The final step towards your British Citizenship

You have lived in the UK for a long time, and it is now time for you to take the next step to be a British citizen. It could be for different individual reasons. You may be married to a British citizen, or you may have lived in the UK for a very long time.

Whatever the reason is, we are here to assist you with your application.

What you need to remember is that Naturalisation is not an entitlement. To be eligible, you must demonstrate that you satisfy certain legal requirements.

To apply, you will need to meet the following requirements:

Aged 18 or over when you apply; Are of sound mind;

Intend to continue to live in the UK,

Can communicate in English (or Welsh or Scottish Gaelic) to an acceptable Must have successfully passed the Knowledge of Life in UK test;

Are of good character;

Must have lived in the UK for a minimum of 5 years before applying;

You must also have obtained your Indefinite Leave to Remain status for at least a year (12 months).

In addition to the above, you must also be physically present in England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man or the Channel Island on the day 5 years before the application is received by the Home Office.

The Home Office also requires applicant to not have more than 450 days of absences from the UK in the last 5 years prior to submitting your application. You must also not be absent for more than 90 days in the last 12 months immediately before submitting your application. This is not a hard and fast rule though; the Home Office can exercise discretion for certain type of absences – speak to us if you are not sure if you can meet this requirement.

For spouse of a British citizen

Most of the above requirements will apply to a spouse of a British Citizen however:

You do not need to have indefinite leave to remain for 12 months before applying; You must have lived in the UK for a minimum of 3 years prior to applying;

You must still be married to your British spouse at the date of your application;

You must also be physically present in England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man or the Channel Island on the day 3 years before the application is received by the Home Office.

The Home Office also requires applicant to not have more than 370 days of absences from the UK in the last 3 years prior to submitting your application. You must also not be absent for more than 90 days in the last 12 months immediately before submitting your application. As above, this is not a hard and fast rule though; the Home Office can exercise discretion for certain type of absences – speak to us if you are not sure if you can meet this requirement.

Regardless of which application you will be submitting, the Home Office do exercise strict requirement for good character. As a rule of thumb, criminal record checks will be carried out in all application. Most clients we have dealt with probably had a non-custodial offence. This offence must have occurred more than 3 years from the date of application for your Naturalisation application to be successful. Your application can also be refused if the Home Office have doubt with your character. This can be previous behaviour relating to Immigration related issues such as entering the UK illegally, or where you have practised deception in your dealings with the Home Office.