How to Apply for British Citizenship after ILR

Table Of Contents

1. Apply for British citizenship after ILR
2. How to apply
3. What is Form AN
4. Enrolling your biometrics
5. Referees
6. Documents Required
7. Informing the Home Office about any changes
8. Conclusion

Foreign nationals who have lived in the UK for a few years, depending on the visa category (5 years in most cases), on a valid visa, may apply for indefinite leave to remain provided they meet the ILR eligibility requirements.

In most cases after holding indefinite leave to remain for 12 months in the UK, you can apply for British citizenship by naturalization unless you are married to a British citizen in which case you can apply for citizenship immediately after acquiring Indefinite Leave To Remain (ILR).

You must not lose your ILR status, for reasons such as spending too much time outside the UK and so on, in order to apply for British citizenship based on ILR.

Once you have British citizenship, you can live and work in the UK without any immigration restrictions, stay outside the UK for as long as you want, and return whenever you want without any restrictions, and this will not affect your citizenship.

After receiving British citizenship, you can apply for a British passport and gain voting rights in the UK.

Apply for British citizenship after ILR

The UK offers dual citizenship, which means that after acquiring British citizenship, your citizenship to your home country will not be affected. But before applying for British citizenship, you will have to see whether the country of which you are a citizen offers dual citizenship because if it does not, then you will automatically lose citizenship of your home country if you successfully acquire British citizenship.

If you have held your ILR status for 1 year, you can apply for British citizenship after ILR through ‘naturalization’. On the other hand, if you are married to a British citizen, you can apply for the same immediately after acquiring ILR.

If you meet the required eligibility criteria for citizenship, you can apply for British citizenship at the UK Home Office.

How to apply?

You can apply yourself or through a registered agent or representative, such as a solicitor or other competent adviser.

Let’s see how you can apply for British citizenship after ILR.

 Apply Online –

From inside the UK or outside the UK, for a quick process, you should complete form “AN” online on GOV.UK. You need to upload the required documents here.

 Apply by post –

You can apply by post also when applying from within the UK or from elsewhere. However, if you are from the Channel Islands, Isle of Man, or British overseas territories, you must apply by post or in person instead.

If you apply by post, you need to send your documents along with the application form. In this situation, you will have no passport with you until a decision on your citizenship application is made by the Home Office.

What is Form AN?

Form AN is an official application form that non-British nationals who hold ILR status use to apply, both online and by post, to naturalize as a British citizen. You must fill out the form correctly and furnish the necessary information and documents that include detailed personal information, residency history, employment records, and evidence of meeting the eligibility criteria along with evidence of English language and passing the Life in the UK test.

If you do not fill the form correctly or fail to submit the required documents, then your application for naturalization may be delayed or even refused.

 Pay the application fee –

You must pay a citizenship application fee of £1,630. The fee is inclusive of the citizenship ceremony fee (£130). The citizenship ceremony is an arrangement during which you take an oath and pledge, and you are given your British citizenship certificate.

If your citizenship application is refused, you will not get a refund on the application fee.

 Other fees –

If you require sitting through an English language test to meet the language requirement, you may have to pay £150 or more. Similarly, each “Life in the UK” test cost you £50.

If there are documents that are not in either English or Welsh, you need to get them translated into one of these 2 languages, and you will have to bear the cost of it.

Enrolling your biometrics

• Prove your identity – An important part of your British citizenship application is proving your identity, which requires you to enroll your biometrics (fingerprints and photograph).
• Book your appointment – When you complete Form AN to apply for British Citizenship after ILR, you will be sent an email informing you whether you need to book an appointment at a UK Visa and Citizenship Application Service (UKVCAS) visa center or you can enroll your biometrics on the UK Immigration: ID Check app.

You can book an appointment on the UKVCAS website.

• Attend the appointment – You should enroll your biometrics on the appointment day on a UKVCAS. Here you can also get citizenship-related required documents scanned if not uploaded online.

Referees

As part of your “naturalization” application, you also need to send the names of 2 referees. These 2 referees will verify your identity. Each referee should have known you for at least 3 years and should be willing to provide information about you.

One referee should usually be holding a British passport, while the second referee can be of any nationality.

Documents Required

If you want to apply for British citizenship after ILR, you must submit the required documents. Here is the list of documents which include but is not limited to the following:

• Documents to prove your identity, such as your passport, Home Office travel document, and any existing biometric residence permit.
• Relationship evidence such as your marriage or civil partnership (if applying as a spouse or civil partner of a British citizen)
• Documents to prove your lawful residence in the UK for the qualifying period
• Documents to prove your current ILR status
• Documents to prove that you have passed the KOLL (knowledge of language and life in the UK) test or medical evidence in support of any exemption where applicable.

You may need to submit more documents depending on your circumstances.

Informing the Home Office about any changes

As you apply for British citizenship after ILR, there might be changes in your personal details. You should inform the Home Office about any such change after you have submitted the citizenship application and are waiting for the decision. Additionally, if the Home Office requests to give more information or evidence, you should respond to the request within the stipulated deadline.

Conclusion

Applying to naturalize as a British citizen after acquiring ILR is an important decision in your life. If you want to apply for British citizenship after ILR, you can apply for it yourself or through an agent or representative. As we have seen, citizenship application is not only complex but also expensive; therefore, you should take an expert’s service before you apply for it.

British citizenship gives you several benefits, so you should make your application carefully so that the chances of your application being refused are almost negligible.

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