How do I get naturalisation in the UK?

Naturalisation in the UK is an important step for many immigrants who have had residence in the UK for a few years. Here are the different approaches to application of naturalisation.

General

Prior to starting the application process for naturalisation, applicants must meet the basic requirements. These include being: over the age of 18, intending to continue to live in the UK, ability to communicate in English/Welsh/Scottish Gaelic to a certain degree, knowledge of life in the UK (take the ‘Life in the UK’ test if aged between 18 and 65), of good mind and character and the ability to meet the basic residential requirements. These residential requirements are the minimum lengths of the stay in the UK before applicants can claim naturalisation. They need to have been in the UK for 5 years at least, from 5 years before the date of application. Additionally, applicants should not have been outside the UK for 450 days or more in that 5 year period. In the last year of the 5 year period, applicants should not have spent 90 days or more outside of the UK. Finally, there should have been no breach of the Immigration Rules over the 5 years. It is important to note that the calculation of the qualifying 5 year period begins from the date that the UK Border Agency receives the application. So if the application was received on the 20th August 2011, the applicant needed to be in the UK on the 20th August 2006. Most importantly, the applicant must have Indefinite Leave to Remain or Indefinite Leave to Enter for at least the last 12 months of their stay in the UK.

European Economic Area and Swiss Nationals

Applicants who are members of the EEA or Switzerland have the right to permanent residence upon entry to the UK. In order to be eligible for naturalisation, they must have resided in the UK for a minimum of 5 years. They will automatically have permanent residence status after 5 years, and they can then go onto apply for naturalisation when they have held this permanent residence status for a minimum of 12 months. The difference between an EEA/Swiss application and a normal application is that the EEA/Swiss applicant does not need to have Indefinite Leave to Enter or Remain.

Naturalisation if applicant is married/civil partner to a British citizen

Some of the general rules apply for the spouses, such as being 18 or over, a good mind and character, ability to communicate in English/Welsh/Scottish Gaelic and knowledge of life in the UK. In addition to this, spouse applicants will need to ensure that their husband/wife/civil partner is a British citizen and that they meet the residential requirements. The residential requirements differ from the general and EEA/Swiss requirements. Spouses need to have been a resident in the UK for at least 3 years, of which they have not left the UK for more than 270 over the 3 years, and no more than 90 days outside of the UK in the last 12 months of the 3 years. If the applicant is married to someone who is an EEA/Swiss national then they can also apply for naturalisation after 5 years of residing in the UK. These spouses are automatically given the status of a permanent resident, and they do not need to apply for indefinite leave to remain or enter.