British Citizenship Requirements

United States citizens living in the UK can acquire British citizenship either by birth or by registration. As a matter of registration, applicants may apply for naturalization if they are aged 18 or over. To be eligible to become a British national, applicants need to prove that they have been in the UK on Indefinite Leave to Remain or EU Settled Status for at least 5 years, and that they have never broken UK law, including immigration breaches.

Once their British citizenship request is approved, they can live, work and study in the UK permanently, without any immigration restrictions. Applicants will also be able to travel and spend time in the United States or anywhere else without the need to worry about losing their British citizenship status.

Page Contents

• Overview of British Citizenship
• Eligibility Requirements to Acquire British Citizenship
• Document Required for British Citizenship Application
• Requirements for U.S. Citizens to Acquire British Citizenship by Descent (Automatic Citizenship)
• Requirements for British Citizenship for U.S. Applicants under 18 Years
• British Citizenship by Naturalization
• Eligibility Requirements for UK Naturalization
• What is the Cost of British Citizenship Application?
• Advantages of British Citizenship Over ILR
• How Can IAS Help?

US citizens who are direct descendants of British nationals can acquire British citizenship automatically. Although the process is quite straightforward, eligibility requirements as the child of a British citizen have a few parts. The requirements are:

• Either one or both of the applicant’s parents were born in the UK
• Either one or both grandparents of the applicants were born in the UK
• Applicants must be able to prove their biological link with father

In addition, registering for British citizenship if an applicant’s mother is a British citizen is another route to acquiring British citizenship. The eligibility requirements for this method of British citizenship are:

• You must be 18 years or above
• Your date of birth must be earlier than 1983
• You must be able to prove a biological link with your mother
• Your mother must not have lost her British nationality before you were born

As stated earlier, US residents or citizens who are descendants of UK citizens have automatic citizenship in the UK. However, there may be difficulties if the following conditions are not met:

• The parents of the descendants must have lived in the UK for not less than a continuous period of five years
• The applicant’s parents themselves must be direct descendants of UK citizens.

Naturalization is the legal process by which US citizens may become British citizens. Normally, the applicants are not British by birth. Those who become British citizens by the legal process of naturalization will be eligible to obtain a British passport. They will become entitled to the same rights and privileges as though they were British citizens by birth. They are able to work, live, and also claim public funds in the United Kingdom. They may also freely move in and out of the United Kingdom without being under immigration control.

Applicants might be able to apply for British citizenship by ‘naturalization’ if they are:

•  Over 18 years old and either:
• Moved to the UK

Naturalization is the most common way to get citizenship if you were born outside the UK and don’t have a British parent.

Applicants for British citizenship by naturalization are required to meet specific legal requirements. You are qualified to apply for British naturalization if you fulfill the following criteria:

• You are required to be 18 years old or over.
• You are required to have held settled status in the UK for at least 12 consecutive months. At the time of making your application, you are required to be either under Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR), or as an EEA national with EU-settled status or permanent residence in the UK
• You are required to have a certain period of steady presence in the UK. You may have your application rejected for excessive absences from the UK during the qualifying period. When calculating the number of days absent, the Home Office does not take into account days that were spent traveling.
• You are required to fulfill the English language requirements and to pass the Life in the UK test.
• You are required to be of ‘good character’. This includes not having a serious or recent criminal record and not having a record of breaking any immigration laws or conditions while in the UK.
• You are required to hold a record of valid and lawful immigration status during the qualifying residency period.
• You are required to have plans of making the UK your permanent home.

When you fill in the application form you have to submit the payment for your citizenship application. Currently, the fee for UK citizenship is £1,330 (or an equivalent of $1658). After you submit your application you will receive a confirmation email regarding your payment, there won’t be a copy of the payment receipt, but the email will suffice as proof of payment.

Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) is also known as “permanent residence” or Settlement. With ILR, you can live and work freely in the UK with no “expiry” date of the ILR status. However, British citizenship still has several advantages over ILR.

Some of the key advantages include the following:

The Right to Vote in UK General Elections and Stand for Public Office: British citizens have the right to vote in all UK elections and stand for public office, whereas non-British citizens with ILR status do not necessarily have these rights.

Eligibility for a British Passport: Those holding UK ILR status are not eligible to apply for a British Passport. British passports allow visa-free travel to a large number of countries and so a British passport may be more beneficial, depending on the holder’s current nationality.

Secure Immigration Status: British citizenship provides a more secure immigration status than ILR, as it cannot normally be taken away (in extreme cases the government may try to revoke Citizenship after it has been granted). ILR status, on the other hand, can be lost if the individual stays outside the UK for 2 or more years at a time.

Potential Eligibility for Dual Citizenship: British citizenship allows an individual to hold dual or multiple citizenships, which can provide additional opportunities and benefits.