British citizenship gives you the right to live and work in the UK permanently, without any immigration restrictions.
You need British citizenship before you can apply for a UK passport.
Some people are British automatically, without applying. You should check if you’re already British if you:
You don’t need to apply for citizenship if you’re already British - you can apply for a UK passport immediately. Find out how to apply for a passport on GOV.UK.
Citizenship isn’t the only way to live and work in the UK permanently. You can find out if citizenship is right for you before you apply.
You might be able to apply for British citizenship by ‘naturalisation’ if you’re over 18 years old and you either:
Naturalisation is the most common way to get citizenship if you were born outside the UK and don’t have a British parent.
You need to have permission to live in the UK permanently - for example, getting indefinite leave to remain or ‘settled status’ from the EU Settlement Scheme. You need to do this even if your husband, wife or civil partner is a British citizen.
You’ll also need to meet some other requirements. It’s easier to meet the requirements if your husband, wife or civil partner is a British citizen. There are different ways you could meet the requirements if you’re a citizen of a country in the EU, European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland, or their family member.
You should find out what status you need to have and other requirements that apply to you before you start your application.
To apply for British citizenship you usually need one of the following:
If you have an EU right of permanent residence, you'll need to prove this when you apply for British citizenship - it can be difficult to prove. Talk to an adviser before you apply.
Once you’ve got one of these things, you can apply straight away - as long as you meet the other requirements.
If you don’t have indefinite leave to remain or settled status, check if you’re eligible for either:
You also need to have:
Find out how to prepare for the Life in the UK Test, prove you know English and meet the good character requirement.
You need to do this even if you’ve already proved how long you’ve lived in the UK - for example, to get indefinite leave to remain.
You need to prove you were:
You also need to make sure you were in the UK on the same day 3 years ago as the day you’re applying. If you weren’t in the UK exactly 3 years ago, it’s usually best to wait until it’s been 3 years since the date you returned to the UK and then apply. If you were out of the UK for a long time, talk to an adviser.
You might still be eligible if the Home Office decide to make an exception (‘use discretion’). For example, they can ignore time you spent outside the UK for:
Before you apply, you should check the naturalisation guide on GOV.UK to find out if the Home Office can make an exception for your absences from the UK.
If the Home Office decide you’re not eligible for citizenship because of the time you’ve spent outside the UK, you won’t get your application fee back.
If you think you might not be eligible, you should talk to an adviser before you apply.
If your husband, wife or civil partner is a British citizen, you'll need to meet the requirements for people who have a British husband, wife or civil partner instead.
You can usually apply for British citizenship 12 months after getting one of the following:
If you have an EU right of permanent residence, you'll need to prove this when you apply for British citizenship - it can be difficult to prove. Talk to an adviser before you apply.
If you don’t have settled status or indefinite leave, you might still be able to apply, even though the deadline has passed. You will need to show you had a good reason for missing the deadline.
You also need to have:
Find out how to prepare for the Life in the UK Test, prove you know English and meet the good character requirement.
You need to do this even if you’ve already proved how long you’ve lived in the UK - for example, to get settled status.
You need to prove you were:
You also need to make sure you were in the UK on the same day 5 years ago as the day you’re applying. If you weren’t in the UK exactly 5 years ago, it’s usually best to wait until it’s been 5 years since the date you returned to the UK and then apply. If you were out of the UK for a long time, talk to an adviser.
You might still be eligible if the Home Office decide to 'use discretion' (make an exception). For example, they can ignore time you spent outside the UK for:
The Home Office will ignore absences for a compassionate or exceptional reason - for example, coronavirus travel restrictions delayed their return to the UK.
Before you apply, you should check the naturalisation guide on GOV.UK to find out if the Home Office can make an exception for your absences from the UK.
If the Home Office decides you’re not eligible for citizenship because of the time you’ve spent outside the UK, you won’t get your application fee back.
If you think you might not be eligible, you should talk to an adviser before you apply.
You can usually apply for citizenship 12 months after you get indefinite leave to remain (or ‘indefinite leave to enter’) unless you’re married to a British citizen.
If you don’t have either of those, you can check if you’re eligible for indefinite leave to remain on GOV.UK.
You also need to have:
Find out how to prepare for the Life in the UK Test, prove you know English and meet the good character requirement.
You need to do this even if you’ve already proved how long you’ve lived in the UK - for example, to get indefinite leave to remain.
You need to prove you were:
You also need to make sure you were in the UK on the same day 5 years ago as the day you’re applying. If you weren’t in the UK exactly 5 years ago, it’s usually best to wait until it’s been 5 years since the date you returned to the UK and then apply. If you were out of the UK for a long time, talk to an adviser.
You might still be eligible if the Home Office decide to make an exception (‘use discretion’). For example, they can ignore time you spent outside the UK for:
The Home Office will ignore absences for a compassionate or exceptional reason - for example, coronavirus travel restrictions delayed your return to the UK.
Before you apply, you should check the naturalisation guide on GOV.UK to find out if the Home Office can make an exception for your absences from the UK.
If the Home Office decide you’re not eligible for citizenship because of the time you’ve spent outside the UK, you won’t get your application fee back.
If you think you might not be eligible, you should talk to an adviser before you apply.
There are a few ways you can be eligible to apply for citizenship. Most adults who have migrated to the UK get citizenship by applying to ‘naturalise’. You can find out how to apply for British citizenship.
Your children can also apply for British citizenship at the same time as you.
Some children can apply before you do if either:
There are some other ways you can apply for citizenship. You can find out on GOV.UK if you’re eligible because you:
Take 3 minutes to tell us if you found what you needed on our website. Your feedback will help us give millions of people the information they need.