When you can apply for British citizenship after ILR or settled status

Katerina Galkina · EN · 07/10/2026

Identify the applicable route

ILR or settled status and British citizenship are separate statuses. For ordinary naturalisation, GOV.UK specifies five years' UK residence and holding ILR, ILE or settled status for 12 months. If you are married to or in a civil partnership with a British citizen, a separate route normally requires three years' residence without an additional 12-month wait after obtaining that permanent status. Compare the ordinary route ↗ and the spouse route ↗.

A relationship without marriage or formal civil partnership does not qualify for the three-year route. Marriage itself does not automatically confer citizenship. If eligibility relies on pre-settled status and automatically acquired Withdrawal Agreement rights, check that basis separately: “everyone must first obtain settled status” does not cover every permitted case.

Check the date and absences

For the ordinary route, you must establish physical presence in the UK exactly five years before the Home Office receives the application; for the spouse route, exactly three years. An online application is received on the submission date. Check the actual date against your travel records rather than just the month you moved.

The usual absence limits are 450 days over five years or 270 days over three years, and 90 days in the final 12 months. GOV.UK explains these requirements ↗. If you exceed them, examine the discretion provisions and your circumstances: an exception is not an automatic entitlement. Separately establish that prolonged absence has not caused your permanent status to lapse.

Check the other requirements

You must meet the age and good-character requirements and demonstrate the required language knowledge and Life in the UK pass unless a permitted exemption applies. The ordinary route also includes an intention to continue living in the UK. Form AN guidance, updated in July 2026 ↗, explains these issues and the evidence in detail.

Prepare a status timeline, travel table, document list and information about offences or other circumstances requested by the form. Do not transplant criteria from a previously successful visa application: naturalisation has its own good-character assessment. Resolve disputed facts with a regulated adviser before paying.

Choose the submission date and budget

At the time of checking, the official total fee is £1,839, including £130 for the ceremony. Check the current amount on the application page ↗ before paying; language testing, translations and representation may add costs. Do not submit early hoping to meet the requirements by the decision date.

Keep the relevant rules and your checking date. A proposed reform or political announcement does not establish a change to current eligibility: use the operative procedure and commencement date of the particular measure. Also check the consequences of acquiring British citizenship under the law of any other country of nationality.