Naturalisation and British Citizenship

We help clients with every step of the citizenship journey, from initial entry to the UK to naturalisation and British citizenship. John Vassiliou is one of the UK’s leading citizenship lawyers. 

To obtain a British passport, you first need to be a British citizen. There are three ways to become British.

Automatic acquisition

Birth in the UK does not automatically lead to British citizenship. Since 1983, at least one parent of a child born in the UK has to be British or settled in the UK. This is known as citizenship “otherwise than by descent”. British citizens who were born in the UK can normally pass their citizenship down to one generation born abroad. This is known as “citizenship by descent”.

Citizenship by registration

Some people will not be born British, but will have a legal entitlement to be registered as British citizens. 

Citizenship by registration is commonly used by children under the age of 18, and some categories of adults who missed out on citizenship due to historical legislative unfairness. There are multiple ways someone can claim citizenship by registration. Our FAQs detail the different available avenues.  

Citizenship by naturalisation

“Naturalisation” is the process by which a foreign adult acquires a new citizenship. Naturalisation is probably the most common way in which adults become British citizens.

All applicants must satisfy the general and residence requirements. See our FAQs for more information.

Frequently asked questions

The most common way for children to be registered as British citizens is if they were born in the UK with parents who later became British, or if they have lived in the UK for 10 years continuously since birth. 

But there are several other ways. If you feel your child has a claim to citizenship, please get in touch with our immigration experts to arrange a fixed fee consultation as there may be other options available to you.

To apply for naturalisation, applicants must:

  • be over 18; 
  • of good character; 
  • have a sufficient level of English language skill; 
  • pass the Life in the UK test;
  • intend to reside in the UK; and 
  • meet the residency requirements. 

Generally, applicants must have been resident in the UK for at least five years with less than 450 days spent outside the UK. For spouses of British citizens, this changes to three years with less than 270 days spent outside the UK. 

There is however some flexibility around these numbers. The Home Office publishes detailed guidance on how caseworkers will exercise discretion if absence thresholds are exceeded. We have successfully worked with several clients who have exceeded absence thresholds for good reasons and have gone on to make successful naturalisation applications.

The Home Office application fee is currently £1,630. Naturalisation fees tend to increase on an annual basis.

Applications are made digitally through online submission. You will also need to go to a visa application centre to enrol your biometrics. Your digital application bundle is then sent to the Home Office Nationality Department for consideration. 

See our article on citizenship eligibility through grandparents for more information.

How we can help

Our Head of Immigration, John Vassiliou, is well-versed in the complexities of becoming a British citizen and has extensive experience in not only standard cases, but in handling cases that fall outside the three categories discussed above. 

We pride ourselves in our fast turnaround times to ensure our clients achieve their goals in a stress-free manner and without delay.

If you believe you have a claim to British citizenship but don’t know where to start, contact a member of our team to arrange your initial fixed-fee consultation. 

To arrange a fixed-fee consultation to discuss British citizenship, email John Vassiliou at john.vassiliou@shepwedd.com today with details of the issues you would like advice on, or fill in the webform below.
 

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John Vassiliou has particular expertise in British nationality law. He was the lead solicitor acting for the Respondent in the landmark 2018 Supreme Court case of The Advocate General for Scotland (Appellant) v Romein (Respondent) (Scotland) [2018] UKSC 6, which opened the door to registration of those born outside the UK and Commonwealth before 1 January 1983 to a non-UK born British citizen mother. 

John has dealt with a wide variety of unusual and complex citizenship scenarios and has written extensively on the subject. He has also participated in Home Office-led stakeholder consultations in relation to nationality legislation.