Are you eligible to become a British citizen? Check here

There are different ways to apply for British citizenship (or ‘naturalisation’) based on your circumstances. If you’re eligible in more than one way you can choose which way to apply. If you’ve applied for citizenship, you’ll need permission to stay in the UK until you’re granted citizenship. Your permission needs to last until you have had your citizenship ceremony.

If you have indefinite leave to remain (ILR) or settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme, this counts as permission to stay.

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 need to check if you’re a British citizen.

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:

1. indefinite leave to remain (ILR)
2. settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme
3. 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.

Other ways you can be eligible
You may be eligible to apply for citizenship if:

1. you have a British parent
2. you have another type of British nationality
3. you have a parent with British overseas territories citizenship
4. you’re stateless
5. you previously gave up (renounced) your citizenship
6. other special circumstances apply to you
7. you’re a Chagossian descendant (a direct descendant of someone born in British Indian Ocean Territory)

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.