Naturalisation is a process by which UK citizenship is granted to foreign nationals. After you have lived in the UK for a certain period of time you may be eligible to Naturalise as a British citizen. If you wish to become a British citizen please review this section for further information.
In order to apply to be naturalised as a British citizen, with the exception of those who are married to an existing British citizen, an applicant is required to have lived in the UK for a minimum of 5 years. They also need to:
- Be 18 years or older
- Show that they do not have a serious and/or recent criminal record
- Declare that they intend to continue to live in the UK going forward
- Meet the minimum requirement when it comes to their knowledge of the English language and life in the UK
As part of the application process, the applicant must be supported by two referees – one of professional standing and the other a British passport holder. The application is then made to the Home Office which takes an average of 4 weeks to respond with a letter. If accepted, the applicant will need to take an oath of allegiance. After this a naturalised person can apply for a British passport.
If your spouse or civil partner holds a British passport, the initial 5 years can be dropped to 3 years. Another exception to the 5-year rule is for those serving as members or former members of HM armed forces; as the time restrictions for being away from the country do not apply to them, many receive Indefinite Leave to Remain as soon as they are discharged. Unfortunately, that exception does not apply to their families; however, in many cases they are allowed temporary leave to stay for the time that their family member is still within service.
Another streamlined case can be for those in the service of the crown. Applications are considered based on the applicant’s quality of service, their link to the UK, their loyalty, their rank (the more senior the better) and their length of service.
In the case of stateless children, the child must have been born in the UK, be under the age of 22 and must never have been a citizen of another state. They must have been living in the UK for the previous 5 years and not have left the UK for more than 450 days in the previous 5 years.
In the case of individuals who were born prior to 1 January 1983 and who would have been a citizen from their mother’s side of the family, they would also have the right to live in the UK as a British citizen as long as they are eligible to apply for citizenship under this route.
Some children can gain British citizenship if their parents both obtained Indefinite Leave to Remain after they were born. Others can if they were born after 1 January 1983 and have spent no more than 90 days out of the country in the first 10 years of their life. They can also receive discretionary support if it helps the child to establish connections in the UK, and if it is confirmed that child’s future is here. The child could also be the child of an HM Forces parent born after 13 January 2010.
It is worth noting for the application process that there are 6 types of British nationality and each has their own separate process: British citizen, British overseas citizen, British overseas territories citizen, British national (overseas), British subject and British protected person.
Temple Gate Solicitors are specialised in Nationality matters and can help you with your application. To book a consultation with one of our legal experts contact us on 020 7183 8043 or send us a message by clicking here.
