British Citizenship Applications

No. As well as filling in the specific form to apply to become a British citizen, you must also show the Home Office you meet all the criteria for the application you are making. This may require a cover letter, specific documents and an explanation about any tricky or unusual aspects of the application. Ideally you want to avoid the Home Office having any questions about your application or deciding they don’t have enough information to make a decision on it.

Usually, the Home Office will not automatically refuse a British citizenship application on the basis of a speeding ticket on its own. However, when considering citizenship applications, the Home Office considers whether the applicant is of “good character” and they may refuse a citizenship application if they have concerns about someone’s past behaviour. This involves looking at any past criminal convictions, warnings, cautions or reprimands, fixed penalty notices, fines, tax liabilities, NHS debt and breaches of immigration conditions. Even minor issues will be looked at by the Home Office. Whether or not it affects your application will depend on what has happened, when it happened, whether there was any dishonesty involved and any mitigating factors. You will need to be open and honest with the Home Office in your application.

To apply for British citizenship you need to be able to show you have been lawfully resident in the UK for the period you are relying on for your application. There are two main requirements. You need to show you were living in the UK and had made your home here. This requires evidence of your home address and work in the UK. You also need to give the dates of when you entered and left the UK. You could be asked to show evidence of these trips on request. This could be via passport stamps, boarding passes, flight details or other evidence of your travel dates. If you do not declare a trip and the Home Office discover this, it could affect your application.

You do not have to limit the number of holidays you take. However, the Home Office do have rules on how long you can have spent outside the UK in the years leading up to your application. The normal rules are you should not have spent more than 450 days outside the UK during the 5 years before your application or 90 days outside the UK in the 12 months before the date you apply. You should check that your travel plans won’t take you over these limits and take specific advice if you think you might be affected.

Technically both answers are true. The normal application for British citizenship requires a person to have indefinite leave to remain in the UK (usually possible after 5 years for most types of visa) and then spend a further 12 months in the UK before applying. This means that in most situations, a standard application can be made after 6 years in the UK.

However, if you are married to a British citizen, this time period is reduced and you can apply after spending just 3 years in the UK if you can show you have indefinite leave to remain or settled status already. You should always seek specific advice on your situation as the rules are complex and there may be practical advantages and disadvantages of different options.

The British government allows its citizens to hold dual nationality. However, not all governments allow this. You will need to check the rules of the other country. For example, the French government also allows dual nationality so as a French national you could apply for British citizenship and hold both nationalities at the same time. This can be a benefit after Brexit as different nationalities can give you different opportunities. Some governments only allow dual nationality if you apply for prior approval from their government (i.e. South Africa). Other governments do not allow dual nationality at all, and nationals must forfeit their passports when applying for a second nationality (i.e. India). We recommend you check the requirements for your home country carefully before starting an application for British citizenship.

No. A child does not automatically become a British citizen if their parent is granted citizenship. A child’s entitlement to British citizenship depends on several factors. These include where they were born, whether they were born before or after their parent gained citizenship, how long they have lived in the UK and whether they meet the other criteria for citizenship.

If a child meets the criteria they may need to make their own application to become a British citizen.

Yes, moving to Spain before you formalise your British citizenship could affect your application.  One of the criteria for citizenship is that the applicant intends to make the UK their principal home. If you are planning on moving to another country you may not be able to give this assurance to the Home Office. There are slightly different rules for spouses of British citizens. If you are considering moving abroad, we’d recommend you seek advice before putting any plans in place to avoid it inadvertently affecting your application.

This is not correct. Settled status under the EU settlement scheme is treated in the same way as indefinite leave to remain. After holding settled status for 12 months you usually become eligible to apply for British citizenship but it is not granted automatically. If you want to become a British citizen you need to make a formal application and meet the criteria for British citizenship. Some of these criteria are different to the criteria for EU Settled status so you may need to take further steps, take the Life in the UK test and prove a higher level of English language.

Unless you are exempted from taking the test, you must take the Life in the UK test before you make your application for British citizenship. The test certificate does not expire and you can take the test at any time before your application.

You do not need to take the test if you are under 18, are 65 or over, have passed it before for a previous application or have a long term physical or mental condition with supporting medical information.

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. In simple terms, whether you’re automatically British depends on where your parents are from and where they were living when you were born.  The rules are very complicated and different rules apply depending on your date of birth so you need specialist advice to check your personal situation.

If you do meet the criteria for automatic British citizenship you do not need to apply for it and you can apply straight away for a British passport to prove your rights.

If you do not meet the criteria for automatic British citizenship but you meet the criteria to apply for citizenship you need to make an application before you can apply for a passport.