Deciding if citizenship is right for you

Some people can already live and work in the UK - they don’t need to apply for British citizenship to stay in the UK. 

Before you apply, check:

• what rights you already have

• what other rights you’d get

• what getting British citizenship involves - for example, how much it costs and if you can keep your current nationality 

Check if you’re already a British citizen

You don’t need to apply for citizenship if you automatically became a British citizen when you were born.

You might automatically be a British citizen if either:

• one of your parents was a British citizen when you were born

• you were born in the UK and one of your parents had ‘settled status’, ‘indefinite leave to remain’ or ‘permanent residence’ when you were born

You can check if you’re automatically a British citizen on GOV.UK if either: 

• you have a British parent 

• you were born in the UK 

Check if you can already live and work in the UK permanently

You already have the right to live and work in the UK permanently if you:

• have ‘settled status’ from the EU Settlement Scheme

• have ‘indefinite leave to remain’  

• are an Irish citizen

• are a Commonwealth citizen with ‘right of abode’

You can stay in the UK for as long as you want if you’re in one of those situations - you don’t have to apply for citizenship.

Check what rights you’ll have as a British citizen

You need British citizenship if you want to:

• get a British passport

• vote in elections - you might already be able to vote in some elections if you’re an EU or Commonwealth citizen

• leave the UK for as long as you want, without losing your ‘right to return’

• get British citizenship for your children if they’re born outside the UK

If your children are born in the UK, they’ll automatically be British citizens if you have indefinite leave to remain, settled status or permanent residence when they’re born - you don’t need to be a British citizen.  

Check if you already have the right to vote

If you’re an Irish or Commonwealth citizen, you can already vote in general and local elections.

Check if you can register to vote on the Electoral Commission website.

If you want to leave the UK for a long time

You can leave the UK for:

• 5 years without losing settled status from the EU Settlement Scheme - 4 years if you're Swiss

• 2 years without losing indefinite leave to remain

If you stay outside the UK for longer than this you lose your ‘right to return’ - this means you lose your settled status or your indefinite leave to remain.

If you get British citizenship, you can leave the UK for as long as you want without losing your right to return.

If you go to prison

If it’s a serious criminal offence and you’re not a British citizen, you could lose your status and be deported. A serious offence is one which has at least a 12-month sentence. 

If you have British citizenship, you can’t usually be deported or lose your citizenship. 

You can’t apply for citizenship if you’ve already been found guilty of a serious criminal offence.

If you’ve had refugee status or humanitarian protection

If you get British citizenship, you will not be able to make a ‘family reunion’ application to bring your family to the UK for free. 

This could make it more difficult and expensive to bring family to the UK. Check how much it costs to get a family visa if you have British citizenship on GOV.UK.

You can still make a family reunion application if you have indefinite leave to remain instead of British citizenship.

Find out if you can make a family reunion application on GOV.UK.

Check if you can keep your current nationality

You can be a citizen of more than one country at the same time - this is called ‘dual citizenship’. 

Some countries don't allow their citizens to have dual citizenship. You should check if the country where you're already a citizen will let you keep your nationality and passport after you become a British citizen.

If you’re not sure if you can have dual citizenship, check the rules with your country’s consulate or embassy in the UK. 

If you’re a refugee, only contact your embassy if it’s safe for you to do so.

If you can keep your current nationality 

When you have dual citizenship, it means you can live and work in both countries - and you won’t need a visa to travel between them. You can also choose which passport to use when you travel.

If the other country makes its citizens do things like national service, you'll still have to do them if you get British citizenship.

If you get British citizenship, you can’t usually get help from the British embassy in another country where you’re also a citizen.

Enghraifft

John has dual British and American citizenship.

John is arrested in the USA. He can't get help from the British embassy in the USA because he is an American citizen.

If you're not allowed dual citizenship 

If you get British citizenship, you could lose your current nationality and passport. You might:

• need a visa to visit the other country

• not be allowed to own property there

• not be allowed to move back

You might not be able to get your original nationality back later, even if you give up your British citizenship.

How much it costs

You usually pay £1,630 to apply for adult citizenship or £1,214 for children. If you’re applying for citizenship as an adult you’ll also have to pay:

• £50 to do the Life in the UK Test

• £19.20 to send your fingerprints and photo to the Home Office

• around £150 if you have to do an English test

You will not get most of your money back if your application is refused - for example, if you’re not eligible or you sent the wrong documents.

You can find out more about the fees for citizenship applications on GOV.UK.

What it involves

You’ll need to allow plenty of time to prepare your application for citizenship.

You usually have to do a test on British history, traditions and everyday life, called the Life in the UK Test. You also have to gather lots of documents and evidence - for example, dates for every time you came in and out of the UK during the last 5 years.

You might also need to do a speaking and listening test to prove your knowledge of English.

Find out more about what you need to do to apply for citizenship.

When you can apply

After you get settled status, indefinite leave to remain or permanent residence, you usually have to wait 1 year before you can apply for British citizenship.

You can apply for British citizenship as soon as you get your status if you're married to, or in a civil partnership with, a British citizen.