How to Get UK Citizenship From the US: ILR, Tests, and Fees

To get UK citizenship from the US, you move to the UK on a qualifying visa, build up to Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR), and then apply for naturalization once you’ve lived in the UK for five years (or three if you’re married to a British citizen). From 8 April 2026, the naturalization fee plus the mandatory ceremony fee comes to £1,839, and the process from application to ceremony usually runs six to twelve months. Both countries permit dual nationality, so you keep your US passport.¹

You Can’t Apply From the United States

There’s no direct route from a US address to a British passport. You need a UK visa first, then enough qualifying residence to reach ILR, and only after that can you apply for citizenship. This gateway is where most timelines get miscounted.

The visa routes US citizens most commonly use:

Skilled Worker visa: five years of continuous UK residence on the visa before ILR.
Spouse or partner visa: five years on this route to ILR if you’re married to or in a civil partnership with a British citizen or someone with ILR.
Global Talent visa: ILR after three years for people with exceptional talent or promise in eligible fields.
Innovator Founder visa: ILR after three years.
Long residence: ten continuous years lawfully in the UK on any basis can qualify you for ILR.

Each route carries its own conditions around sponsorship, salary, and continuous residence. For most Americans, reaching ILR takes at least three to five years.²

Naturalization Requirements Once You Have ILR

With ILR (or EU Settlement Scheme settled status) in hand, you can apply for British citizenship by naturalization under Sections 6(1) and 6(2) of the British Nationality Act 1981. The core rules:

You must be at least 18.
You must have lived in the UK for five years, and you must have held ILR for at least the final twelve months before applying.
If you’re married to or the civil partner of a British citizen, the qualifying period drops to three years and there’s no twelve-month wait after receiving ILR.

³⁴

Absence Limits

Time abroad during your qualifying period counts against you, and this catches out a lot of applicants. On the five-year route, you cannot have been outside the UK for more than 450 days total, and no more than 90 days in the final twelve months. On the three-year spouse route, the total is capped at 270 days, with the same 90-day limit in the final year.

The Home Office has some discretion for absences up to around 100 days in the final year if you can demonstrate strong ongoing ties. Beyond 180 days in the final year, only genuinely exceptional circumstances will save the application. If you travel often for work, keep a running log from day one of your qualifying period.

A Note on Other Paths

Naturalization is the standard route for adult Americans. If a parent was British when you were born, you may already be a citizen through descent without knowing it, though descent generally passes only one generation.⁵ Registration is a separate process for people with specific connections to the UK who don’t qualify for naturalization.

The Good Character Requirement

Every naturalization applicant has to show “good character,” and the Home Office reads this broadly. A criminal record doesn’t automatically disqualify you, but the assessment looks at your full history.

Some convictions are close to fatal to an application. A custodial sentence of twelve months or more will normally lead to refusal, and consecutive sentences totaling twelve months are treated the same way. Sexual offences or presence on a police register will typically mean refusal. Even shorter sentences and non-custodial penalties can trigger refusal if the Home Office isn’t satisfied.⁶

One detail surprises many applicants: you must disclose every conviction, including anything that would be “spent” under UK rehabilitation law. Nationality decisions are exempt from the usual rules that let old convictions expire. Traffic fines and fixed penalty notices generally aren’t a problem if you paid them and they didn’t reach court, though a repeated pattern can still raise questions. Good character also covers immigration history, so overstays, deception in earlier applications, or breaches of visa conditions all count.

What You Need to Prepare

The Life in the UK Test

You’ll need to pass the Life in the UK test, a computer-based exam on British history, values, traditions, and everyday life. It’s 24 multiple-choice questions in 45 minutes, and you need 18 correct (75%) to pass. Booking costs £50, and retakes cost the same each time.⁷

English: Americans Are Exempt

US citizens do not have to prove English proficiency. The United States is on the UK government’s list of nationalities exempt from the English language requirement, so you don’t need a Secure English Language Test or any English qualification. The exemption covers both citizenship and settlement applications.⁸

Two Referees

Your application needs two referees who’ve known you for at least three years. One must be a professional such as a solicitor, accountant, teacher, or minister of religion, and can be of any nationality. The other must hold a British citizen passport and be either a professional or over 25. Neither can be related to you, related to each other, or acting as your immigration solicitor.⁹

Documents

Gather these before you start the form:

Your current valid passport and birth certificate.
Proof of residence such as utility bills, bank statements, or tenancy agreements covering your qualifying period.
Your Life in the UK test pass notification.
Dates of every trip outside the UK during the qualifying period.
Details of any convictions, cautions, or pending proceedings anywhere in the world.

Documents not in English need certified translations. Applying online (the standard method for UK residents) usually means you keep your originals during processing rather than mailing them.¹⁰

Submitting the Application and Paying

Applications go in online through GOV.UK using Form AN. After you complete the form and pay, you’ll book a biometrics appointment at a UK Visa and Citizenship Application Services (UKVCAS) service point, where your fingerprints and photograph are taken.¹¹

From 8 April 2026, the naturalization fee is £1,709 plus the mandatory £130 citizenship ceremony fee, totaling £1,839. These are non-refundable if you’re refused. Add the £50 Life in the UK test and you’re looking at £1,889 minimum before any legal advice or translations.¹²

Processing Times and the Ceremony

After biometrics, the Home Office aims to decide most applications within six months. Cases requiring extra checks can take up to twelve. You may be contacted for more information or, less commonly for straightforward applications, invited to an interview.

If approved, your local council invites you to a citizenship ceremony, which you must book and attend within three months. You’ll make an Oath of Allegiance to the King (or a secular affirmation) and a Pledge of loyalty to the United Kingdom. You are not legally a British citizen until this step is complete. At the ceremony you receive your certificate of British citizenship, which you then use to apply for a British passport.¹³

Children Don’t Come With You Automatically

If you have children under 18, your becoming British doesn’t make them British. You apply separately to register each child using Form MN1, submitted online for UK residents. A fee waiver may be available if you can’t afford the cost.¹⁴

From 8 April 2026, child registration costs £1,000, down from £1,214. Processing takes up to six months. Children born in the UK after you become a British citizen are automatically British; children born before that date, or born outside the UK, need the registration application.¹²

Keeping Your US Citizenship

Both countries permit dual citizenship. Naturalizing in the UK does not require you to give up US nationality, and the US will not revoke your citizenship for taking British. You’ll carry both passports and can use whichever suits the trip.¹

As a British citizen you gain the right to vote in all UK elections (parliamentary, local, and the devolved elections in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland) and to stand for public office. Your residence in the UK becomes permanent and unconditional, no longer tied to a visa. You also gain the right to live and work in Jersey, Guernsey, and the Isle of Man.

The US Tax Obligation Doesn’t Go Away

The United States taxes on citizenship, not residence. Even after years of living and paying tax in the UK, you must file a US federal return every year reporting your worldwide income. Tax treaties and the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion can reduce or eliminate double taxation in many cases, but the filing obligation lasts as long as you hold US citizenship.¹⁵

Two additional reporting rules trip up new dual citizens. If the combined balance of your non-US financial accounts tops $10,000 at any point in the year, you must file an FBAR (FinCEN Form 114); your everyday UK current account counts.¹⁶ Under FATCA, single filers living abroad with foreign financial assets over $200,000 on the last day of the tax year (or $300,000 at any point) file Form 8938 with the IRS; for joint filers those thresholds are $400,000 and $600,000.¹⁷ Penalties for missed filings are severe and can apply to honest mistakes, so a tax professional who handles US expat returns is worth budgeting for if you plan to keep both passports.

1
GOV.UK. Dual Citizenship
2
GOV.UK. Check if You Can Get Indefinite Leave to Remain
3
GOV.UK. Apply for Citizenship if You Have Indefinite Leave to Remain or Settled Status
4
GOV.UK. Guide AN Naturalisation Booklet
5
GOV.UK. Apply for Citizenship if You Have a British Parent
6
GOV.UK. Nationality Policy – Good Character Requirement
7
GOV.UK. Life in the UK Test – What Happens at the Test
8
GOV.UK. Prove Your Knowledge of English for Citizenship and Settling – Who Does Not Need to Prove Their Knowledge of English
9
GOV.UK. Form UKF Guidance – Accessible Version
10
GOV.UK. Become a British Citizen by Naturalisation – Form AN
11
GOV.UK. UK Visa and Citizenship Application Services
12
GOV.UK. Home Office Immigration and Nationality Fees, 8 April 2026
13
GOV.UK. Citizenship Ceremonies
14
GOV.UK. Register Child Under 18 as British Citizen – Form MN1
15
Internal Revenue Service. US Citizens and Residents Abroad – Filing Requirements
16
FinCEN. Report Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts
17
Internal Revenue Service. Summary of FATCA Reporting for US Taxpayers