Search any visa information here !!!

Naturalisation

This page provides details of the requirements you need to meet for naturalise as a British citizen.

If you are married to or a civil partner of a British citizen, the requirements you need to meet are different; you should read the page spouse and civil partner requirements for more details.You should read the information on this page before you make an application for naturalisation.
You will need to pay a fee when you make your application. If you make an application for naturalisation and it is unsuccessful because you are not eligible for naturalisation, amount will not refund.

Other related information on:

Standard requirements for Naturalisation:
There are seven requirements you need to meet before you apply:

  • you are aged 18 or over; and
  • you are of sound mind; and
  • you intend to continue to live in the United Kingdom, or to continue in crown service, the service of an international organisation of which the United Kingdom is a member, or the service of a company or association established in the United Kingdom; and
  • you can communicate in English, Welsh or Scottish Gaelic to an acceptable degree; and
  • you have sufficient knowledge of life in the United Kingdom; and
  • you are of good character; and
  • you meet the residential requirements (these are detailed in full below)
Residential requirements:
To demonstrate the residential requirements for naturalisation you need to:


  • have been resident in the United Kingdom for at least five years (this is known as the residential qualifying period); and
  • have been present in the United Kingdom five years before the date of your application;
  • have not spent more than 450 days outside the United Kingdom during the five year period; and
  • have not spend more than 90 days outside the United Kingdom in the last 12 months of the five-year period; and
  • have not been in breach of the immigration rules at any stage during the five-year period.

Start of the residential qualifying period:
The residential qualifying period will be worked out from the day we receive your application. Most unsuccessful applications fail because the applicant was not present in the United Kingdom at the beginning of the residential qualifying period. You must make sure you meet this requirement before you make your application. For example, if we received your application on 25 November 2005, you would have to show that you were in the United Kingdom on 26 November 2000.

You cannot count time you have spent in the United Kingdom while exempt from immigration control as part of the residential qualifying period. If you are in the United Kingdom as a diplomat or as a member of visiting armed forces or if you are in any place of detention, you would be considered exempt from immigration control. This time would be treated as absence from the United Kingdom.

Immigration time restrictions:
You must be free from immigration time restrictions when you make your naturalisation application. Unless you are married to or the civil partner of a British citizen, you should have been free from immigration time restrictions during the last 12 months of the residential qualifying period.

If you are free from immigration time restrictions then there is usually a stamp or sticker in your passport saying that you have indefinite leave to enter or remain or no time limit on your stay. But you may have a letter from the Home Office saying that you are free from immigration conditions.

The documents we require for naturalisation applications:

  • You should send the original document, not a copy. Your documents will be returned to you by secure post, if you wish your documents to be returned to you by an alternative postal service or by courier you should include a pre-paid delivery envelope with your application.
  • You should provide translations of any documents not in English.
  • The documents you need to supply to us will depend on the basis of your application.

The list below has been split into five sections; you should make sure you read all the sections that relate to you. If you do not send all the documents needed they will write to you to request them; this will delay your application.

1. Documents required for all applications:
Evidence of your identity provide one of the following:

  • your passport; or your nationality identity card; or
  • your Home Office travel document; or
  • your Home Office entitlement card; or
  • your Home Office application registration card; or
  • your birth certificate; or
  • your photo driving licence; or
  • bank, building society or credit card statements issued to you in the last six months.

If you used one of these documents to prove your identity when you took the knowledge of life in UK test, you should supply the same document to support your naturalisation application.

Evidence of knowledge of English and of life in the United Kingdom:

If you are applying from within the United Kingdom, you should provide one of the following:


  • your certificate of progression from one English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) level to another, with a letter from the college confirming you completed an ESOL with citizenship course; or
  • your letter confirming you have passed the life in the UK test, stamped and signed by the test supervisor; or
  • your confirmation that you met this requirement in order to obtain settlement.

If you are applying from the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man, you should contact the Lieutenant Governor for details of the evidence you should supply.

If you are applying from any other country, you should contact your nearest British diplomatic post for details of the evidence you should supply.

Exemption from knowledge of English and life in the United Kingdom requirement
You should provide evidence from your doctor that it is not a temporary condition.

2. Documents required for applications made on the basis of residence in the United Kingdom:

Evidence of lawful residence during the residential qualifying period:

  • You should provide your passport. If you are unable to provide your passport, you should explain why on page 13 of the application form.
  • If you do not provide your passport, you should provide letters from employers, educational establishments or other government departments indicating your presence in the United Kingdom during the qualifying period.
  • If your passport is not stamped when you come into the United Kingdom because you:

have the right of abode in the United Kingdom; or are a national of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus or a national of Taiwan.

You should send your passport and alternative evidence of residence in the form of letters from employers, educational establishments or other government departments to show your presence in the United Kingdom during the qualifying period.

Evidence that you are free from immigration time restrictions:

  • your passport showing permission to remain in the United Kingdom permanently; or
  • the Home Office letter by which you were given permission to remain in the United Kingdom permanently

If you came to the United Kingdom as an asylum seeker, you should provide:

evidence that you were not in the United Kingdom without permission between exhausting your appeal rights and being granted indefinite leave to remain.

3. Documents required for applications made on the basis of marriage or civil partnership to a British citizen:

  • your partner's passport or birth certificate; and
  • your marriage or civil partnership certificate.

4. Documents required for applications from self-employed people:
If you do not pay tax through Pay As You Earn (PAYE) arrangements.

  • The most recent HM Revenue and Customs self assessment statement of account.

Other related information on:

No comments:

Post a Comment

Let Us Know !!!