British Citizenship in 2026: Eligibility, Naturalisation, Requirements, Costs and the Application Process
Gabriella Bettiga
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Most people assume there is one way to become British. There are three, and picking the wrong one costs time and money that is not refunded.
Naturalisation is the route most adults take. But a significant number of people are already British and do not know it or qualify to register at a fraction of the cost or hold a claim through a parent or grandparent that the law only recognised recently. Registration and naturalisation are different applications with different fees, different requirements, and different forms.
The cost matters here more than in most immigration applications. Naturalisation is £1,839 including the ceremony fee, and only the £130 ceremony fee is refunded if you are refused, Getting the route and the timing right for the first time is the whole game.
This guide sets out every route to British citizenship, who qualifies for each, what the requirements mean in practice, current Home Office fees, and what happens if an application is refused.
Recently UKVI has introduced a priority service for the additional cost of £500. If you manage to obtain a priority slot, your application should be decided within 30 days instead of within six months.
Key Takeaways
- There are three ways to become British. Automatically at birth, by naturalisation as an adult, or by registration as a child or as an adult where a specific statutory entitlement or discretion applies.
- Naturalisation costs £1,839. That figure includes the £130 ceremony fee and is paid on submission. Only the ceremony fee is refunded if the application is refused.
- Most adults need settlement first, held for 12 months. The exception is spouses and civil partners of British citizens, who can apply as soon as they hold settlement. Some EEA nationals with pre settled or settled status may also be eligible to apply even if they have not held their status for 12 months, however this is a case by case evaluation and not a general rule.
- Absence limits are the most common trip hazard. 450 days over five years, or 270 days over three on the spouse route, and no more than 90 days in the final 12 months.
- Some registration routes cost only the ceremony fee. Applications under sections 4C, 4G, 4H and 4I are charged at £130, and the good character test does not apply to them.
- Good character now looks back indefinitely for illegal entry. Since 10 February 2025, this normally means refusal regardless of how long ago it happened, though the April 2026 guidance sets out limits.
- There is no right of appeal. A refused citizenship application is challenged by reconsideration or judicial review, not at the tribunal.
- Earned settlement is proposed, not law. No Immigration Rules had been laid to implement it as at the date of writing, and citizenship changes were expected only afterwards.
How Do You Become a British Citizen?
There are three routes. Some people are British automatically from birth, through a British parent or by being born in the UK to a settled parent. Adults who have lived here lawfully apply to naturalise. Others qualify to register, either because they have a statutory entitlement or because the Home Secretary has a discretion to register them.
The distinction between naturalisation and registration is not cosmetic. They use different application forms, carry different fees, and registration under several provisions does not require good character or the Life in the UK Test at all.
| Route | Who it is for | Form | Fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Automatic at birth | Born in the UK to a British or settled parent, or born abroad to a British parent otherwise than by descent | None needed. Apply for a passport as proof | Passport fee only |
| Naturalisation | Adults with settlement who meet the residence, language, knowledge and character requirements | AN | £1,839 |
| Registration, adult | Adults with a statutory entitlement or a discretionary claim, including historical unfairness cases | Varies, including UKM, UKF, RS1, T, EM | £1,670, or £130 for sections 4C, 4G, 4H and 4I |
| Registration, child | Under 18s, whether entitled or applying at the Home Secretary’s discretion | MN1 and others | £1,000 |
| Registration, Irish citizens | Irish citizens registering under the dedicated route | B(OTA) | £723 adult, £607 child |
One distinction runs through all of this. A British citizen is either a citizen otherwise than by descent, who can pass citizenship to children born anywhere, or a citizen by descent, who generally cannot pass it on to a child born outside the UK. People who naturalise become citizens otherwise than by descent. It is worth knowing which you are before planning a family abroad.
If you are not sure which route applies to you, that is the question worth answering before you pay anything. MGBe Legal advises on citizenship and naturalisation across all of these provisions.
Who Qualifies for Naturalisation?
Adults aged 18 or over who hold indefinite leave to remain or settled status, have lived in the UK lawfully for the qualifying period, meet the absence limits, satisfy the English language and Life in the UK requirements, are of good character, and intend to make the UK their main home. The qualifying period is five years, or three if you are married to a British citizen.
The five-year route under section 6(1)
You must have been in the UK for five years, have held indefinite leave to remain or settled status for at least 12 months at the date of application, and have been physically present in the UK on the day exactly five years before the Home Office receives your application. That last requirement catches people who were traveling on the wrong date.
In practice, this means most people wait six years from arrival, because settlement itself usually takes five. If you hold settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme, the position is broadly the same, and the difference between that status and ILR is covered in our guide to settled status compared with ILR. However, there are exceptions which we will not discuss in this blog.
The three-year route under section 6(2)
If you are married to or in a civil partnership with a British citizen, the qualifying period is three years and there is no 12 months wait after settlement. You can apply as soon as you hold indefinite leave to remain. The presence requirement applies to the day three years before the application is received.
Absences, where most applications go wrong
On the five-year route you must not have spent more than 450 days outside the UK across the five years, and no more than 90 days in the final 12 months. On the three-year route the figures are 270 days and the same 90 days. Only whole days count, so the days you leave and return are not counted as absences.
Discretion exists, but it is narrow, and caseworker instructions are explicit that requirements cannot simply be ignored. Excess absences are more likely to be excused where they arose from Crown service or were an unavoidable consequence of the nature of your work. The practicalities are set out in our guide to excessive absences in naturalisation applications.
You must also meet the English language requirement at CEFR level B1 in speaking and listening and pass the Life in the UK Test. If you already met both for settlement, the same evidence is normally accepted, and you do not retake anything. A degree taught or researched in English can satisfy the language requirement.
Timing questions come up constantly on the citizenship route, particularly around the 12 month wait and the presence date. The MGBe Legal FAQ hub covers the most frequent ones.
When Is Registration the Right Route Instead?
Registration applies where the British Nationality Act 1981 gives you an entitlement or the Home Secretary a discretion to register you. It covers most children, people born in the UK who did not acquire citizenship automatically, and adults affected by historical unfairness in nationality law. Several registration routes are far cheaper than naturalisation.
Children
A child born in the UK who was not British at birth can often register once a parent becomes British or settled, or after living here for the first ten years of their life. Children can also be registered at the Home Secretary’s discretion under section 3(1), which is the route used where a family naturalises together. Child registration costs £1,000, and a fee waiver is available for children who cannot afford it. The fee does not apply to a child looked after by a local authority.
Historical unfairness and the routes people miss
Nationality law historically prevented women and unmarried fathers from passing on citizenship. Parliament has corrected this in stages. Sections 4C, 4G, 4H and 4I of the 1981 Act now allow people who would have become British but for those rules to register, and section 4L gives a broader discretion where a person would have qualified but for historical legislative unfairness, an act or omission of a public body, or exceptional circumstances.
What Does British Citizenship Cost in 2026?
Adult naturalisation is £1,839, which includes the £130 citizenship ceremony fee and is paid when you submit. Child registration is £1,000. Adult registration is £1,670, unless you qualify under sections 4C, 4G, 4H or 4I, in which case only the £130 ceremony fee is payable.
| What you are paying for | Cost/th> |
|---|---|
| Adult naturalisation, form AN, including ceremony fee | £1,839 |
| Adult registration, most routes | £1,670 |
| Registration under sections 4C, 4G, 4H, 4I, ceremony fee only | £130 |
| Child registration | £1,000 |
| Life in the UK Test, per attempt | £50 |
| Reconsideration of a refused application, form NR | £513 |
| Biometric enrolment Priority fee |
No fee £500 |
The application fee is lost on refusal, which is why the eligibility assessment matters more here than the paperwork. MGBe Legal reviews citizenship eligibility as part of its personal immigration work.
What Does the Good Character Requirement Actually Cover?
Good character is not defined in the British Nationality Act 1981. Home Office guidance sets out the conduct that counts against you: criminality, immigration breaches, deception, financial irresponsibility, notoriety, and involvement in serious international crimes. It applies to anyone aged 10 or over and is assessed on the balance of probabilities.
The starting point most applicants get wrong is disclosure. Nationality decisions are exempt from the rule that convictions become spent, so all convictions must be declared however old, wherever in the world they happened. Cautions are treated differently, and only unspent cautions need declaring. Failing to disclose something that would have led to refusal normally results in refusal deception, with a 10 years ban on top.
The criminality thresholds
An application will normally be refused for a custodial sentence of at least 12 months, consecutive sentences totalling 12 months or more, persistent offending, an offence causing serious harm, or a sexual offence. Below those thresholds, a caseworker weighs the negative against positive factors such as rehabilitation, voluntary work and long periods without offending. Fixed penalty notices do not usually count, but several in a short period can. Our guide to the good character requirement covers the thresholds in detail.
Illegal entry, and the limits on the rule
Since 10 February 2025, anyone who previously entered the UK illegally, or arrived without required entry clearance or an Electronic Travel Authorisation having made a dangerous journey, will normally be refused regardless of how long ago it happened. A dangerous journey includes a small boat or being concealed in a vehicle. It does not include arriving as a passenger on a commercial flight.
The updated version of the guidance published on 30 April 2026 is clearer about when that starting point gives way. It should normally be disregarded where the arrival was outside the person’s control, including where someone was trafficked and has a positive National Referral Mechanism decision, and where the person was a child at the time. Separately, an applicant with a valid defence under section 31 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, which gives effect to Article 31 of the Refugee Convention, must not be refused on the sole basis of that illegal entry.
This is a contested and fast-moving area. The policy has been the subject of judicial review, and anyone who refused on this ground should take advice quickly rather than reapplying and paying again.
Character issues area very common reason for citizenship refusals, and the fee is not returned. If anything in your history is unclear, it is worth an assessment before you apply. See the full range of MGBe Legal services.
How Does the Application Process Work?
- Confirm your route, your qualifying period, and your presence date.
- Pass the Life in the UK Test and meet the English requirement, unless exempt or already evidenced.
- Gather your travel history, settlement evidence, and two referees who meet the Home Office criteria.
- Apply online using the correct form and pay the fee in full, including the ceremony fee.
- Enrol your biometrics at a service point. There is no separate charge for this.
- Waiting for a decision. The Home Office asks applicants to allow up to six months. Priority applications are decided within 30 days.
- If approved, attend a citizenship ceremony within three months and take the oath and pledge.
- Apply for a British passport once the certificate is issued.
You are not British until the ceremony is complete. The certificate of naturalisation is issued at the ceremony, and the passport application follows from there. A step-by-step walkthrough of the form itself is in our guide to applying for UK naturalisation.
What Happens If Your Application Is Refused?
There is no right of appeal against a citizenship refusal. The main remedy is a reconsideration request on form NR, currently £513, which asks the Home Office to look at the decision again. The fee is refunded if your applicatin is successful.
Judicial review is available where the decision was unlawful.
Home Office guidance expects reconsideration requests within six months of the decision, so the practical window is short even though it is expressed as an expectation rather than a hard deadline. Reconsideration works best where the refusal contained an error, overlooked evidence you did provide, or failed to engage with something material such as protected status or trafficking.
Reapplying is sometimes the better course, particularly where the problem was a shortfall you can now fix, such as an absence period that has since passed out of the qualifying window. What rarely works is submitting the same application again and hoping for a different caseworker.
Will the Rules Change?
Probably, but not yet. The Government has proposed an earned settlement model that would extend the standard qualifying period for indefinite leave to remain from five years to ten, with reductions for contribution and integration and longer periods for others. The consultation ran from 20 November 2025 to 12 February 2026 and attracted a very large response.
As things stand, this is a proposal. No Immigration Rules had been laid before Parliament to implement it as at the date of writing, and the existing settlement routes remain in force. The Government has indicated that citizenship requirements may be aligned with the new settlement framework, but only after that framework is settled, and the Home Affairs Committee has examined the proposals in detail. Because citizenship normally requires settlement first, any extension to the settlement period would push back the citizenship timeline for people not yet settled. It would not affect anyone who already holds indefinite leave to remain.
Where Legal Support Makes a Difference
Citizenship work is mostly diagnostic. The valuable questions are which route you qualify under, whether your absence figures work, whether anything in your history engages in the character requirement, and whether your timing is right.
MGBe Legal is regulated by the Immigration Advice Authority at Level 3, the highest level. Gabriella Bettiga is immigration lawyer in England and Wales and an Advanced Caseworker under the Law Society’s Immigration and Asylum Accreditation Scheme. No adviser can promise an outcome, but a regulated adviser can tell you whether you are ready to apply and what would need to change if you were not.
Conclusion
British citizenship is worth getting right first time because the fee is substantial, and it is not refunded. The three questions that decide most applications are which route applies, whether the residence and absence figures hold, and whether anything in your history engages good character.
If there is a British parent or grandparent in the background, an unusual immigration history, or absences close to the limits, it is worth checking before you pay.
For an assessment of which route fits your circumstances and whether your timing works, contact MGBe Legal.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Gabriella Bettiga
Director of MGBe Legal
I founded MGBe Legal, a firm regulated by the Immigration Advice Authority (IAA), with the mission to provide high-quality, simplified, and accessible legal services to clients from all walks of life.
