How to Complete and Submit the British Citizenship Application (Form AN)

To complete Form AN, the British citizenship application for adults, you work through the online application on GOV.UK, upload your supporting documents, pay the fee, and attend a biometrics appointment; the Home Office then decides within about 26 weeks. Before you start, you need to be sure you meet the residency, absence, character, language, and Life in the UK test requirements, because the £1,839 fee (from April 2026) is non-refundable if your application is refused.¹

Confirm You Qualify Before You Open the Form

Form AN is for adults aged 18 or over. Which route you apply under determines the residency figures the form will check you against.

If you are not married to or in a civil partnership with a British citizen, you apply under section 6(1). You need five years of UK residence and must have held Indefinite Leave to Remain, settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme, or indefinite leave to enter for at least 12 months before applying.²

If you are married to or in a civil partnership with a British citizen, you apply under section 6(2). The residency period is three years, and you just need to be free of any immigration time restrictions on the date you submit.²

The Residency Check the Form Will Make

Three residency figures decide whether your application clears the statutory threshold:

You must have been physically in the UK on the exact date five years (or three years) before the day you apply. If you were abroad on that anniversary date, the application fails automatically.³
Total absences across the qualifying period cannot exceed 450 days (five-year route) or 270 days (three-year route).
Absences in the final 12 months before you apply cannot exceed 90 days.⁴

The Home Secretary can exercise discretion for absences that slightly exceed these limits, but you would need to show strong ties to the UK and that the trips arose from work or compassionate reasons. Above 180 days in the final year, only exceptional circumstances will save the application. If you are close to any of the limits, waiting a few weeks is almost always cheaper than relying on discretion.

Good Character, Language, and the Life in the UK Test

You also need to be of good character, hold an approved English speaking and listening qualification at B1 or above (or a degree taught in English, or an exemption), and have already passed the Life in the UK test. The test pass letter does not expire, so a letter from an earlier settlement application is still valid.⁵

Good character covers criminal record, immigration compliance, and financial soundness. Any custodial sentence of 12 months or more will normally lead to refusal, and deliberate breaches of immigration rules such as overstaying or working without permission are treated seriously.⁶

Gather Your Documents Before You Start

Form AN asks for a detailed personal history covering the full qualifying period. Pulling it together mid-form is where applications stall. Have everything below ready before you log in:

All current and expired passports covering the qualifying period
Every residential address you have lived at during the period, with dates
Employment history: employer names, addresses, and dates
A full list of every trip outside the UK, with departure and return dates, taken from your passport stamps and cross-checked against boarding passes or booking confirmations
Your Life in the UK test pass notification
Evidence of your English language qualification from a Home Office–approved provider
Your National Insurance number
Home Office reference numbers from previous immigration applications
Your Biometric Residence Permit, if you have one

You can upload digital copies through the online service or bring the originals to the biometrics appointment to have them scanned there.⁷

Line Up Your Two Referees

Form AN must be endorsed by two referees who confirm your identity. Both must have known you for at least three years, neither can be related to you or to each other, and neither can be employed by the Home Office. A referee convicted of an imprisonable offence in the past 10 years will not normally be accepted.⁸

The first referee must be a professional person of any nationality, such as a solicitor, accountant, teacher, civil servant, or minister of religion, and cannot be the solicitor or agent representing you. The second must hold a British citizen passport and be either a professional person or over the age of 25.

Collect each referee’s full name, address, phone number, occupation, and passport details. They sign a declaration that your photograph is a true likeness and that the information you have provided is accurate.

Working Through the Online Form

The application is completed entirely online. Start at the GOV.UK naturalisation page, create an account, and work section by section: personal details, immigration history, addresses, employment, travel absences, referees, and character questions.⁷ You can save progress and return to it.

A few sections cause most of the problems:

Travel history. List every trip out of the UK individually, including short weekends. Omitting a trip can be treated as deception and sink the whole application.
Absences calculation. The form totals your days abroad automatically, but check the arithmetic against your passport stamps yourself before submitting. One miscounted trip can push you over the 450-day or 90-day limit.
Qualifying period start date. Reconfirm you were physically in the UK on the exact date five years (or three years) before the day you plan to submit. If not, wait.
Future intentions. You must intend to make the UK your principal home. If you have firm plans to move abroad, or are about to be out of the UK continuously for more than six months, wait until you are settled back before applying.⁴

Pay the Fee and Submit

From 8 April 2026, the application fee is £1,709, plus a £130 citizenship ceremony fee, for a total of £1,839. You pay the full amount when you submit the form.¹ The fee is non-refundable if your application is refused, so this is the last moment to review your travel dates, absence totals, and the completeness of your evidence.

After payment, you receive an email confirmation with a link to book your biometrics appointment.

Biometrics Appointment

You book the biometrics appointment through UK Visa and Citizenship Application Services (UKVCAS), which captures your fingerprints and a facial photograph.⁹ Create a UKVCAS account and pick an appointment at a service point near you.

Bring:

Your printed appointment confirmation with the QR code
Your passport or travel document
Any supporting documents you did not upload online

You will not get a decision at the appointment. Attending it starts the processing clock.

What Happens After You Submit

Under the standard service, most applicants receive a decision within 26 weeks of the biometrics appointment.¹⁰ Complex cases involving extended absences, criminal history, or incomplete documents take longer. If the Home Office requests further evidence, respond quickly, because delays extend processing significantly.

If your application is approved, you receive an invitation to a citizenship ceremony and must attend within three months.¹¹ Call the local authority named on the invitation within 14 days to book. At the ceremony you take either the Oath of Allegiance or the Affirmation of Allegiance, followed by the Pledge of Loyalty, and receive your certificate of naturalisation.¹² You are not a British citizen until the ceremony is complete; the approval letter alone does not grant citizenship. The certificate is what you use to apply for a British passport.

If the Application Is Refused

There is no formal right of appeal against a naturalisation refusal, but you can request an internal review by submitting Form NR to UK Visas and Immigration at Department 73, The Capital, New Hall Place, Liverpool, L3 9PP.¹³ Include the refusal letter and evidence that answers the reason given. A separate fee applies. If the refusal was for something you can fix, such as excess absences, you can also reapply with a fresh Form AN once the underlying issue is resolved, paying the full fee again.

1
GOV.UK. Home Office Immigration and Nationality Fees, 8 April 2026
2
GOV.UK. Apply for Citizenship if You Have Indefinite Leave to Remain or Settled Status
3
GOV.UK. Form AN Guidance
4
GOV.UK. Naturalisation as a British Citizen by Discretion
5
GOV.UK. Guide AN Naturalisation Booklet – April 2026
6
GOV.UK. Good Character Requirement
7
GOV.UK. Apply for Citizenship if You Have Indefinite Leave to Remain or Settled Status – How to Apply
8
GOV.UK. Form T Guidance
9
GOV.UK. UK Visa and Citizenship Application Services
10
Royal College of Nursing. Completing Online Applications for Visa, Settlement or Citizenship
11
GOV.UK. Citizenship Ceremonies
12
GOV.UK. Citizenship Ceremonies Guidance Notes
13
GOV.UK. Application for Review When British Citizenship Is Refused – Form NR