Adopting the British nationality

You typically need the following to apply for British citizenship:

• indefinite permission to stay (also known as "permission to enter")

• from the EU Settlement Scheme, settled status

Check to see if you qualify for either if you don't have settled status or indefinite leave to remain:

• If you or a family member is a citizen of the EU, EEA, or Switzerland, you may still be able to apply for settled status if you have a valid excuse for missing the program's deadline of 30 June 2021.

• unlimited permission to stay on GOV UK

As long as you meet the other requirements, you can apply right away once you have one of these things.

Before applying, find out what other requirements you need to fulfill.

You should also have:

• stayed in the UK legally for the last three years.

• passed the test for life in the UK

• a certification demonstrating your ability to communicate in English, unless you are exempt

• "Good character" means, for instance, that you don't have any recent or serious criminal convictions, debt problems, unpaid taxes, or immigration issues.

Learn how to demonstrate your English proficiency and good character requirements, as well as how to prepare for the Life in the UK Test.

Proving your three-year residence in the UK

Even if you have already established how long you have resided in the UK, you must still complete this in order to obtain indefinite leave to remain, for example.

To demonstrate that you were:

• residing in the UK for the three years prior to application

• no more than 270 days in those three years were spent outside the UK.

• not more than 90 days in the previous year spent outside of the UK

Additionally, you must confirm that you were in the UK three years ago on the same day that you are applying. It's usually best to wait until it has been 3 years since the date you returned to the UK if you weren't in the UK exactly 3 years ago before applying. Speak with a consultant if you spent a lot of time away from the UK.

If the Home Office decides to make an exception (use discretion), you might still be eligible. For instance, they could disregard any time you spent away from the UK for:

• 300 days maximum in three years

• even longer in some circumstances, such as if you frequently travel for work.

Before submitting your application, you should review the GOV.UK naturalization guide to see if the Home Office can make an exception for your time away from the UK.

You won't receive a refund of your application fee if the Home Office determines that your time spent outside the UK disqualifies you for citizenship.

Before submitting an application, you should speak to an advisor if you believe you might not be qualified.

Learn more about qualification

If you have a British partner, you can visit GOV for more information about eligibility. UK

You must instead comply with the requirements for people who have a British husband, wife, or civil partner if your spouse is a British citizen.

12 months after: You can ordinarily apply for British citizenship.

• because of the EU Settlement Scheme, you now have settled status.

• You are permitted to stay here indefinitely.

Even though the deadline has passed, you may still be able to apply if you don't have settled status or indefinite leave. You will have to demonstrate that you had a valid excuse for missing the deadline.

A late application for settled status may be possible.

Before applying, find out what other requirements you need to fulfill.

You should also have:

• I spent the last five years living in the UK.

• passed the test for life in the UK

• a certification demonstrating your ability to communicate in English, unless you are exempt

• "Good character" means, for instance, that you don't have any recent or serious criminal convictions, debt problems, unpaid taxes, or immigration issues.

Learn how to demonstrate your English proficiency and good character requirements, as well as how to prepare for the Life in the UK Test.

Demonstrating your five-year residence in the UK

Even if you've already established how long you've resided in the UK, you still need to do this to, say, qualify for settled status.

To demonstrate that you were:

• residing in the UK for five years prior to application

• no more than 450 days in those five years were spent outside the UK.

• not more than 90 days in the previous year spent outside of the UK

Additionally, you must confirm that you were in the UK five years ago on the same day that you are applying. It's usually best to wait until it has been 5 years since the date you returned to the UK if you weren't in the UK exactly 5 years ago before applying. Speak with a consultant if you spent a lot of time away from the UK.

If the Home Office decides to "use discretion" and make an exception, you might still be eligible. For instance, they could disregard any time you spent away from the UK for:

• 480 days maximum in five years.

• even longer in some circumstances, such as if you frequently travel for work.

A compassionate or exceptional reason, such as coronavirus travel restrictions delaying their return to the UK, will not be taken into consideration by the Home Office.  

Before submitting your application, you should review the GOV.UK naturalization guide to see if the Home Office can make an exception for your time away from the UK.

You won't receive a refund of your application fee if the Home Office determines that your time spent outside the UK disqualifies you for citizenship.

Before submitting an application, you should speak to an advisor if you believe you might not be qualified.

Learn more about qualification

On GOV.UK, you can learn more about citizenship requirements.

Unless you are married to a British citizen, you can typically apply for citizenship 12 months after receiving indefinite leave to remain (also known as "indefinite leave to enter").

If you lack either of those, you can determine on GOV.UK whether you qualify for indefinite leave to remain. UK

Before applying, find out what other requirements you need to fulfill.

You should also have:

• lived in the UK for the previous five years (or three years if you have a British spouse, civil partner, or husband).

• passed the test for life in the UK

• a certification demonstrating your ability to communicate in English, unless you are exempt

• "Good character" means, for instance, that you don't have any recent or serious criminal convictions, debt problems, unpaid taxes, or immigration issues.

Learn how to demonstrate your English proficiency and good character requirements, as well as how to prepare for the Life in the UK Test.

Demonstrating your five-year residence in the UK

Even if you have already established how long you have resided in the UK, you must still complete this in order to obtain indefinite leave to remain, for example.

To demonstrate that you were:

• residing in the UK for five years prior to application

• no more than 450 days in those five years were spent outside the UK.

• not more than 90 days in the previous year spent outside of the UK

Additionally, you must confirm that you were in the UK five years ago on the same day that you are applying. It's usually best to wait until it has been 5 years since the date you returned to the UK if you weren't in the UK exactly 5 years ago before applying. Speak with a consultant if you spent a lot of time away from the UK.

If the Home Office decides to make an exception (use discretion), you might still be eligible. For instance, they could disregard any time you spent away from the UK for:

• 480 days maximum in five years.

• even longer in some circumstances, such as if you frequently travel for work.

The Home Office will disregard absences if there is a compassionate or extraordinary reason, such as coronavirus travel restrictions that prevented you from returning to the UK on time.  

Before submitting your application, you should review the GOV.UK naturalization guide to see if the Home Office can make an exception for your time away from the UK.

You won't receive a refund of your application fee if the Home Office determines that your time spent outside the UK disqualifies you for citizenship.

Before submitting an application, you should speak to an advisor if you believe you might not be qualified.

Learn more about qualification

If you have indefinite leave to remain, you can learn more about your eligibility on GOV.UK. UK