British citizenship gives you the right to live and work in the UK permanently, without any immigration restrictions. You need British citizenship before you can apply for a UK passport.
British citizen
British citizenship allows you to live and work in the United Kingdom free from UK immigration controls. As a British citizen, you are also entitled to a UK passport that you can use to travel freely in and out of the country.
It's in joint sixth place (behind 12 other nationalities), which doesn't sound too bad, but that's a place lower than last year. Holders of UK passports can visit 187 destinations without a prior visa, but must obtain documents for countries including China, Japan, India, Nigeria, Algeria and Cuba. In at the top spot?
Having British nationality does not guarantee you a passport. For example, you may not get a new passport (or your existing passport may be taken from you) if: you're suspected of a serious crime and an arrest warrant has been issued. a court order stops you having a UK passport or restricts your travel.
You are allowed to spend time outside of the UK so long as these periods of absence do not exceed 6 months at any one time. It does not matter how much time you spend outside of the UK in total during the required 5-year continuous residence period provided you return each time after a maximum of 6 months.
There were 170,692 applications for British citizenship in 2020, with only 9,116 rejected or refused. This gives a refusal rate of just over 5.3%, slightly down on 2019's figure of 5.5%.
The British passport is the world's sixth most powerful with visa-free or visa on-arrival access to 187 countries. The UK passport was one place ahead of the US at 186 countries, while EU states dominated much of the top rankings, data from Henley & Partners' 2022 Henley Passport Index showed.
The world's most powerful passports
Japanese citizens now hold the most passport power, as they are able to enter 193 nations visa free, or with visa-on-arrival. South Korea and Singapore hold joint second place, with both countries' passports enabling their citizens to access 192 nations without restrictions.
If you want to work overseas rather than just live, consider Anguilla, Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Montserrat, Turks and Caicos. British passport holders can both live and work in these countries for six months.
You're usually automatically a British citizen if you were both: born in the UK on or after 1 January 1983. born when one of your parents was a British citizen or 'settled' in the UK.
You usually pay £1,330 to apply for adult citizenship or £1,012 for children. If you're applying for citizenship as an adult you'll also have to pay: £50 to do the Life in the UK Test.
Dual citizenship (also known as dual nationality) is allowed in the UK. This means you can be a British citizen and also a citizen of other countries. You do not need to apply for dual citizenship.
We can go through all the rights and responsibilities we might associate with citizenship: the right to live in a country, to vote, to stand in elections, to work, to claim benefits, to be joined by family members, to hold a British passport, to serve on juries or even to be loyal to the state.
Along with New Zealand, Belgium, Norway, Switzerland and the US, the UK can visit 185 countries visa-free. However, the UK was beaten by other EU countries including Germany, with 189 countries, Spain, with 188, and France with 186.
French nationality remained the best in the world according to the 2018 edition of the Quality of Nationality Index, earning a score of 83.5% out of a possible 100%, fractionally ahead of Germany and the Netherlands.
Japan has the world's most powerful passport - providing hassle-free entry to 193 countries. Just one country short, Singapore and South Korea are tied in second place, according to the latest Henley Passport Index from Henley & Partners, an immigration consultancy.
3 Year Route To Naturalisation
Although there are many visa applications in this route it is the fastest way of becoming naturalised as a British Citizen within the UK visa system.
Residency requirements
You must have lived in the UK for at least 5 years before the date of your application. You also should not have broken any UK immigration laws. If you have indefinite leave to enter or remain, the Home Office will not usually check if you broke any immigration laws before then.
After you've applied
You'll usually get a decision within 6 months - some applications can take longer. It may take longer than the usual 6 months to get a decision because of coronavirus (COVID-19). This will not affect the decision. You'll be told if you need to provide more information to help with your application.