Naturalisation and British Citizenship

You may be eligible to make a British Citizenship Application if:

• You have held Indefinite Leave to Remain or Settled Status for a minimum of 12 months and have been lawfully residence in the UK for the past 5 years.
• You have been granted indefinite leave to remain or settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme and are married to or in a civil partnership with a British citizen, and you have you been lawfully resident in the UK for the past 3 years.

You may also be eligible if:

• You have a British Parent
• You have another type of British Nationality
• You have a parent with British Overseas Territories citizenship
• You are stateless
• You previously gave up (renounced) your citizenship
• Other exceptional circumstances apply to you.

If you were born in the UK

You do not automatically get British citizenship if you were born in the UK. It depends on when you were born and your parents’ circumstances.

You may be eligible to apply for citizenship if you were born in the UK and are not automatically a British citizen.

If you’re married to or in a civil partnership with a British citizen

To apply as the spouse or civil partner of a British citizen you must have lived in the UK for the last 3 years.

You’ll also need to have either:

• indefinite leave to remain (ILR)
• settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme

If you do, you’ll be eligible to apply for citizenship immediately.

If you have indefinite leave to remain (ILR)

You can usually apply for ILR after you’ve lived in the UK for 5 years. To apply for citizenship with ILR you must usually have lived in the UK for 12 months after getting it.

If you have ‘settled status’ under the EU Settlement Scheme

To apply for citizenship with settled status you must usually have lived in the UK for 12 months after getting it.

If you have not applied to the EU Settlement Scheme

You might still be able to apply for settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme. You can then use this to apply for citizenship. The deadline to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme for most people was 30 June 2021. You can still apply if you have ‘reasonable grounds’ for not being able to apply by the deadline.

Other ways you can be eligible

You may be eligible to apply for citizenship if:

• you have a British parent
• you have another type of British nationality
• you have a parent with British Overseas Territories citizenship
• you’re stateless
• you previously gave up (renounced) your citizenship
• other special circumstancesapply to you

If you’re a Commonwealth citizen

You may be eligible to apply for citizenship under the Windrush Scheme if both:

• you or one of your parents arrived in the UK before 1973
• you’ve lived in the UK and not been away from it for more than 2 years

If your parent arrived in the UK before 1973, you must have either:

• been born in the UK
• arrived in the UK before you were 18

How to Apply

If you wish to apply, talk with our team who will advise you on your position and complete the form and collect any necessary documentation from you that will help make the application successful.

Why choose us

Our team will collaborate with you to make sure that your application is filled in correctly and that all the correct supporting documents are provided. We will also provide a supporting letter setting out your circumstances in detail to Home Office. This will put the Application in the best position on submission.

To give your application the best chance of success, and to reduce your stress, please contact our solicitors on 01482 616 616 or via our online contact form and we will get back to you.