British Citizenship: A Guide to Naturalisation After Settlement

This guide is for people who already have Indefinite Leave to Remain and are considering British citizenship. If you’re still working towards ILR, see our settlement guides.

If you’re still deciding whether citizenship is right for you, read To Be or Not to Be (British) first.

Who Can Apply

There are two main routes to British citizenship through naturalisation:

Naturalisation based on residence (Section 6(1))

You’ve held ILR for at least 12 months
You’ve lived in the UK for at least 5 years before your application
You meet the residence, good character, and language requirements

Naturalisation as the spouse or civil partner of a British citizen (Section 6(2))

You’re married to or in a civil partnership with a British citizen
You’ve held ILR (no minimum period required)
You’ve lived in the UK for at least 3 years before your application
You meet the residence, good character, and language requirements

The spouse route is faster but otherwise similar. Both require you to intend to continue living in the UK – or to work abroad in ways that still count as connected to Britain.

The Residence Calculation (It’s Not What You Think)

Here’s where people get caught. If you qualified for ILR, you naturally assume you’ll qualify for citizenship. Same system, same rules, just one more step.

Wrong.

The citizenship residence calculation is stricter, counts differently, and runs from a different date. People who sailed through ILR fail citizenship on absences all the time.

Standard route (5 years):

No more than 450 days absent from the UK during the 5-year period
No more than 90 days absent in the final 12 months before application
You must have held ILR for the final 12 months

Spouse route (3 years):

No more than 270 days absent during the 3-year period
No more than 90 days absent in the final 12 months
You must have ILR at the time of application (no minimum period)

The mental trap: Your brain anchors on your ILR experience. You remember the absences you were allowed, the dates that mattered, the calculation that worked. Citizenship uses different numbers and a different reference point. Your ILR intuition will mislead you.

Start from scratch. Count again.

Absences: The Rule That Catches Everyone

The absence limits exist because citizenship is meant to be for people who actually live here. Reasonable enough. But the way they’re applied catches people whose lives don’t fit neatly into bureaucratic categories.

What counts as absence: Every complete day outside the UK. The day you leave and the day you return don’t count – but every day in between does. A week visiting family is five days absent, not seven. Small comfort when you’re counting.

The 90-day rule is the killer: Most people manage the overall limit. It’s the final 12 months that gets them.

You’ve lived in Britain for fifteen years. You’ve been careful. Your total absences are well under 450 days. Then your mother gets ill abroad, and you spend four months caring for her. Completely understandable. Also potentially fatal to your application.

The rules don’t care that you’ve been here for decades. They care about the 12 months before you apply.

Discretion exists, but it’s not a safety net: The Home Office can overlook excess absences for Crown service, employment overseas for a UK company, or compelling personal reasons. But discretion means they might – not they will. If you’re relying on discretion, you’re gambling.

The practical advice: Pull your travel history before you apply. If you’re anywhere close to the limits, consider whether waiting gives you a cleaner application. A few months’ delay is better than a £1,580 refusal.

Good Character: The Gut Check Dressed as a Legal Test

For ILR, the rules are relatively mechanical. Meet the requirements, provide the evidence, get the status. There’s discretion at the margins, but mostly it’s box-ticking.

Citizenship is different.

Even if you meet every technical requirement, the Home Secretary can still refuse. The legal test is “good character” – but what that really means is: should this person become British?

It’s a judgment call. And you’re not the one making it.

What they consider:

Criminal record Not just convictions. Cautions, out-of-court disposals, patterns of low-level offending. They’re asking whether your history suggests you respect British laws – or whether granting citizenship would embarrass the system.

Immigration history Have you been honest? Have you played by the rules? Previous deception is the worst – it goes to whether you can be trusted. Overstaying and breaches matter too, though time and rehabilitation help.

Financial conduct Tax evasion. Benefit fraud. Deliberate dishonesty about money. Bankruptcy alone isn’t a bar – life happens – but how you’ve handled financial difficulty says something about character.

General conduct Anything else that raises questions. The clause is deliberately broad.

The key difference from ILR: For ILR, discretion is limited. For citizenship, the Home Secretary can simply decide you’re not the kind of person who should become British. No appeal. No refund.

That asymmetry should shape how you approach the application. If there’s anything in your history that might raise an eyebrow, address it. Don’t hope it won’t be noticed. It will be.

Life in the UK Test and English Language

If you did these for ILR, you might not need to do them again. But check.

Life in the UK test: You must have passed before applying. If you passed for ILR, the same certificate works – but keep it somewhere you can find it. Replacing lost certificates is possible but tedious.

English language: B1 level, speaking and listening. If you used a test for ILR, check whether it’s still valid – some certificates expire. A degree taught in English works indefinitely. Being a national of a majority English-speaking country works too.

No exemptions for age or education. The test is the test.

The Application Process

Application: Online through the Home Office portal. Upload documents, pay £1,580, wait.

Biometrics: Fingerprints and photograph at an appointment. You’ve done this before for visas. Same idea.

Decision: Typically 6-12 months. Complex cases take longer. There’s no right of appeal – only administrative review or judicial review, both limited.

The ceremony: Here’s something people don’t expect: you’re not British when your application is approved. You’re British when you complete the ceremony.

You’ll attend your local council’s citizenship ceremony, take an oath or affirmation of allegiance, and receive your certificate. Until that happens, you’re still just a person whose application was successful. The ceremony isn’t decorative – it’s constitutive.

There’s something slightly absurd about becoming British in a council chamber, pledging allegiance to the Crown while someone’s phone goes off. But there’s also something meaningful about it. A ritual that marks the end of the immigration journey. You’re no longer someone who was allowed to stay. You belong.

Dual Nationality

The UK doesn’t mind if you keep your other passport. You can be British and something else. Many people are.

But your country of origin might not agree.

Some countries require you to renounce citizenship if you naturalise elsewhere. Others don’t recognise dual nationality and treat you as having lost your original citizenship automatically – whether you intended to or not.

This matters. Your original passport might be how you visit family, own property, inherit, or access services in your birth country. Losing it might close doors you didn’t realise were open.

Check the rules for your nationality before you apply. This is one area where surprises are genuinely harmful.

Fees and Timeline

Current fees:

Application fee: £1,580
Citizenship ceremony: approximately £80-£100 (varies by council)
Total: roughly £1,660-£1,680

Timeline:

Standard processing: 6-12 months
No premium or fast-track service
Ceremony usually within a few weeks of approval

No refund on refusal: This is worth sitting with for a moment.

£1,580 is a significant amount of money. If your application is refused, you don’t get it back. The Home Office has taken your fee, considered your case, and said no. That’s the transaction.

The asymmetry of risk here is entirely on you. The Home Office loses nothing by refusing. You lose the fee, the time, and you now have a refusal on your record.

This should inform how you approach the application. If there’s any doubt about whether you qualify, resolve the doubt before you apply. Paying for professional review costs less than a refused application.

When to Wait vs Apply Now

Apply now if:

You clearly meet all requirements with margin to spare
No character issues or concerns
You want the certainty locked in before life changes

Wait if:

You’re close to absence limits – a few more months gives you breathing room
A recent character issue is still in its “sensitive” period
Circumstances are unstable (job abroad possible, legal matter pending)

Get advice first if:

Any criminal record, including cautions
Any previous immigration breach
Complex absence history
You’re unsure whether you meet the requirements

The cost of a consultation is a fraction of a refused application. And unlike the Home Office fee, it buys you an answer before you’ve committed.

Character Issues and Citizenship

If you’ve come here from our ILR guides, this is the section you were looking for.

The same issues that complicate ILR – criminal records, overstaying, deception – are treated more seriously for citizenship. The Home Secretary has broader discretion. The question isn’t just whether you meet the technical requirements, but whether granting you citizenship is appropriate.

Criminal records: Waiting periods exist, but they’re guidelines not guarantees. Even after the waiting period, the offence is still considered – it’s just less likely to result in refusal. Serious offences, patterns of offending, or recent offences carry more weight.

Previous overstaying or breach: How long ago, how serious, and what your conduct has been since. Long-rehabilitated breaches from many years ago are usually manageable. Recent or serious breaches are harder.

Deception: The most serious issue. If you previously used false documents or gave dishonest information in an immigration application, citizenship will be difficult even years later. The Home Office asks whether someone who was dishonest before should be trusted with citizenship. You’ll need strong evidence of rehabilitation and changed circumstances.

The approach: Don’t hide problems – the Home Office has your records. Address issues directly in a covering letter. Show what’s changed. Provide evidence of rehabilitation, stability, and contribution. Make the case that despite your past, granting citizenship is the right decision.

We deal with these applications regularly. If you’ve got character issues, a short consultation before applying is usually worth the investment.

Next Steps

Citizenship is the final step in the immigration journey. Once you naturalise, you’re British. The immigration system no longer applies to you.

If you clearly qualify and have no complications, the application is manageable. If you have character issues, absence concerns, or complex circumstances, professional help reduces the risk of an expensive refusal.

Book a consultation to discuss your circumstances before applying.

This guide is for general information only. Immigration rules change frequently. Always check current requirements before applying, and get advice on your specific situation if anything is unclear.