How to Get Dual Citizenship in the UK: Routes, Fees, and Tests

You can hold dual citizenship in the UK: British law places no restrictions on being a citizen of Britain and another country at the same time. If you are already British, acquiring a second nationality will not cost you your British status. If you are a foreign national becoming British, the Home Office will not ask you to renounce your original citizenship. There is no separate “dual citizenship” application — you apply for British citizenship through the route that fits your situation, and you keep your existing nationality alongside it, provided your home country also permits it.¹

What Dual Nationality Means in Practice

Dual citizenship (also called dual nationality) means you are legally recognized as a citizen of two countries simultaneously. The UK’s position is straightforward: you can be British and also a citizen of any other country, with no cap on how many nationalities you hold.¹

The complication comes from the other side. Some countries do not permit their citizens to hold a second nationality, and if yours is one of them, you may lose your original citizenship automatically when you become British, or be required to renounce it. Check your home country’s nationality law before you apply — the UK cannot tell you what another government will do.

Once you are a British dual citizen, you hold the same rights as any other British citizen. You have the right of abode in the UK, so you can live and work here without any immigration restrictions.² You can apply for a British passport, vote in UK elections, and access public services. One meaningful limit: the UK government cannot provide you with consular or diplomatic help when you are inside your other country of citizenship. If you are a British-Australian dual citizen in Australia, the British embassy cannot step in on your behalf.¹

How You Become British Without Giving Up Your Other Nationality

There are three main paths, and none of them require renouncing your existing citizenship.

Naturalisation

Naturalisation is the standard route for adults who have migrated to the UK. Under the five-year route, you qualify if you have been a UK resident for five years and have held Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) or settled status for at least 12 months before applying. If you are married to or in a civil partnership with a British citizen, you can apply under the three-year route, and you only need to be free from immigration time restrictions on the date you apply, rather than having held ILR for a full year.³

Beyond time in the UK, you must pass a good character assessment, meet the English language requirement, and pass the Life in the UK test.

Registration

Registration is a route for people who already have a specific connection to British citizenship but are not automatically British. It applies to certain children born in the UK to non-British parents, and to people with a British parent or grandparent in particular circumstances. A child born in the UK on or after 1 January 1983 is a British citizen automatically if at least one parent was British or settled in the UK at the time of birth.⁴ A child who did not qualify at birth but whose parent later became settled or British can register for citizenship.⁵

Citizenship by Descent

If you were born outside the UK to a British parent, you may already be a British citizen by descent without needing to apply. British citizenship by descent normally passes down only one generation born abroad. So if your parent was born in the UK and you were born overseas, you are likely British automatically, but your own children, if also born outside the UK, generally will not be.⁶

Residency and Absence Limits

The Home Office measures not just how long you have lived in the UK, but how many days you spent outside it during the qualifying period. Both naturalisation routes have hard caps on absences:

Five-year route: No more than 450 days absent from the UK during the five-year qualifying period, and no more than 90 days absent in the final 12 months before you apply.
Three-year route (spouse or civil partner): No more than 270 days absent during the three-year qualifying period, and no more than 90 days absent in the final 12 months.

Exceeding these limits does not always mean automatic refusal. The Home Office has discretion to overlook excess absences in limited circumstances, such as illness preventing return, pandemic-era travel restrictions, or a removal decision later overturned. You will need supporting evidence, such as medical records or proof of travel disruption.⁷ Discretion is the exception. If your absences are well over the limit with no compelling reason, expect a refusal.

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

Good Character

Every naturalisation applicant must show “good character.” The Home Office reviews your criminal record worldwide, your immigration history, and your financial conduct. A custodial sentence of 12 months or more typically leads to refusal, as does a pattern of repeat offending or any offence that caused serious harm.⁸ Disclosure is broad. You must declare every interaction with criminal justice systems anywhere in the world: spent convictions, juvenile offences, cautions, and pending prosecutions. Concealing something and being caught later is far worse than disclosing it upfront, because the Home Office can strip citizenship for fraud or concealment at any point, with no time limit.⁹

English Language

You need to prove your knowledge of English (or Welsh or Scottish Gaelic) by passing an approved language test at B1 level or above, or by holding a degree that was taught or researched in English. You are exempt if you are 65 or older, or have a long-term physical or mental condition that prevents you from meeting the requirement.¹⁰

Life in the UK Test

The Life in the UK test is a 45-minute, 24-question multiple-choice exam covering British history, values, traditions, and everyday life. You need at least 75% (18 out of 24) to pass. It costs £50, and you can retake it as often as needed, paying each time.¹¹ The same age and health exemptions that apply to the language requirement apply here too.

Fees and Documents

As of 8 April 2026, the adult naturalisation fee is £1,709, which includes a £130 citizenship ceremony fee. A child’s registration as a British citizen costs £1,000. If a child turns 18 during the process, an additional £130 ceremony fee is charged when the decision is made.¹² Fees are non-refundable, even if your application is refused. Budget separately for the £50 Life in the UK test and any language test fees.

Before starting, gather your current passport, proof of your immigration status (your eVisa, or Biometric Residence Permit if you still hold one), your Life in the UK pass certificate, your English language test certificate or qualifying degree, and evidence of continuous UK residence such as utility bills, bank statements, payslips, or tenancy agreements. Applications are submitted online through GOV.UK, and after paying the fee you book a biometrics appointment for fingerprints and a photograph.⁸ Most applications take three to six months. There is no way to expedite.

Ceremony, Passport, and the Travel Rule for Dual Citizens

If your application is approved and you are 18 or over, you must attend a citizenship ceremony. The Home Office sends an invitation, and you have three months from that invitation to attend.¹³ At the ceremony, you make an oath of allegiance (or an affirmation if you prefer not to swear by God) and a pledge of loyalty to the United Kingdom, and you receive your certificate of British citizenship. That certificate is the document you use to apply for a British passport.¹⁴

The passport is a separate application. As of 8 April 2026, a first adult passport costs £102 online or £115.50 by post. A child’s passport costs £66.50 online or £80 by post. The premium one-day service costs £239.50.¹⁵ Allow extra time for a first passport, since you have no previous record on file.

One rule dual citizens need to know before travelling: since 25 February 2026, all British citizens, including dual nationals, must travel to the UK on a valid UK or Irish passport, or with a certificate of entitlement. You cannot enter the UK on your other country’s passport, even if that country is visa-free. Carriers can deny you boarding without the right document.¹⁶ This is a change from earlier practice, where dual nationals from non-visa countries could sometimes enter on their foreign passport. Get the British passport sorted soon after your ceremony.

Tax After You Become British

Becoming a British citizen does not, by itself, make you a UK taxpayer. The UK taxes based on residency, not citizenship. Whether you owe UK tax on worldwide income depends on the Statutory Residence Test, which looks at days spent in the UK and your ties here, not the passport you hold.

The United States is the notable exception among major countries. The US taxes its citizens on worldwide income regardless of where they live. If you are a US citizen who becomes British, you remain obligated to file US tax returns every year and report your global income to the IRS. You must also file a Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR) if the combined value of your foreign accounts exceeds $10,000 at any point during the year.¹⁷

The US-UK tax treaty, together with the Foreign Tax Credit and the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion, is designed to prevent double taxation on the same income. In practice, most dual citizens owe little or no additional US tax on UK-sourced income because UK rates are broadly comparable to or higher than US rates. The filing obligation itself, though, never goes away, and penalties for missed filings are steep. The mismatch between the US calendar tax year and the UK tax year (6 April to 5 April) creates timing issues with credits that are easy to get wrong, so working with a cross-border tax professional is worth the cost.

How Citizenship Can Be Lost

British citizenship is not irrevocable. The Home Secretary can deprive you of citizenship in two situations. First, if your naturalisation or registration was obtained through fraud, false representation, or concealment of a material fact, with no time limit on when proceedings can begin. Second, if the Home Secretary is satisfied that deprivation is “conducive to the public good,” typically in cases involving national security or serious criminal conduct. There is a protection against statelessness: the government generally cannot deprive you of citizenship if that would leave you with no nationality, though an exception exists for naturalised citizens whose conduct has been seriously prejudicial to UK interests and who could acquire another nationality.⁹

That is why full disclosure during your application matters. A conviction you left off the form 15 years ago can still unravel your citizenship later.

1
GOV.UK. Dual Citizenship
2
House of Commons Library. Can a British Citizen Travel to the UK Using a Non-British Passport?
3
GOV.UK. Guide AN Naturalisation Booklet
4
Legislation.gov.uk. British Nationality Act 1981, Section 1
5
GOV.UK. Registration as British Citizen: Children
6
GOV.UK. Apply for Citizenship if You Have a British Parent
7
GOV.UK. Naturalisation as a British Citizen by Discretion
8
GOV.UK. Apply for Citizenship if You Have Indefinite Leave to Remain or Settled Status
9
Legislation.gov.uk. British Nationality Act 1981, Section 40
10
GOV.UK. Prove Your Knowledge of English for Citizenship and Settling – Exemptions
11
GOV.UK. Life in the UK Test – What Happens at the Test
12
GOV.UK. Home Office Immigration and Nationality Fees, 8 April 2026
13
GOV.UK. Citizenship Ceremonies
14
GOV.UK. Citizenship Ceremonies Guidance Notes
15
GOV.UK. New Fees for Passport Applications
16
U.S. Embassy and Consulates in the United Kingdom. Important Changes to UK Entry Requirements as of February 25, 2026
17
IRS. U.S. Citizens and Residents Abroad Filing Requirements