British Nationality
Unlike other areas of immigration law, British Nationality is not a ‘right’ nor an‘entitlement’, but a matter of law which can be granted or refused at the Home Secretary’s discretion. The application process will ask you to satisfy certain criteria, however it is for the Home Secretary to decide whether these criteria can be bypassed in certain situations.
Normally if you have live in the UK for a period of 5 years or more (in some cases 3 years) you may qualify for British Citizenship. There is no obligation to become a British but for most people having make the UK their home they also feel its good to acquire British Nationality.
How about my Original Nationality?
British Nationality Law allows individuals to hold multiple Nationalities. This means you would not have to drop any nationality that you already own. It is however important to investigate whether the other nationalities you have also allows you to pick up the nationality of other countries.
Forms of Nationality
There are 2 main ways by which a national of a third party National can acquire British Nationality:
- Naturalization
- Registration
British Nationality by Naturalization; this allows a person who entered the UK as an adult to apply after 5 years or more to become a British Citizen. To apply for Naturalization you will first have to achieve settlement in the UK – UK resident with no border restriction.
British Nationality by Registration; this apply mainly to children and with children there is no requirement to be settled. All that an applicant has to do is provide evidence to show he or she has a parent with a settlement status or a British National. Registration is very interesting because it allowed children with varied degree of relationships to be registered as British citizens.
How do I make an application for Naturalization as an adult
You must be able to prove that you are free of immigration time restrictions. This means that you must have either Indefinite Leave to Remain in the UK (non–EEA nationals) or Permanent Residence (EEA Nationals). If you are not the spouse of a British citizen, you must also prove that you have been free of those restrictions for the past 12 months. This means that if you were granted ILR, you must have been granted it at least 12 months ago, and if you are an EEA National, you must have completed your continuous period of 5 years at least 12 months ago.
The application also requires you to meet certain residency and absences requirements. The other criteria to be satisfied are, namely, that you are over the age of 18, that you are of sound mind, that you intend to continue to live in the UK, that you can prove that you can communicate in English to an acceptable degree, that you have passed a test called ‘The Life in the UK’ test, and that you are of good character.
Naturalization for EU Nationals
Once in possession of a permanent residence document, an EU national can make an application for naturalization and the requirements for this application are essentially the same for EU and non-EU citizens.
How long does it take to get a decision?
The Home Office guidance says 6 months but with citizen applications presentation and simplification is everything; with a good representation you may be able to get decision in 3 months
How can we help?
Like most Home office applications which require a decision from a Case Worker, presentation and simplification at the back of the immigration rules is everything.
The aim is to achieve a less complicated application pack as you possibly can when placed before a Decision Maker. The less complicated the application can be presented the quicker you will get a decision and the result you desire, which is where we come in.
We have the experience to get you results.
Get in touch for an expert assistance: 0113 457 9835
