An unusual requirement from the British Nationality Act may wreak havoc for British citizenship applicants in 2025.
The five-year route is one of the most well-trodden paths to British citizenship (or naturalisation, as it is otherwise known). After having been in the UK with appropriate leave to enter or remain status for at least five years and having had indefinite leave to remain or settled status for at least twelve months, an adult will normally be able to apply for naturalisation (subject to the other eligibility requirements, such as passing the Life in the UK test).
This route has evolved out of section 6(1) of the British Nationality Act 1981 (“the Act”), which itself forms the foundation of the law surrounding British citizenship. The requirements to qualify under the section 6(1) route are – confusingly – set out in not in section 6(1) itself, but in Schedule 1, towards the back of the Act.
Many of these requirements are common-sense – the aforementioned requirements to have been in the UK for at least five years and to have had indefinite leave to remain (or an equivalent status) for at least twelve months, for example. Schedule 1 also addresses, in brief, the good character, language, and knowledge of life in the UK elements of eligibility for naturalisation.
However, there is one requirement that is more unusual than the others, and which is likely to act as a stumbling block for many naturalisation applicants– particularly those applying in 2025.
To be eligible under the five-year route, applicants for naturalisation must have been present in the UK on the date exactly five years before their application. This is not to be confused with the requirement for the applicant to have been in the UK for at least five years, which is a distinct requirement.
It is difficult to see what the logical basis for this requirement is. In theory, an individual submitting their application on 1 September 2025, for example, and who otherwise meets all eligibility requirements but was away on a day-trip to France on 1 September 2020 would have their application rejected – while, if they instead submitted their application on 31 August 2025 or 2 September 2025, they would succeed!
Unsurprisingly, this bizarre rule catches many citizenship applicants out, and we expect that to be particularly true in 2025. This is because we are now into the five-year anniversary of the COVID-19 pandemic, lockdown and other restrictions. During 2020 and 2021, many non-citizens resident in the UK returned to their countries of origin – whether to support their families or to avoid becoming “trapped” in the UK for an indeterminate period of time. Such persons may be at risk falling foul of the requirement to have been in the UK exactly five years prior to the date of application, if they were to submit their application this year or next.
That said, the Home Office does have the discretion to approve applications in such circumstances, subject to the applicant meeting all other eligibility requirements. This remains a discretion only, however, and we would therefore recommend that citizenship applicants review their presence in the UK before applying, to ensure that they can time their application to mitigate the risk of rejection and avoid wasting costs.
If you have any questions regarding applying for British citizenship, please do get in touch at [email protected]
