What are the residence requirements I must meet to obtain British citizenship?

Applicants wishing to obtain British citizenship must meet several requirements in order for the application to be successful. The residence requirements are arguably the most important, and an aspect on which numerous applicants will have questions.

Under the current British Nationality Act 1981, the residence requirements that apply to your application will depend on whether or not you are making an application as the spouse of an existing British citizen.

If you are applying as the spouse of an existing British citizen, you must show that you are settled in the UK on the date of your application, have completed at least 3 years’ lawful residence in the UK prior to your application, and that in the 3-year period prior to the submission of your application your absences from the UK have not exceeded 270 days overall, with the specific condition of no more than 90 days of absence in the final 12 months of that period.

If you are not applying as a spouse, you must show that you have been settled in the UK for at least 12 months on the date of your application, have completed at least 5 years’ lawful residence in the UK prior to the application, and that in the 5-year period prior to the submission of your application your absences form the UK have not exceeded 450 days overall, with the specific condition of no more than 90 days of absence in the final 12 months of that period.

The Home Office does, in some instances, exercise discretion when processing citizenship applications, where absences from the UK exceed the above thresholds. Such discretionary applications require careful preparation.

How Gherson can assist

Gherson’s Immigration Team are highly experienced in advising on UK visa matters. If you have any questions arising from this blog, please do not hesitate to contact us for advice, send us an e-mail, or, alternatively, follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn to stay-up-to-date.

The information in this blog is for general information purposes only and does not purport to be comprehensive or to provide legal advice. Whilst every effort is made to ensure the information and law is current as of the date of publication it should be stressed that, due to the passage of time, this does not necessarily reflect the present legal position. Gherson accepts no responsibility for loss which may arise from accessing or reliance on information contained in this blog. For formal advice on the current law please do not hesitate to contact Gherson. Legal advice is only provided pursuant to a written agreement, identified as such, and signed by the client and by or on behalf of Gherson.

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