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British citizenship for adult and children

As a general principle, Naturalization refers to the legal process culminating in a non-citizen acquiring citizenship of another country. In the same vein, UK naturalization is the legal process by which a non-British person who has resided in the UK for a specified period of time becomes British.

It is important to note that there are several ways to become a British citizen; ‘naturalization’ is one of the most common. And except you can lay claim to your British Citizenship by ancestry, you will most likely need to apply for a naturalization.

Once you have been granted Indefinite Leave to Remain, or have resided in the UK as an EEA national for the required period of time, the last step to setting up your life in the UK is securing your British passport ie UK Naturalization. Here, you will be issued a document that you can use to then apply for your British passport.

An individual may be eligible for Naturalization if: –

• You have lived in the UK 5 years prior to the date of application; and
• You already have an Indefinite Leave to remain (ILR) for at least one year.
• If you are married to the civil partner of a British citizen for at least 3 years.

Regardless of how long you have been lawfully and continuously resident in the UK, you will need to have obtained an Indefinite Leave to remain before you will be considered for Naturalization. After you have been granted Indefinite Leave to Remain, you must then illustrate to the UKVI that you have:-

• Been legally resident in the UK for 5 years or 10 years;
• Had ILR for at least 1 year;
• Have not been absent for more than 450 days in the 5 years immediately before applying, 90 of those days being in the last 12 months;
• Are of good character;
• Completed the Life in the UK Test;
• Satisfy English language requirement.

You have lived in the UK 5 years prior to the date of application

If you are not married to a British National and have lived in the UK for the last 6 years prior to the date of your application, you may be eligible for UK naturalisation provided you meet the following requirements: –

1. You are over the age of 18
2. You are of Good character, ie you have not had a serious criminal offence and is not guilty of every trying to deceive the Home Office at any point during your stay in the UK.
3. You are not in breach of any UK Immigration rules.
4. You are able to understanding and communicate effectively with the English Language (or Welsh or Gaelic). Please note that the English Language requirement will not apply to you strictly if you are mentally handicapped or elderly.
5. You can demonstrate that you will continue to live in the UK.
6. You must have been residing in the UK six years prior to the date the application reaches the Home Office; and
7. You must not have been out of the UK for more than 450 days; and
8. You must not have been out of the UK for more than 90 days within the last 12 months prior to making the application.
9. You must have had an ILR for at least 12 months before the date of the UK naturalisation application.

Naturalisation based on been a spouse of a UK Citizen

You may be eligible for naturalisation in the UK based on your relationship as a spouse of a British national. In order to be eligible: –

1. You must have been living in the UK for the last three years as a spouse or civil partner of a British national.
2. You must have had an Indefinite Leave to remain in the UK as at the time of the application.
3. Your absences from the UK within the three year period must not have exceed 270 days.
4. In the last 12 months prior to your application, your absences must not have exceeded 90 days.
5. You must not have been or currently be in a breach of any UK immigration laws throughout your period of stay in the UK.

English language Requirement

This implies that individuals who are under 18 years of age or above 65 or persons who are unable to take the test as a result of a long-term physical or mental condition are exempt from meeting the English Language requirement in their naturalization application.

To prove knowledge of English language for naturalization, an individual must either score a B1, B2, C1 or C2 from a recognized English Test from an approved Test centre. A degree taught in English or from a UK university may also suffice as proof of English Language.

Please note that if the proof of English language you used during your ILR application has expired and it was a B1 level, you may still be allowed to use that qualification for your citizenship application.

It is also immaterial that the B1 level test you took is no longer on the current list of recognised test as at the time of your citizenship application.

A recommended centre in the UK is Trinity College.

Nationalities that are exempt from proving their knowledge of English

It would not be necessary to prove your knowledge of English if you are from a predominantly English speaking country. The following countries are officially exempt from the English language requirement: –

• Antigua and Barbuda
• Australia
• The Bahamas
• Barbados
• Belize
• Canada
• Dominica
• Grenada
• Guyana
• Jamaica
• New Zealand
• Republic of Ireland (for citizenship only)
• St Kitts and Nevis
• St Lucia
• St Vincent and the Grenadines
• Trinidad and Tobago
• USA

Life in the UK Test

In order to also qualify for citizenship, applicants must pass a ‘Life in the UK Test’. This test is essentially designed to ensure that the applicants have actually lived in the UK long enough to have absorbed the culture and heritage of the Brits. It sounds out of place to say that you are a citizen of a place and you know nothing about the place you claim to be citizen of.

The Life in the UK test is an integral part of the UK Naturalisation process. Fortunately, you only need to pass the test once; if you have gone through the test at any stage (especially during your settlement application), that same result will suffice for the Naturalisation application. Sound mind

Without having to overly state the obvious, in addition to been an adult (over the age of 18), it is important the individual who is looking to naturalise is of a sound mind. Sound enough to fully understand what he is doing as well as the implications on his rights, responsibilities and obligations.

A child (ie someone under the age of 18) can apply for registration as a British citizen in various circumstances, for example:

• They were born in the UK and their parent(s) become British or settled after they were born.
• Irrespective of their parents’ nationality or immigration status, they were born in the UK, they lived in the UK until at least the age of 10, and they did not spend more than 90 days per year outside the UK during the first ten years of their life.

But registration of children as British citizens is more flexible than naturalisation or registration for adults, and the Home Office exercises discretion about this.

Any child, who lives in the UK, even if they were not born in the UK, can apply for registration as a British citizen on a discretionary basis. If their parent(s) are British or settled in the UK, and the child’s future is likely to be in the UK, the application may succeed. And, with an older child, the longer they have lived in the UK the stronger the application is likely to be.

There is no English language or citizenship ceremony for children but the application must be endorsed by two referees.