Congratulations! You decided you wanted to become British and receive the final seal of approval during your UK immigration journey.

Here is what you need to know about the naturalisation process:

1. What is Naturalisation?

Naturalisation is the process of becoming a British citizen in the UK. The UK can be exceptional in many ways as it allows foreign nationals living in the UK to become British citizens after 5 or 6 years of legal continuous residence in the UK.

There are quite a number of countries around the globe where this is not necessarily the case and there is no path to become a citizen as a foreign national.

2. You can only naturalise as a British citizen if you receive your Indefinite leave to remain

Some foreign nationals living legally in the UK receive their indefinite leave to remain after 5 years of continuous legal residence in the UK, while others may need 10 years or more to accomplish this task.

Also deliberately not all UK immigration categories lead to settlement or you obtaining indefinite leave to remain in the UK.

Once you receive your indefinite leave to remain in the UK this means that you are no longer restricted by UK immigration requirements and your rights may be similar to those of British nationals.

However, ultimately you need to be awarded British citizenship so that your rights are equally protected to those of British citizens and the right to return and live in the UK unrestricted.

3. Transparency is one of the most important principles when you apply for British citizenship

At the beginning of your UK immigration journey you are advised to be truthful and not to lie on your UK immigration application. This is even more important when you apply for your British citizenship.

In some situations, you are expected to go back as many as 10 years back if you have been resident in the UK and provide information about yourself and your activity during these 10 years.

Should any of the information be discovered as untruthful, your British citizenship may be revoked anytime at a later date. 

You may also note a number of British citizenships have been revoked due to no longer meeting the necessary character requirements.

4. Timing your application

As you apply for British citizenship, you need to be careful about timing your application. It can be refused if you do not pay attention to a number of requirements that relate to your British citizenship application.

You will also need to demonstrate that you have been in the UK for more than six months every year for the last 5 years.

For the majority of applicants, this may prove an issue as your circumstances have changed and now you are spending much more time overseas than you used to before. 

There are also lifestyle changes due to the global pandemic that can be a major obstacle in some applications for British citizenship.

5. Work with an OISC regulated UK immigration adviser for the application to be successful

Depending on your personal circumstances, British citizenship application may be a minefield and not as straightforward as normally intended.

There are a number of questions in the application form that may appear confusing and puzzling to an untrained eye. You may want to make sure you got your answers right and provide the evidence and documents in the format required.

Therefore, your best port of call is to work with an OISC regulated UK immigration adviser.

How to make your British citizenship application successful?

British citizenship is a life changing opportunity for a number of foreign nationals who live legally in the UK.

It opens new travel opportunities, secures political rights and puts you on equal footing with the rest of British nationals.

Therefore, it is even more important than ever to put your best foot forward to secure a successful application.

You need to work with an OISC regulated UK immigration adviser, be open and transparent about yourself and be of good character and eliminate any possible gaps in your UK immigration application and time it well.

You received your indefinite leave to remain and are looking to apply for British citizenship and would like to work with an OISC regulated UK immigration adviser, book a call with me.

Submit your UK immigration enquiry here if you need assistance with any UK immigration application.

You will be first guided to a payment page when you choose “book a call” option. After making the payment, you will be able to choose the most convenient date and time for our Zoom meeting. You can report a payment issue here.

Saule Voluckyte, M.A.E.S, LL.B, FAIA

I have been working exclusively with UHNWI in Mayfair, London since January 2008. I built specialist knowledge and expertise required to serve ultra high net worth individuals investing, operating and relocating to the UK or Switzerland.

Within the industry, I am the single adviser who is able to traverse the different areas of expertise and bring a comprehensive approach across: global structuring, UK immigration, international taxation and FOREX to develop their global wealth strategy, while they build, grow and expand their wealth worldwide.

Previous experience as one of the senior advisors for the government, made me a go-to person when delicate and uncomfortable scenarios involving heads of state need to be handled with care and preserve privacy.