British Citizenship

There are 6 different types of British nationality. These are:

• British citizenship
• British overseas territories citizen
• British overseas citizen
• British subject
• British national (overseas)
• British protected person

You can live and work in the UK free of any immigration controls if you’re a British citizen. There are different ways to become a British citizen. The most common is called ‘naturalisation’. You can apply for British citizenship by naturalisation if:

• you’re 18 or over
• you’re of good character, eg you don’t have a serious or recent criminal record
• you’ll continue to live in the UK
• you’ve met the knowledge of English and life in the UK requirements
• you meet the residency requirement

And you must usually have:

• lived in the UK for at least the 5 years before the date of your application
• spent no more than 450 days outside the UK during those 5 years
• spent no more than 90 days outside the UK in the last 12 months
• been granted indefinite leave to stay in the UK (or permanent residence if you’re an EEA national) - this means there’s no specific date that you have to leave
• had indefinite leave to stay in the UK for the last 12 months (or permanent residence if you’re an EEA national)
• not broken any immigration laws while in the UK

There are different requirements if your spouse or civil partner is a British citizen.

You can’t include any time spent in the UK when you’re exempt from immigration control (eg as a diplomat or member of visiting armed forces) as part of the 5 years.

If your spouse is a British citizen If you’re married to, or the civil partner of, a British citizen, you can apply for citizenship if:

• you’re 18 or over
• you’re of sound mind, eg you’re able to think and make decisions for yourself
• you’re of good character, eg you don’t have a serious or recent criminal record
• you’ve met the knowledge of English and life in the UK requirements
• you’ve been granted indefinite leave to stay in the UK (or permanent residence if you’re an EEA national) - this means there’s no specific date that you have to leave
• you meet the residency requirement



Unless your spouse or civil partner works abroad either for the UK government or for an organisation closely linked to government, you must usually also have:

• lived in the UK for at least the 3 years before your application is received
• spent no more than 270 days outside the UK in those 3 years
• spent no more than 90 days outside the UK in the last 12 months
• not broken any immigration laws while in the UK

Children under 18

You can apply on behalf of a child under 18 if they meet the eligibility criteria. They don’t have to pass the Life in the UK Test.