British Citizenship

If you are a BNO, BOTC, BOC, British Subject or British protected person, then you are not classed as a British citizen, but Naturalisation is unlikely to be the appropriate British citizenship route. You will have alternative routes to British citizen through registration.

Yes. Once your British citizenship application has been submitted, you can travel outside of the UK while it is being considered. As a part of your application, you can submit a certified copy of your passport and keep the original in order to travel.

Your application will not affect your immigration permissions, but you will need to demonstrate entitlement to re-enter. You should travel with evidence of your relevant immigration status.

Keep in mind that you need to enrol your biometric information within 45 days of your Naturalisation application, which may be necessary in person. Failure to provide this will nullify your pending application.

You will also be be required to arrange your British citizenship ceremony within 90 days of your application being approved.

The application fee for a British citizenship application is £1,330.

Once your application is successful, you will need to spend £80 to arrange your British citizenship ceremony, this will include the administration of a citizenship oath and pledge at the ceremony.

As of this year, CSI has not been an issue for those pursuing British citizenship by way of Naturalisation. The Home Office recently updated their guidance on Naturalisation to state that:

“people who did not hold Comprehensive Sickness Insurance… whilst wither a student or self-sufficient person… can now meet the layful residence requirement simply by showing you have been granted settled status under the EU [settlement scheme]. You also no longer need to explain why you did not hold [CSI].”

However, the Home Office still maintains that “it still may be appropriate to continue to apply the requirement in certain circumstances.”

and CSI is still mentioned with regard to the Good Character requirement. In practice, this can mean that the Home Office might use CSI in cases where the British citizenship application was likely to be rejected regardless.

So, if you have a more complex immigration history, we can help you to secure the best possible chances of a successful application.

Naturalisation applications typically take around 3 months to receive British citizenship decisions by the Home Office. However, it can take up to 6 months.

Your British citizenship application will need to be supported by two referees.

One referee should be a person in a professional standing, such as a civil servant, a member of a professional body such as a solicitor or barrister (who are not representing your application), or minister of religion. They can be of any nationality.

A second referee should a British passport holder and either a professional person over the age of 25.

The Good Character requirement does not have a clear definition. However, there are some instances in which a refusal is likely. These are:

• Prior criminal convictions, unless 3 years have passed;
• Deception or dishonesty, including deception in a current or previous immigration application which will result in the applicant being barred from another application for 10 years;
• Failure to comply with immigration laws, including illegal entry, overstaying, and illegal working.

If you have been refused an application previously on grounds of Good Character, speak to us today.

This depends on whether you are married to a British citizen.

If you are married to a British citizen, you can apply for naturalisation as soon as you have obtained Indefinite Leave to Remain. However, you will need to satisfy the requirements for British citizenship below.

If you are not married to a British citizen, you must not have been subject to immigration time restrictions for at least 12 months prior to an application for naturalisation. This is likely to mean that you will only be able to apply for British citizenship 12 months after your granting of Indefinite Leave to Remain.