If you acquire ILR under Tier 1, Tier 2 or other categories, you need to meet the following requirements to apply for naturalisation:.

• You must be aged 18 or over and are not of unsound mind.
• You must be of good character.
• You should be able to communicate in the English language (or Welsh or Scottish Gaelic). There are exemptions to this requirement, for example if you are elderly or mentally handicapped.
• You should intend to live in the UK or in Crown Service abroad (working directly for an UK Government organisation), or be employed by an international organisation of which the UK is a member, or be employed by a company or association established in the United Kingdom.

If you are not married to an UK Citizen you will need to meet the following residence requirements over the last six years.

• During the six-year period you must not have been outside the United Kingdom for more than 450 days (about 15 months); and
• During the last 12 months of the six-year period you must not have been outside the UK for more than 90 days; and
• During the last 12 months of the six-year period your stay in the United Kingdom you must have held permanent residence/ indefinite leave to remain (ILR); and
• You must not have been living in the United Kingdom in breach of the UK immigration rules at any time during the six-year period ending with the date that the application is received by the Home Office.

If you are a spouse of a British citizen, the main difference is that there is a shorter residency requirement of three years in the UK as opposed to six years. The three years of the residency requirement are counted from the date your naturalization application is received by the Home Office.
Further details on residency requirements are as follows:

• You must have been living in the United Kingdom at the beginning of the three- year period; and
• On the date that your application is received in the Home Office, you must have permanent residence/ ILR in the UK; and
• During the three-year period you must not have been outside the UK for more than 270 days (approximately 9 months); and
• During the last 12 months of the three-year period you must not have been outside the UK for more than 90 days; and
• You must not have been in breach of any UK immigration rules at any time during this three-year period of residence in the UK.

Please contact us to be referred to a consultant for an application for naturalisation based on marriage to a British citizen.
Nationals of the European Economic Area (EEA) and Switzerland automatically receive UK permanent resident status if you live in the UK for a continuous 5-year period through the EEA free-movement rights. After this five year period you will receive a leave to remain and then may apply for citizenship as long as you meet the below requirements.

To become a naturalised citizen of the UK, you must meet the set of standard eligibility requirements and residential requirements.

 Yes, you need to sit the Life in the UK test as part of your application for citizenship if you are between the ages of 18 and 65. The test is a standard exam that is geared to test your knowledge of British traditions and customs. To pass the test and make sure you satisfy this section of the eligibility requirements for UK Citizenship, you must score 75% or above. There is a fee to take the test and you must pay the fee for every attempt at the test you make, although you may take it as many times as you need to. Once you have passed the Life in the UK test, you do not have to take a test again.

 Yes. This requirement has been introduced to help the eligible persons integrate in the society who can benefit the UK in return. It was found that some British Nationals are not well conversant in English language that hinders them to mix with other English-speaking people, to do business, to seek employment, to enjoy all the benefits that the UK offers to its citizens. Although these people has spent a large part of their lives in the UK but the language barrier stops them in doing any thing at all and ultimately become a burden on the society.

There are exemptions for those who are under 18 and for those who are over 65 years of age. Those persons suffering from some physical or mental disability are also exempted from this requirement. But in order to claim this exemption one has to provide a documentary evidence to confirm the eligibility and that can be an original Birth certificate or a disability certificate explaining the disability in detail.

For full details of the requirements for UK Citizenship and to ensure your application complies with all requirements speak to one of our friendly team members who would be happy to advise on all aspects of your UK Citizenship application.

 It is highly likely that any unspent convictions will effect on your application for UK Citizenship, under the suitability requirements, although this does depend on the type of conviction and the individual circumstances. If the conviction is spent then there is still a chance that this could affect your Citizenship application, again, this will depend on the type of conviction. We would recommend talking to an immigration specialist about your conviction before putting together your application to ensure you have the best possible chance of success.

For the Citizenship application, the character of a person has become quite important issue in the recent months and more debate is going on regarding the character of the person. You are required to disclose all the facts that are more or less related to your character. The home office conducts checks to every application regarding the issue of character and can refuse this application for this reason only.