British Nationality

You do not automatically get British citizenship if you were born in the UK. It depends on when you were born and your parents’ circumstances. There are different rules depending on when you were born because of the changes in the British Nationality Act.

You may be eligible to apply for citizenship if you were born in the UK and are not a British citizen by ‘naturalisation’ or ‘registration’.

Naturalisation

There are different ways to apply for British citizenship based on your circumstances. If you’re eligible in more than one way you can choose which way to apply.

Who Can Apply

> If you’re married to or in a civil partnership with a British citizen

To apply as the spouse or civil partner of a British citizen you must have lived in the UK for the last 3 years.

You’ll also need to have one of the following:

  • indefinite leave to remain (ILR)
  • settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme
  • a permanent residence document to confirm you have permanent residence status

If you do, you’ll be eligible to apply for citizenship immediately.

> If you have indefinite leave to remain (ILR)

You can usually apply for ILR after you’ve lived in the UK for 5 years.

To apply for citizenship with ILR you must usually have lived in the UK for 12 months after getting it.

> If you have ‘settled status’ under the EU Settlement Scheme

If you and your family members are from the EU, EEA or Switzerland, you can apply for ‘settled status’ after you’ve lived in the UK for 5 years.

To apply for citizenship with settled status you must usually have lived in the UK for 12 months after getting it.

Settled status is also known as ‘indefinite leave to remain under the EU Settlement Scheme’.

> If you have ‘permanent residence’ status

If you or a family member are from the EU, EEA or Switzerland, you can usually get permanent residence status after living in the UK for 5 years.

To apply for citizenship with permanent residence status you must usually have lived in the UK for 12 months after getting permanent residence status. You also need a permanent residence document that proves you’ve lived in the UK for 5 years – this can be any 5 year continuous period.

This means that if the 5 year period was more than 12 months ago, you’ll be able to apply for citizenship as soon as you get your permanent residence document.

> Permanent residence status and citizenship from 1 January 2021

From 1 January 2021, you can only apply for British citizenship with permanent residence status if:

  • you already have a permanent residence document
  • you do not also have settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme

You cannot apply for a permanent residence document after 31 December 2020.

If you have settled status, you must apply for citizenship with this status instead of permanent residence status. Do not apply for citizenship with your permanent residence status if you have settled status. If you do, your application will be rejected.

You can apply for citizenship with settled status and you have been living in the UK for 6 years in accordance with the Regulation.

> Other ways you can be eligible

You may be eligible to apply for citizenship if:

  • you have a British parent
  • you have another type of British nationality
  • you’re stateless
  • you previously gave up (renounced) your citizenship

> If you’re a Commonwealth citizen

You may be eligible to apply for citizenship under the Windrush Scheme if both:

  • you or one of your parents arrived in the UK before 1973
  • you’ve lived in the UK and not been away from it for more than 2 years

If your parent arrived in the UK before 1973, you must have either:

  • been born in the UK
  • arrived in the UK before you were 18

Some Commonwealth citizens have ‘right of abode’ in the UK. This means you can live or work in the UK without immigration restrictions.

Eligibility Requirements

In order to be naturalised as a British Citizen, you must meet the following criteria:

  • You must be aged 18 or over
  • Residency Requirements – these requirements differ depending on the basis of your application:

If you are applying on the basis of your marriage to a British Citizen

  • You must have lived in the UK for at least 3 years before the date of your application
  • You must prove you were in the UK exactly 3 years before the day the Home Office receives your application
  • You should not have spent more than 270 days outside the UK during the 3 years before your application
  • You should not have spent more than 90 days outside the UK in the last 12 months

If you are applying on any other basis:

  • You must have lived in the UK for at least 5 years before the date of your application
  • You must prove you were in the UK exactly 3 years before the day the Home Office receives your application
  • You should not have spent more than 450 days outside the UK during the 5 years before your application
  • You should not have spent more than 90 days outside the UK in the last 12 months
  • You should not have broken any UK immigration laws (for example living illegally in the UK)
  • You must prove your knowledge of English, Welsh or Scottish Gaelic – You can prove it by having either:
  • an English qualification at B1, B2, C1 or C2 level
  • a degree taught or researched in English
  • You do not need to prove your knowledge of English in certain circumstances for example if you are a national of a majority English speaking country, you are over 65 or you have a medical exemption
  • You must show you’ve passed the Life in the UK test
  • You must be of good character – the Home Office will assess your good character by considering any history of criminality and/or immigration breaches – please note that certain history such as a custodial sentence may prevent you from applying for nationality until a certain amount of time has passed since the conviction.

How long it takes

You’ll usually get a decision within 6 months – some applications can take longer.

Registration

Registration is the process by which a child under 18 applies for British citizenship. Your child is usually automatically a British citizen if they were born in the UK and when they were born either:

  • their other parent was a British citizen
  • you had indefinite leave to remain in the UK or permanent residence status

Otherwise, your child may be eligible to apply for citizenship in another way.

Who can Apply

A child may apply to be registered as a British Citizen if they are:

  • UK born minors whose parent has become a British citizen settled here or in the armed forces
  • UK born minors with residence in the UK from birth to age 10
  • born to British citizens outside the UK
  • born to British citizens outside the UK where the family have lived in the UK for 3 years
  • people who already have some form of British nationality, including:

o British overseas territories citizen

o British overseas citizen

o British national overseas

o British subjects o British protected persons

  • born outside the UK to a parent serving in the armed forces
  • born before 1 July 2006 and would have an entitlement to registration had the child’s mother been married to their natural father
  • born between 1 January 1983 and 30 June 2006 and would have become a British citizen automatically had the child’s mother been married to their natural father
  • UK nationals for European Union treaty purposes
  • stateless minors

If your child does not fall under any of the above categories, it is still possible to apply to register your child as British under the discretionary provision if you are able to demonstrate that it would be in the best interests of your child to be registered as British.

The Home Secretary may exercise their discretion to register people as British citizens if:

  • the applicant is under 18 at the date of the application
  • if aged 10 years or over on the date of application the applicant is of good character
  • they think fit to register them

If you think your child could be eligible to be registered as a British Citizen, please speak to one of our case workers who will be able to advise you as to the merits of your application.

Makka Solicitors provides comprehensive immigration advice on nationality applications for both adults and minors. Our fee to prepare and submit a nationality application varies depending on the complexity of your matter. Please refer to our Fees page for full details of all of our fees for immigration applications.