Naturalisation and Registration for British Citizenship It is possible to become a British citizen by naturalisation or registration. Generally, naturalisation as a British citizen will occur after residing for a qualifying period of time in the UK on Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR). Naturalisation when married to a British Citizen, you must: - Have been in the UK for 3 years on any legal visa status and have ILR on the date of application
- Have been present in the UK on the date 3 years prior to the application being received by the Nationality Directorate
- Not have been absent from the UK for more than 270 days in those 3 years
- Not have been absent from the UK for more than 90 days in the immediate 12 months before application
- Be of good character
- Pass the British Citizenship test/ Life in the UK Test
- Have sufficient knowledge of English, Welsh or Gaelic
- Have an intention to live in the UK
- Be over 18 years old
Call now to speak to a 1st Contact consultant about how we can help you to Naturalise as a British citizen or take the British Citizenship online assessment. Naturalisation if not married to a British Citizen, you must: - Have been in the UK for the last 5 years, holding Indefinite leave to Remain for at least the last 12 months
- Have been present in the UK on the date 5 years prior to the application being received by the Nationality Directorate
- Not have been outside the UK for more than 450 days in that period
- Not have been outside the UK for more than 90 days in the 12 months before application (on ILR)
- Be of good character
- Pass the British Citizenship test/ Life in the UK Test
- Have sufficient knowledge of English, Welsh or Gaelic
- Have an intention to live in the UK
- Be over 18 years old
Call now to speak to a 1st Contact consultant about how we can help you to Naturalise as a British citizen or send us a British Citizenship online enquiry Conditions Once your Naturalisation application is approved, you will be invited to attend a British Citizenship ceremony. This ceremony will take place in your local council area in the UK only. Once you have done this, you will be eligible to submit an application for a British passport. Registration Requirements British citizenship can also be obtained by Registration. If you were born between 07 Feb 1961 and 01 Jan 1983 and your mother was born in the UK, you will qualify for registration as a British citizen straight away. If you were born prior to 07 Feb 1961, you will only be eligible to hold Right of Abode (RoA). Once you have resided in the UK for 5 continuous years on the RoA status, you will be eligible to Naturalise under the 5 year rule. Call now to speak to a 1st Contact consultant about how we can help you to Register as a British citizen or take the British Citizenship online assessment UK Status Trace If you were born in a country that is different to any of your parents or grandparents, OR you have a UK-born ancestor, then it is possible that you have a claim to British Nationality. However, the issue for most clients is how to find out the information to determine this. We offer a service enabling such clients to find out if they (or their family) have a valid claim. Philip Gamble & Partners (our partner company) are specialists in British Nationality claims and offer a STATUS TRACE service to those who are struggling to find out whether they have a claim to British Nationality. The Status Trace involves an examination of your nationality documents (birth and marriage certificates, as well as old passports and other documents that can have a bearing on your nationality status). The Status Trace takes the form of a multi-page report written by our team of Nationality experts, and will give you a definitive Yes or No answer. |