Becoming a British citizen

British citizenship gives you the right to live and work in the UK permanently, without any immigration restrictions.

You need British citizenship before you can apply for a UK passport.

Citizenship isn’t the only way to live and work in the UK permanently.

Check if you can apply for British citizenship

You might be able to apply for British citizenship by ‘naturalisation’ if you’re over 18 years old and you either:

• moved to the UK 

• were born in the UK

Naturalisation is the most common way to get citizenship if you were born outside the UK and don’t have a British parent.

Before you apply 

You need to have permission to live in the UK permanently - for example, getting indefinite leave to remain or ‘settled status’ from the EU Settlement Scheme. You need to do this even if your husband, wife or civil partner is a British citizen.

You’ll also need to meet some other requirements. It’s easier to meet the requirements if your husband, wife or civil partner is a British citizen. There are different ways you could meet the requirements if you’re a citizen of a country in the EU, European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland, or their family member. 

You should find out what status you need to have and other requirements that apply to you before you start your application.

Check other ways you can be eligible for citizenship

There are some other ways you can apply for citizenship. You can find out on GOV.UK if you’re eligible because you:

• were born in the UK

• have a British parent

• are stateless

• have another type of British nationality (such as ‘British overseas citizen’)

• have a connection with a past or present British territory (such as Gibraltar)