There are many different British citizenship application forms available. The main one is called the AN Form. You can download a copy of the British citizenship Application form AN from the GOV.uk website. You can also find more information on the Citizenship and living in the UK page of the GOV.uk website.
Be careful that you correctly submit your application. It is not possible to get a refund for an incorrect British citizenship application form. Thousands of citizenship applications are rejected each year for reasons that could have easily been avoided. Check the Guidance on completing form AN to ensure you fill your application form correctly.
Submitting your British citizenship application form
There are two ways that you can submit your application. The traditional method has been to post your application to the Home Office for processing. This requires you to send valuable documents with your application.
1 in 10 British citizenship application forms were refused in 2015!
Some of the reasons for refusal of British citizenship application forms were:
- incorrect documentation
- failure to complete the british citizenship application form correctly
- failing to respond to UKVI’s enquiries in a timely manner
Do not let your British citizenship application form fail for those reasons. Applying for British Citizenship is a major step in your life so get it right first time!
There are several routes to British citizenship and naturalisation. Adults may qualify for British citizenship through having being granted indefinite leave to remain following at least five years of residence in the UK, or with three years if married to a British citizen or in a Civil Partnership.
What will I need to show to apply for British citizenship?
There is a number if criteria which must be satisfied in full before your British citizenship application will be approved, in brief
- Time spent in the UK
- Date when you were granted Indefinite Leave to Remain
- Have you passed Life in the UK test
- Can you satisfy English language requirement
- The total number of absences from the UK over the qualifying period
- Any criminal or civil matters which may disbar you
The British citizenship application is submitted via post and will be reviewed and checked by UKVI to cover your visa status, tax status, criminal and civil matters.
Once approved, you will receive an invitation to attend at a Citizenship ceremony which is usually local to where you live and at the ceremony you will receive your Certificate of Naturalisation.
Thereafter you are free to apply for a British passport which is usually processed within approximately six weeks.
How long does it take to get British citizenship
On average, we advise our clients to anticipate that their application will be processed in approximately 2 months to process naturalisation applications. The complexity of your application will determine how long it will take for your application to be processed as well as the volume of other applications they have to process.
What is the British citizenship application process?
When an applicant has held the grant of Indefinite Leave to Remain for at least 12 months, you maybe eligible to for naturalisation.
The application can only be submitted via post and must include relevant documentation including the application form completed by yourself and referees. Thereafter, UKVI will review and check your visa status in the UK as well as checking for an criminal or civil matters which may disbar you.
Once approved, you will receive an invitation to attend at a Citizenship ceremony which is usually local to where you live and at the ceremony you will receive your Certificate of Naturalisation.
Thereafter you are free to apply for a British passport which is usually processed within approximately six weeks and the UKVI can ask to interview you before processing the application.
What is the cost of making a British citizenship application?
The fees are subject to change and you should check before sending in your application. Check here for current application fees. Also to note that if you make a mistake and fail to subject a relevant document, your application will be automatically refused and you will lose the fees.
What you need to know about British citizenship applications
You can apply for naturalisation after 12 months of indefinite leave to remain.
It is important to check if your country of origin allows you to hold both British citizenship and citizenship of that country, as some do not permit this. The UK does allow you to have more than one nationality.
Author
Founder and Managing Director Anne Morris is a fully qualified solicitor and trusted adviser to large corporates through to SMEs, providing strategic immigration and global mobility advice to support employers with UK operations to meet their workforce needs through corporate immigration.
She is a recognised by Legal 500 and Chambers as a legal expert and delivers Board-level advice on business migration and compliance risk management as well as overseeing the firm’s development of new client propositions and delivery of cost and time efficient processing of applications.
Anne is an active public speaker, immigration commentator, and immigration policy contributor and regularly hosts training sessions for employers and HR professionals
