swear by God) and a pledge. This means you promise to respect the rights, freedoms and laws of the UK.
The cost of applying to become a British Citizen varies, so it’s best to check the UK government website before applying - check the latest .
Make sure you don’t miss the latest news from °®¶¹ÊÓƵ. Sign up for email updates about your subject area.