British Citizenship by Marriage

As a spouse of a British citizen, you are not automatically entitled to British citizenship through marriage. You must have lived in the UK for at least 3 years.

To be eligible and apply for British citizenship, applicants must meet the latest requirements of 2023 in accordance with the British Nationality Act 1981.

Contact our Student visa lawyer now on 0161 989 9370 to get legal advice about how to apply for British citizenship and information about eligibility requirements.

• What is British citizenship by marriage?
• Apply for British citizen after 3 years of marriage
• Requirements for UK citizenship through marriage
• UK residency requirements
• Good character requirement
• English language requirements
• Life in the UK test
• Documents needed to apply for British citizenship by marriage
• How to apply for Naturalisation?
• UK citizenship processing time after biometrics
• How much does it cost to apply for British citizenship?
• Need help with the British citizenship application?
• Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

What is British citizenship by marriage?

British Citizenship by Marriage is a way for foreign nationals who are married to a British citizen or a person settled in the UK to become British citizens themselves. If you are married to a British citizen, you may be eligible to apply for citizenship after living in the UK for a certain period of time.

To be eligible for British citizenship by marriage, you must have lived in the UK for at least three years as a spouse of a British citizen, and you must have held indefinite leave to remain in the UK. You must also meet the other requirements for naturalization, such as passing the Life in the UK test and meeting the English language requirements.

Apply for British citizen after 3 years of marriage

You can apply for British citizenship through marriage after three years of living in the UK as a spouse of a British citizen, if you meet all the eligibility requirements.

You can apply as soon as you have indefinite leave to remain (ILR) in the UK or 'settled status' (also known as 'indefinite leave to remain under the EU Settlement Scheme'). You do not need to wait 12 months after ILR to apply if you're married to a British citizen.

Requirements for UK citizenship through marriage

As a spouse of a British citizen and living in the UK for at least 3, you can apply for British citizenship by marriage if you are meeting the eligibility requirements of the British Nationality Act 1981.

To apply for UK citizenship through marriage, you must meet the following requirements:

• You must be 18 years old or over.
• You must have lived in the UK for at least three years as a spouse of a British citizen or settled person.
• You must have held indefinite leave to remain (ILR) in the UK.
• You must be of good character, meaning you have not committed any serious crimes or been involved in any illegal activities.
• You must pass the Life in the UK test, which is a computer-based test that assesses your knowledge of British history, culture, and traditions.
• You must meet the English language requirements.

In addition to these requirements, you must also be able to show that you intend to continue living in the UK and have not breached any immigration laws while in the UK. You will need to provide evidence of your identity, residence in the UK, and any criminal record, as well as pay the required application fee.

It's important to note that the process of obtaining British citizenship by marriage can be complex, and the requirements may change from time to time. If you are considering applying for British citizenship by marriage, it's a good idea to seek legal advice and guidance to ensure that you meet all the necessary requirements and to help you navigate the application process.

UK residency requirements

To be eligible for British citizenship by marriage, you must have lived in the UK for a certain period of time as the spouse of a British citizen or settled person. The residency requirements are as follows:

You must have lived in the UK for at least three years continuously as the spouse of a British citizen or settled person.

During the three years, you must not have been absent from the UK for more than 270 days in total. In addition, you must not have been absent from the UK for more than 90 days in the last 12 months before you apply for citizenship.

It's important to note that the three-year period of residence must be continuous, which means that you cannot have left the UK for an extended period during this time. You must also be able to demonstrate that you have been living together with your spouse or civil partner during the entire period of your residence in the UK.

Good character requirement

An applicant for naturalisation as a British citizen must satisfy the good character requirement to succeed in his application.

The British Nationality Act 1981 does not define good character. However, the Home Office UKVI guidance sets out the types of conduct which must be taken into account when assessing whether a person has satisfied the requirement to be of good character.

Consideration should be given by the Home Office caseworker to all aspects of a person's character, including both negative factors, for example, criminality, immigration law breaches & deception and more.

English language requirements

If you are applying for British citizenship and you're 18 or over then you might need to prove your knowledge of the English language.

The British citizenship applicants must meet the English language requirements to prove that they can read, write, speak and understand English to a certain level on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) scale.

You can prove your knowledge of the English language by having either an English qualification at the B1 level or a degree taught in English.

You do not need to prove your knowledge of English if you are aged 65 or over or unable to, because of a long-term physical or mental condition.

Life in the UK test

The Life in the UK test is a compulsory requirement to be eligible to apply for British citizenship.

The main object of the Life in the UK test is to prove that the applicant has adequate knowledge of British life such as British values, history, traditions and everyday life.

The Life in the UK test is a computer-based multiple-choice question test based on the Life in the UK handbook.

You will have 45 minutes in total to answer 24 multiple-choice questions and You must score 75% or more to pass the test.

Documents needed to apply for British citizenship by marriage

The applicants will need to provide several documents in the support of their British citizenship application depending on their personal circumstances.

You must provide the following documents when you apply for British citizenship by naturalisation:

• Your current passport or the valid ID document
• Your BRP card (if have been issued to you)
• Proof you have Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) or settled status
• List of absences from the UK
• Proof of knowledge of English or English language test certificate
• Life in the UK test certificate

Read the guidance for the full list of documents you'll need to provide in support of your British citizenship application.

How to apply for Naturalisation?

You can either apply online or by post for Naturalisation as a British citizen if you are meeting the eligibility requirements according to the British Nationality Act 1981.

Contact our UK immigration and nationality lawyer today to get legal advice about how to apply and the requirements of a British citizenship application.

Read the guidance on how to apply for British citizenship and the step-by-step process.

Frequently asked questions (FAQs)