What is a British Citizen by Naturalisation? The British Nationality Act 1981 (BNA 1981) offers each individual above the age of 18 with Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) or Permanent Residence in the UK an opportunity to become a British citizen by Naturalisation. There are many benefits of being or becoming a British Citizen. One can live and work in the UK without any immigration control whatsoever after becoming a British Citizen. The applicants have to meet other eligibility requirements too to apply for British citizenship.

Who can apply for British citizen by Naturalisation?

Non-UK citizens who are married to or neither in a civil partnership with a British Citizen [Section 6 (2) of BNA 1981] and Non-UK citizens who are neither married to nor in a civil partnership with a British citizen can both apply for British citizenship by Naturalisation [Section 6 (1) of BNA 1981].

Those who are married to or in a civil partnership with a British Citizen

If you are a spouse or a civil partner of a British Citizen on the date of your application you need to meet the following eligibility conditions:

1. You must be 18 or above on the date of application;
2. You must be able to demonstrate that you are of a sound mind;
3. You must have already lived in the UK as a spouse or civil partner for at least 3 years before you apply;
4. During these 3 periods of time, you must not be away from the UK for more than 270 days and you must not have breached any immigration law in the UK as well;
5. You must have been physically present in the UK, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man, or the Channel Islands on the day exactly 3 years before the date at which your application is received by the Home Office;
6. You must not have been away from the UK for more than 90 days during the last 12 months from the date of your application;
7. You must have either Indefinite leave to remain in the UK;
8. You must satisfy must have appropriate knowledge of Language and Life in the UK;
9. You have a "good character".

There is some discretion that the Home Office may exercise in case of residence and absence from the UK and other requirements, these dependent on case to case basis.

Those who are neither married to nor in a civil partnership with a British Citizen

If you are neither a spouse nor a civil partner of a British citizen the requirements applicable to you are different and you will need to satisfy that:

1. You must have lived in the UK for at least 5 years before you apply;
2. You must also intend to continue living in the UK;
3. You may be exempted from the 5 years residence requirement if you are currently a member of the UK Armed Forces or you were a member in the past and you were serving in a country other than the UK on the date 5 years before you apply;
4. During these 5 years qualifying period you must not have been away from the UK for more than 450 days;
5. You must not have been away from the UK for more than 90 days in the last 12 months before the date of application;
6. You must satisfy must have appropriate knowledge of Language and Life in the UK;
7. You must have been physically present in the UK, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man, or the Channel Islands exactly on the day 5 years before the date on which your application is received by the Home

Again the Home Office can decide on its discretion whether you should be given some relaxations in residence and absence requirements etc. or not.

When to apply for British citizen by Naturalisation?

If you are a spouse or a civil partner of a British citizen you can apply to be a British citizen by naturalization as soon as you are granted ILR and if you are not a spouse or a civil partner of a British citizen you can apply immediately after 12 months from the date, you were granted ILR.

Cost of application of British citizen by Naturalisation

Presently (in 2020) you need to pay £1,330 for the application.

How long does it take to get a decision?

You should usually get the decision within 3 to 6 months from the date of your application.

What after a successful application?

If your application is successful there will be a citizenship ceremony that you have to attend in which you will be presented with your certificate of Naturalisation as a British citizen. You can apply for a British passport after this. ...