loader image
 0330 057 5991

British Citizenship

British Citizenship

 

You can live in the UK without any time restrictions if you have British citizenship. We have prepared a table below outlining some of the categories that qualify for British citizenship.

 

Book An Appointment Book An Appointment Book An Appointment
Applying for British Citizenship as an Adult Applying for British Citizenship as a Child

Applying for British Citizenship as an Adult

Married to a British Citizen

Age: You must be 18 years old or older.
Residency Requirement: You have spent three continuous years in the UK prior to your application date (the ‘qualifying period’) and your absences from the UK must not exceed 270 days within the last 3 years and must not exceed 90 days within the last 12 months.
Immigration Status: Once you are granted ILR, you can make an application to naturalise without waiting for another year.
Good Character: You must be a person of good character with no serious/recent criminal offence. You must have also complied with Immigration Rules.
Knowledge of Language and Life in the UK: You must satisfy the English language requirements and pass the Life in the UK test.
Intent to Reside: You intend to remain in the UK.

Not Married to a British Citizen

Age: You must be 18 years old or older.
Residency Requirement: You have spent five continuous years in the UK prior to your application date (the ‘qualifying period’) and your absences from the UK must not exceed 450 days within the last 5 years and must not exceed 90 days within the last 12 months.
Immigration Status: Once you are granted ILR, you will have to wait for another year before applying for naturalization.
Good Character: You must be a person of good character with no serious/recent criminal offence. You must have also complied with Immigration Rules.
Knowledge of Language and Life in the UK: You must satisfy the English language requirements and pass the Life in the UK test.
Intent to Reside: You intend to remain in the UK.

Applying for British Citizenship as a Child

British by Descent

Where a child is born abroad and at the time of the birth the child’s parent is a British Citizen otherwise than by descent, the child is eligible to make an overseas British passport application. The HMPO will expect to see evidence that both parents were together at the time of conception.

Lived in the UK until the age of 10

A child who was born in the UK, has spent 10 years in the UK with no more than 90 days outside of the UK during the first 10 years of his life and is of good character, will be eligible to apply for registration as a British Citizen. Once this application is granted, the child can then apply for a British passport.

Granted ILR after Child was Born

The child can be registered as a British Citizen if one or both parents were granted ILR after the birth of the child.

Child has lived in the UK for the Last 5 years

An application to register as a British Citizen can be made where the child and the child’s other parent are all settled in the UK. You are required to have lived legally for the last 5 years and the child is required to have been settled for 1 year.