You can apply to register as a British citizen if you are a British National (Overseas) and meet the relevant eligibility requirements for registration as a British citizen.
Registration On The Basis Of Five Years Residence
To be eligible to register under the five-year residence requirement you must:
- have been resident in the United Kingdom for at least five years; this is known as the residential qualifying period; and
- have been present in the United Kingdom five years before the date of your application; and
- have not spent more than 450 days outside the United Kingdom during the five-year period; and
- have not spent more than 90 days outside the United Kingdom in the last 12 months of the five-year period; and
- have not been in breach of the immigration rules at any stage during the five-year period; and
- be free from immigration time restrictions (hold ILR) for the last 12 months of the five-year period of your stay in the United Kingdom.
Meeting The Residential Requirement
The residential qualifying period will be worked out from the day Home Office UKVI would receive your application. You must show you were present in the United Kingdom at the start of this period. For example, if Home Office UKVI received your application for registration as a British Citizen on 25 November 2020, you would have to show that you were in the United Kingdom on 26 November 2015.
You cannot count time you have spent in the United Kingdom while exempt from immigration control as part of the residential qualifying period. If you are in the United Kingdom as a diplomat or as a member of visiting armed forces or if you are in any place of detention, you would be considered exempt from immigration control. This time would be treated as absence from the United Kingdom.
Registration As British Citizen If You Are A British National (Overseas) With No Other Nationality
Followings are the requirements you need to meet to be eligible for registration as a British citizen by descent.
You must:
- be a British National (Overseas);
- not hold any other citizenship or nationality;
- not have given up any citizenship or nationality;
- not have lost any citizenship or nationality by action or inaction.
It is possible to be a citizen or national of a country even if you have never held a passport issued by the authorities of that country. You should make sure this does not apply to you before you make your application for registration as a British citizen.