F200200068 Level 3

Naturalisation / Citizenship

Once you have been in the UK for a period of time and you hold permanent residence you may qualify to apply for naturalisation as a British Citizen.

British citizenship may give you significant travel advantages, for example, if you need to travel regularly within the EEA, as British citizens do not need any visa to travel throughout the EEA. But it is important to note that under the laws of some countries a person will lose their nationality of they become a citizen of another country.

There are two main ways to qualify:

  1. Naturalisation after five years continuous legal residence in the UK of any kind
  2. Naturalisation after three years continuous residence in the UK as the spouse of a British Citizen

All applicants should:

  1. be at least 18 years old;
  2. be of good character;
  3. have a good command of English, Scottish or Welsh;
  4. have passed the ”Life in the UK” test.

Naturalisation after five years in the UK

  1. you must have been present in the UK exactly five years before the the date you submit your application to the Home Office;
  2. you must have held permanent residence/ indefinite leave to remain (ILR) for at least 12 months;
  3. you should not have been absent from the UK for more than 450 days within the five-year period (but there is discretion with this rule in some circumstances);
  4. you should not have been out of the country for more than 90 days within the previous 12 months;
  5. you must not have been in breach of UK immigration rules at any time during the  five-year period.

Naturalisation after three years in the UK as a spouse of a UK Citizen

  1. you should have been present in the UK exactly three years before the the date you submit your application to the Home Office;
  2. you must hold permanent residence/ indefinite leave to remain but you do not have to have held it for any particular period of time;
  3. you should not have been absent from the UK for more than 270 days during the three-year period (there is discretion with this rule in some circumstances);
  4. you should not have been out of the country for more than 90 days within the previous 12 months.
  5. you must not have been in breach of UK immigration rules at any time during the  three-year period.

The processing time for applications is currently about six months.

Once your application has been approved you will be invited to a Citizenship ceremony to undertake an Oath and Pledge of loyalty. You will then be awarded a certificate of naturalisation.

The rules for acquiring British citizenship and indefinite leave to remain will be changing in summer 2011.


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