British Citizenship

Yes. Once you have held ILR, or ‘settled status’ under the EU Settlement Scheme, for a period of 12 months, you can apply for British citizenship.

You do not need to wait 12 months to apply where you are married to a British citizen.

You must have lived in the UK for at least 5 years before the date of your application (or 3 years if applying based on your marriage to a British citizen).

During this time you should not have:

1. Spent more than 450 days outside the UK during the 5 years before making your application (or 270 days during the 3 years before making your application based on marriage to a British citizen);
2. Spent more than 90 days outside the UK in the 12 months before the date of your application; or
3. Have broken any UK immigration laws (for example living illegally in the UK)

Generally speaking, in order to be granted British Citizenship you must be over 18, prove your knowledge of English language and life in the UK, intend to continue living in the UK and be of good character.

This will depend on the country that you are a national of as not all countries permit their citizens to hold dual citizenship.

If your country does not, you would need to carefully consider whether you are happy to renounce your citizenship of your home country in order to become a British citizen.

You must have been physically present in the UK exactly 5 years before the date the Home Office receives your application (or 3 years if applying based on your marriage to a British Citizen.

For example, if the Home Office receives your application on 20 June 2022 but you left the UK on 10 June 2017 and returned to the UK on 25 June 2017 you will not qualify. You would need to wait until 24 June 2022 to apply.

Unlike with ILR applications, you cannot apply for citizenship 28 days before you reach the qualifying period. Instead you must wait until you have held ILR for a full 12 months before you apply.

It costs £1,500 to apply.

You must also pay £19.20 to have your biometric information taken.

You can either apply online or by post. However postal applications take much longer than online applications.

You will usually get a decision within 6 months, however it may take longer to get a decision because of COVID-19.

You will need to attend a citizenship ceremony if your application is successful.

You will need to attend a citizenship ceremony if you’re 18 or over and have successfully applied to become a British citizen.

During the ceremony you will have to make an oath of allegiance or an affirmation and a pledge to respect the rights, freedoms and laws of the UK.

At the end of the ceremony you will be presented with your certificate of British citizenship and a welcome pack. If you attend a virtual ceremony, you will be sent a copy of the certificate afterwards.

Usually, you must attend a citizenship ceremony within 3 months of receiving your invitation from the Home Office however because of coronavirus, this has been extended to 6 months.

You must send your Biometric Residence Permit (BRP) back to the Home Office within 5 working days of getting your certificate.

You can be fined up to £1,000 if you do not return your permit within 5 working days.

You can also apply for a British passport or if you would prefer, a certificate of entitlement.