Five Years to Settle, One More to Apply, and the Secretary of State May Still Say No
Naturalisation as a British citizen is governed by an Act rather than by the Immigration Rules, and the Act is unusually frank about how little it promises. Section 6(1) of the British Nationality Act 1981 says that where the Secretary of State is satisfied the applicant meets Schedule 1, he may, if he thinks fit, grant a certificate. Schedule 1 sets the arithmetic. The ordinary applicant must have been in the United Kingdom at the start of the five years ending with the application, have been absent no more than 450 days across those five years and no more than 90 days in the last twelve months, have been free of any time restriction on their stay throughout that last twelve months, and have been in breach of the immigration laws at no point in the five years. They must also be of good character, have sufficient knowledge of English, Welsh or Scottish Gaelic, and have sufficient knowledge about life in the United Kingdom. The spouse or civil partner of a British citizen applies under section 6(2) instead: three years rather than five, 270 days of absence rather than 450, and the time-restriction test taken on the date of application rather than across a whole year. The requirement to be free of time restrictions is what makes settlement the real gate, and for a person on no other route the settlement gate is ten years of lawful residence under Appendix Long Residence.
At a glance
- Residence period, ordinary applicant
- 5 years ending with the date of the application
Paragraph 1(2)(a) of Schedule 1 to the British Nationality Act 1981.
- Absence limit over the qualifying period, ordinary applicant
- No more than 450 days absent in the 5 years
Paragraph 1(2)(a) of Schedule 1 to the British Nationality Act 1981.
- Absence limit in the final year
- No more than 90 days absent in the 12 months ending with the application
Paragraph 1(2)(b) of Schedule 1, and paragraph 3(b) for the spouse route, which sets the same 90 days.
- Freedom from immigration time restrictions
- Required throughout the 12 months ending with the application for an ordinary applicant, and only on the date of the application for a spouse or civil partner
Paragraph 1(2)(c) and paragraph 3(c) of Schedule 1. This is why the ordinary route is in practice settlement plus a further year, and the spouse route is not.
- Residence period, spouse or civil partner of a British citizen
- 3 years ending with the date of the application, with no more than 270 days absent
Paragraph 3(a) of Schedule 1, read with section 6(2).
- Language standard
- Sufficient knowledge of the English, Welsh or Scottish Gaelic language
Paragraph 1(1)(c) of Schedule 1. The Act names three languages; it does not name a Common European Framework level.
- Whether a qualifying applicant is entitled to citizenship
- No. Section 6(1) provides that the Secretary of State may grant a certificate if he thinks fit
Section 6(1) of the British Nationality Act 1981. Meeting Schedule 1 opens the discretion; it does not exhaust it.
- Lawful residence needed for settlement where no other route gives it
- A qualifying period of 10 years lawfully in the UK
LR 11.1 of Appendix Long Residence.
- English level for settlement by long residence
- CEFR B1 in speaking and listening for an application made before 26 March 2027, and B2 for one made on or after that date
LR 13.1 of Appendix Long Residence, which carries both standards and the switching date in the published text.
- Time that does not count towards long residence
- Time as a Visitor, Short-term Student (English language) or Seasonal Worker, time under Appendix Ukraine Scheme, time on immigration bail, temporary admission or temporary release, and periods of overstaying
LR 11.1(a) and LR 11.2 of Appendix Long Residence.
Requirements
- Hold settlement - indefinite leave to remain or settled status - and hold it for the twelve months before applying, if you are naturalising under section 6(1)
- Have been in the United Kingdom at the start of the qualifying period and within the absence limits for that period
- Be of good character
- Show knowledge of English, Welsh or Scottish Gaelic and knowledge about life in the United Kingdom
- Intend that your principal home will be in the United Kingdom, or be entering qualifying Crown or international service
In detail
Two gates, and the first one is the long one
The naturalisation numbers describe the last step, not the journey. Paragraph 1(2)(c) requires that the applicant was not subject to any restriction on the period for which they might remain at any time in the twelve months ending with the application, which means settlement must already have been held for a year before the citizenship application is made. How long settlement itself takes is a question for the route, not for the Act: a Skilled Worker reaches it on that route's own terms, while a person who has simply lived lawfully in the country without any route that settles reaches it under Appendix Long Residence after ten years. The spouse route under section 6(2) is the one exception to the pattern, because paragraph 3(c) tests freedom from time restrictions on the date of the application only - a person who is granted settlement on Monday may apply on Tuesday.
The Act says may, and means it
Section 6(1) is not drafted as an entitlement and the wording is old enough to be unembarrassed about it: the Secretary of State may, if he thinks fit, grant a certificate. Paragraph 2 of Schedule 1 runs in the same direction from the other side, letting him treat an applicant as having met requirements they did not meet - the absence limits, the requirement to have been in the country at the start of the period, even presence in breach of the immigration laws. A reader used to a continental nationality code, where meeting the conditions produces a right subject to defined grounds of refusal, is looking at something different here. Both the shortfall and the surplus are discretionary.
What this record does not answer
Good character is a statutory requirement with no statutory definition, and the Home Office guidance that gives it content has not been read for this record. Nor has Appendix KOL UK, which carries the knowledge of life requirement, nor Appendix Continuous Residence, which LR 12.1 makes load-bearing for the ten-year settlement route. The Act's other routes to citizenship - by birth under section 1, by descent, by registration under sections 3 and 4 - are not covered here either; this record is about naturalisation and the settlement step before it.
Exceptions by origin
No exceptions recorded
Nothing we have read treats any nationality differently for this topic. The rule above applies to everyone.
What the law says
«(1)If, on an application for naturalisation as a British citizen made by a person of full age and capacity, the Secretary of State is satisfied that the applicant fulfils the requirements of Schedule 1 for naturalisation as such a citizen under this subsection, he may, if he thinks fit, grant to him a certificate of naturalisation as such a citizen.»The two discretions in one sentence: the Secretary of State must be satisfied, and then may grant if he thinks fit. No British statute turns naturalisation into an entitlement for an adult applicant.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The official statute book of the United Kingdom, run by The National Archives. It serves every Act of Parliament and every UK statutory instrument, and for most of them it serves a revised text maintained by an editorial team rather than the text as enacted. One provision at a time is addressable: legislation.gov.uk/<type>/<year>/<number>/<section|regulation|schedule|article>/<n>, with /part/<n> under a schedule and /made for the original of a statutory instrument. That shape is what makes a statute book this size readable - section 3 of the Immigration Act 1971 is 61,000 characters where the Act entire is unusable. Every provision page prints a status box stating the date to which it is up to date, a Changes to Legislation disclaimer, and, where there are any, a list of effects the editorial team has not yet applied.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: Its consolidation date is not an editorial date but the date of the request, so two provisions of the same Act read a day apart carry different cut-offs, and the cut-off must be taken from each page rather than from the Act. It carries no Immigration Rules: the Rules are laid before Parliament under section 3(2) of the Immigration Act 1971 and published by the Home Office, and nothing in them is on this site. Some instruments are served only as made, with no revised text at all, and the site says so on the page - the Driving Licences (Exchangeable Licences) Order 1984 is one, and its electronic text was contributed by Westlaw from the printed copy. Where a page lists outstanding effects, the text shown is known to be behind its own amendments, and where an amending provision was never commenced the page lists an effect that will never arrive: section 6 of the British Nationality Act 1981 carries effects from a 2009 Act whose amending provisions are themselves prospectively repealed. It is not a source for what a department does, for fees set administratively, or for any external document an instrument incorporates by reference.
We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source
«1(1)Subject to paragraph 2, the requirements for naturalisation as a British citizen under section 6(1) are, in the case of any person who applies for it—U.K. (a)the requirements specified in sub-paragraph (2) of this paragraph, or the alternative requirement specified in sub-paragraph (3) of this paragraph; and (b)that he is of good character; and (c)that he has a sufficient knowledge of the English, Welsh or Scottish Gaelic language; and»Good character and language are separate requirements from the residence arithmetic, and paragraph 1(1)(ca), inserted in 2005, adds knowledge about life in the United Kingdom.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The official statute book of the United Kingdom, run by The National Archives. It serves every Act of Parliament and every UK statutory instrument, and for most of them it serves a revised text maintained by an editorial team rather than the text as enacted. One provision at a time is addressable: legislation.gov.uk/<type>/<year>/<number>/<section|regulation|schedule|article>/<n>, with /part/<n> under a schedule and /made for the original of a statutory instrument. That shape is what makes a statute book this size readable - section 3 of the Immigration Act 1971 is 61,000 characters where the Act entire is unusable. Every provision page prints a status box stating the date to which it is up to date, a Changes to Legislation disclaimer, and, where there are any, a list of effects the editorial team has not yet applied.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: Its consolidation date is not an editorial date but the date of the request, so two provisions of the same Act read a day apart carry different cut-offs, and the cut-off must be taken from each page rather than from the Act. It carries no Immigration Rules: the Rules are laid before Parliament under section 3(2) of the Immigration Act 1971 and published by the Home Office, and nothing in them is on this site. Some instruments are served only as made, with no revised text at all, and the site says so on the page - the Driving Licences (Exchangeable Licences) Order 1984 is one, and its electronic text was contributed by Westlaw from the printed copy. Where a page lists outstanding effects, the text shown is known to be behind its own amendments, and where an amending provision was never commenced the page lists an effect that will never arrive: section 6 of the British Nationality Act 1981 carries effects from a 2009 Act whose amending provisions are themselves prospectively repealed. It is not a source for what a department does, for fees set administratively, or for any external document an instrument incorporates by reference.
We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source
«(2)The requirements referred to in sub-paragraph (1)(a) of this paragraph are— (a)that the applicant was in the United Kingdom at the beginning of the period of five years ending with the date of the application, and that the number of days on which he was absent from the United Kingdom in that period does not exceed 450; and (b)that the number of days on which he was absent from the United Kingdom in the period of twelve months so ending does not exceed 90; and (c)that he was not at any time in the period of twelve months so ending subject under the immigration laws to any restriction on the period for which he might remain in the United Kingdom; and (d)that he was not at any time in the period of five years so ending in the United Kingdom in breach of the immigration laws.»The whole of the residence test. Note that (c) runs for twelve months and (d) for five years: a person may have been subject to a time restriction four years ago and still qualify, but not one year ago.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The official statute book of the United Kingdom, run by The National Archives. It serves every Act of Parliament and every UK statutory instrument, and for most of them it serves a revised text maintained by an editorial team rather than the text as enacted. One provision at a time is addressable: legislation.gov.uk/<type>/<year>/<number>/<section|regulation|schedule|article>/<n>, with /part/<n> under a schedule and /made for the original of a statutory instrument. That shape is what makes a statute book this size readable - section 3 of the Immigration Act 1971 is 61,000 characters where the Act entire is unusable. Every provision page prints a status box stating the date to which it is up to date, a Changes to Legislation disclaimer, and, where there are any, a list of effects the editorial team has not yet applied.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: Its consolidation date is not an editorial date but the date of the request, so two provisions of the same Act read a day apart carry different cut-offs, and the cut-off must be taken from each page rather than from the Act. It carries no Immigration Rules: the Rules are laid before Parliament under section 3(2) of the Immigration Act 1971 and published by the Home Office, and nothing in them is on this site. Some instruments are served only as made, with no revised text at all, and the site says so on the page - the Driving Licences (Exchangeable Licences) Order 1984 is one, and its electronic text was contributed by Westlaw from the printed copy. Where a page lists outstanding effects, the text shown is known to be behind its own amendments, and where an amending provision was never commenced the page lists an effect that will never arrive: section 6 of the British Nationality Act 1981 carries effects from a 2009 Act whose amending provisions are themselves prospectively repealed. It is not a source for what a department does, for fees set administratively, or for any external document an instrument incorporates by reference.
We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source
«3U.K.Subject to paragraph 4, the requirements for naturalisation as a British citizen under section 6(2) are, in the case of any person who applies for it— (a)that he was in the United Kingdom at the beginning of the period of three years ending with the date of the application, and that the number of days on which he was absent from the United Kingdom in that period does not exceed 270; and (b)that the number of days on which he was absent from the United Kingdom in the period of twelve months so ending does not exceed 90; and (c)that on the date of the application he was not subject under the immigration laws to any restriction on the period for which he might remain in the United Kingdom; and (d)that he was not at any time in the period of three years ending with the date of the application in the United Kingdom in breach of the immigration laws; and»The spouse and civil partner route. Three years, 270 days, and - the difference that matters - the time-restriction test at (c) is taken on the date of the application alone.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The official statute book of the United Kingdom, run by The National Archives. It serves every Act of Parliament and every UK statutory instrument, and for most of them it serves a revised text maintained by an editorial team rather than the text as enacted. One provision at a time is addressable: legislation.gov.uk/<type>/<year>/<number>/<section|regulation|schedule|article>/<n>, with /part/<n> under a schedule and /made for the original of a statutory instrument. That shape is what makes a statute book this size readable - section 3 of the Immigration Act 1971 is 61,000 characters where the Act entire is unusable. Every provision page prints a status box stating the date to which it is up to date, a Changes to Legislation disclaimer, and, where there are any, a list of effects the editorial team has not yet applied.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: Its consolidation date is not an editorial date but the date of the request, so two provisions of the same Act read a day apart carry different cut-offs, and the cut-off must be taken from each page rather than from the Act. It carries no Immigration Rules: the Rules are laid before Parliament under section 3(2) of the Immigration Act 1971 and published by the Home Office, and nothing in them is on this site. Some instruments are served only as made, with no revised text at all, and the site says so on the page - the Driving Licences (Exchangeable Licences) Order 1984 is one, and its electronic text was contributed by Westlaw from the printed copy. Where a page lists outstanding effects, the text shown is known to be behind its own amendments, and where an amending provision was never commenced the page lists an effect that will never arrive: section 6 of the British Nationality Act 1981 carries effects from a 2009 Act whose amending provisions are themselves prospectively repealed. It is not a source for what a department does, for fees set administratively, or for any external document an instrument incorporates by reference.
We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source
«(1)If in the special circumstances of any particular case the Secretary of State thinks fit, he may for the purposes of paragraph 1 do all or any of the following things, namely—»Every residence requirement in paragraph 1 is waivable in special circumstances, including the requirement to have been in the country at the start of the period and the absence limits. The list of what may be waived follows at (za) to (e).
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The official statute book of the United Kingdom, run by The National Archives. It serves every Act of Parliament and every UK statutory instrument, and for most of them it serves a revised text maintained by an editorial team rather than the text as enacted. One provision at a time is addressable: legislation.gov.uk/<type>/<year>/<number>/<section|regulation|schedule|article>/<n>, with /part/<n> under a schedule and /made for the original of a statutory instrument. That shape is what makes a statute book this size readable - section 3 of the Immigration Act 1971 is 61,000 characters where the Act entire is unusable. Every provision page prints a status box stating the date to which it is up to date, a Changes to Legislation disclaimer, and, where there are any, a list of effects the editorial team has not yet applied.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: Its consolidation date is not an editorial date but the date of the request, so two provisions of the same Act read a day apart carry different cut-offs, and the cut-off must be taken from each page rather than from the Act. It carries no Immigration Rules: the Rules are laid before Parliament under section 3(2) of the Immigration Act 1971 and published by the Home Office, and nothing in them is on this site. Some instruments are served only as made, with no revised text at all, and the site says so on the page - the Driving Licences (Exchangeable Licences) Order 1984 is one, and its electronic text was contributed by Westlaw from the printed copy. Where a page lists outstanding effects, the text shown is known to be behind its own amendments, and where an amending provision was never commenced the page lists an effect that will never arrive: section 6 of the British Nationality Act 1981 carries effects from a 2009 Act whose amending provisions are themselves prospectively repealed. It is not a source for what a department does, for fees set administratively, or for any external document an instrument incorporates by reference.
We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source
«### Changes and effects yet to be applied to Section 6: [Moreeffects to be announced](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1981/61/section/6#statusEffectsAppliedContent) - s. 6(2) words substituted by [2009 c. 11](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/id/ukpga/2009/11) [s. 40(1)](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/id/ukpga/2009/11/section/40/1) (Amending provision prospectively repealed by 2022 c. 36, s. 9(3)(a))»A consolidated page listing amendments that will never arrive. The amendments were enacted in the Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Act 2009, never commenced, and the provisions that would have made them are themselves marked as prospectively repealed by the Nationality and Borders Act 2022. The page carries them anyway, because the editorial team records effects rather than predicting them.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The official statute book of the United Kingdom, run by The National Archives. It serves every Act of Parliament and every UK statutory instrument, and for most of them it serves a revised text maintained by an editorial team rather than the text as enacted. One provision at a time is addressable: legislation.gov.uk/<type>/<year>/<number>/<section|regulation|schedule|article>/<n>, with /part/<n> under a schedule and /made for the original of a statutory instrument. That shape is what makes a statute book this size readable - section 3 of the Immigration Act 1971 is 61,000 characters where the Act entire is unusable. Every provision page prints a status box stating the date to which it is up to date, a Changes to Legislation disclaimer, and, where there are any, a list of effects the editorial team has not yet applied.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: Its consolidation date is not an editorial date but the date of the request, so two provisions of the same Act read a day apart carry different cut-offs, and the cut-off must be taken from each page rather than from the Act. It carries no Immigration Rules: the Rules are laid before Parliament under section 3(2) of the Immigration Act 1971 and published by the Home Office, and nothing in them is on this site. Some instruments are served only as made, with no revised text at all, and the site says so on the page - the Driving Licences (Exchangeable Licences) Order 1984 is one, and its electronic text was contributed by Westlaw from the printed copy. Where a page lists outstanding effects, the text shown is known to be behind its own amendments, and where an amending provision was never commenced the page lists an effect that will never arrive: section 6 of the British Nationality Act 1981 carries effects from a 2009 Act whose amending provisions are themselves prospectively repealed. It is not a source for what a department does, for fees set administratively, or for any external document an instrument incorporates by reference.
We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source
«LR 11.1. The applicant must have spent a qualifying period of 10 years lawfully in the UK, for the entirety of which one or more of the following applied: 1. (a) the applicant had permission, except permission under Appendix Ukraine Scheme, or permission as a Visitor, Short-term Student (English language) or Seasonal Worker (or under any of their predecessor routes); or 2. (b) the applicant was exempt from immigration control; or 3. (c) the applicant was in the UK as an EEA national, or the family member of an EEA national, exercising a right to reside under the Immigration (European Economic Area) Regulations 2016 prior to 11pm on 31 December 2020 (and until 30 June 2021 or the final determination of an application under Appendix EU made by them by that date); or 4. (d) a period as a British citizen, except where citizenship has subsequently been deprived.»The settlement route for someone whose own route offers no settlement. The numbering inside the quotation is the list markup of the published page. Time as a visitor, a short-term English language student or a seasonal worker is excluded by (a) itself rather than by a separate rule.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The department that lays the Immigration Rules before Parliament under section 3(2) of the Immigration Act 1971 and publishes them on gov.uk. The Rules - HC 395 as amended - are the operative law of almost every immigration route: the Acts set the framework and delegate, and what a person must actually satisfy is in an appendix. The consolidated appendices are served one per page under gov.uk/guidance/immigration-rules, with an index page listing every Part and Appendix with a one-line description of each, which is the only published closed list of the routes that exist. Changes are made by a statement of changes laid before Parliament, and those are collected at gov.uk/government/collections/immigration-rules-statement-of-changes.
Standing: Issues the instrument
Cannot be cited for: No appendix page carries a version date or an in-force date on its face. The only way to date the text is the statement of changes collection, which gives the most recent statement laid but not which appendix it touched, so a citation to an appendix can be dated only to "the consolidation current at or after HC <n> of <date>". The Rules are not enacted: Parliament may disapprove a statement but does not pass it, so this is a department publishing its own rules and the site is both the issuer and the only publisher of the consolidated text - there is no independent consolidation to check it against. A closed route is hollowed rather than removed: the headings for Tier 1 (Investor), Tier 1 (General) and retired persons of independent means still stand above paragraphs reading DELETED, so the presence of a heading proves nothing. It is not a source for departmental guidance, for fees, for sponsor licensing decisions or for the lists of endorsing bodies, approved tests and designated institutions that the Rules make load-bearing and publish elsewhere.
We re-read it every 45 days. More about this source
«LR 13.1. Unless an exemption applies, the applicant must: 1. (a) Where the date of application is before 26 March 2027, the applicant must, unless an exemption applies, show English language ability on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages in speaking and listening to at least level B1; or 2. (b) Where the date of application is on or after 26 March 2027, the applicant must, unless an exemption applies, show English language ability on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages in speaking and listening to at least level B2.»A rule that states a future change inside itself. The standard rises from B1 to B2 for applications made on or after 26 March 2027, and the Appendix publishes both alternatives rather than announcing the change elsewhere.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The department that lays the Immigration Rules before Parliament under section 3(2) of the Immigration Act 1971 and publishes them on gov.uk. The Rules - HC 395 as amended - are the operative law of almost every immigration route: the Acts set the framework and delegate, and what a person must actually satisfy is in an appendix. The consolidated appendices are served one per page under gov.uk/guidance/immigration-rules, with an index page listing every Part and Appendix with a one-line description of each, which is the only published closed list of the routes that exist. Changes are made by a statement of changes laid before Parliament, and those are collected at gov.uk/government/collections/immigration-rules-statement-of-changes.
Standing: Issues the instrument
Cannot be cited for: No appendix page carries a version date or an in-force date on its face. The only way to date the text is the statement of changes collection, which gives the most recent statement laid but not which appendix it touched, so a citation to an appendix can be dated only to "the consolidation current at or after HC <n> of <date>". The Rules are not enacted: Parliament may disapprove a statement but does not pass it, so this is a department publishing its own rules and the site is both the issuer and the only publisher of the consolidated text - there is no independent consolidation to check it against. A closed route is hollowed rather than removed: the headings for Tier 1 (Investor), Tier 1 (General) and retired persons of independent means still stand above paragraphs reading DELETED, so the presence of a heading proves nothing. It is not a source for departmental guidance, for fees, for sponsor licensing decisions or for the lists of endorsing bodies, approved tests and designated institutions that the Rules make load-bearing and publish elsewhere.
We re-read it every 45 days. More about this source
«LR 14.1. Unless an exemption applies, the applicant must meet the Knowledge of life in the UK requirement as set out in Appendix KOL UK.»Knowledge of life in the UK is set out in a further appendix, Appendix KOL UK, which has not been read for this record.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The department that lays the Immigration Rules before Parliament under section 3(2) of the Immigration Act 1971 and publishes them on gov.uk. The Rules - HC 395 as amended - are the operative law of almost every immigration route: the Acts set the framework and delegate, and what a person must actually satisfy is in an appendix. The consolidated appendices are served one per page under gov.uk/guidance/immigration-rules, with an index page listing every Part and Appendix with a one-line description of each, which is the only published closed list of the routes that exist. Changes are made by a statement of changes laid before Parliament, and those are collected at gov.uk/government/collections/immigration-rules-statement-of-changes.
Standing: Issues the instrument
Cannot be cited for: No appendix page carries a version date or an in-force date on its face. The only way to date the text is the statement of changes collection, which gives the most recent statement laid but not which appendix it touched, so a citation to an appendix can be dated only to "the consolidation current at or after HC <n> of <date>". The Rules are not enacted: Parliament may disapprove a statement but does not pass it, so this is a department publishing its own rules and the site is both the issuer and the only publisher of the consolidated text - there is no independent consolidation to check it against. A closed route is hollowed rather than removed: the headings for Tier 1 (Investor), Tier 1 (General) and retired persons of independent means still stand above paragraphs reading DELETED, so the presence of a heading proves nothing. It is not a source for departmental guidance, for fees, for sponsor licensing decisions or for the lists of endorsing bodies, approved tests and designated institutions that the Rules make load-bearing and publish elsewhere.
We re-read it every 45 days. More about this source
Practical notes
Sections 6 and Schedule 1 were read on legislation.gov.uk on 10 and 11 October 2026 respectively. Section 6 stated it was up to date with all changes known to be in force on or before 10 October 2026, and Schedule 1 on or before 11 October 2026.
No fee is recorded here. Nationality fees are set by regulations under the Immigration Act 2014 which have not been read, and quoting a figure from a department's fee page without the instrument behind it is the kind of number this project does not publish.
The same Schedule sets a parallel test for naturalisation as a British overseas territories citizen, in the same words with "the relevant territory" substituted for the United Kingdom and the same 450-day and 90-day limits. That is a different status and is not covered by this record.
Appendix Long Residence also contains a permission-to-stay route with its own qualifying period, separate from the settlement route quoted here. Only the settlement half has been read.
- consolidatesBritish Nationality Act 1981, section 6
The National Archives, legislation.gov.uk · consolidated to 2026-10-10
About this source
The official statute book of the United Kingdom, run by The National Archives. It serves every Act of Parliament and every UK statutory instrument, and for most of them it serves a revised text maintained by an editorial team rather than the text as enacted. One provision at a time is addressable: legislation.gov.uk/<type>/<year>/<number>/<section|regulation|schedule|article>/<n>, with /part/<n> under a schedule and /made for the original of a statutory instrument. That shape is what makes a statute book this size readable - section 3 of the Immigration Act 1971 is 61,000 characters where the Act entire is unusable. Every provision page prints a status box stating the date to which it is up to date, a Changes to Legislation disclaimer, and, where there are any, a list of effects the editorial team has not yet applied.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: Its consolidation date is not an editorial date but the date of the request, so two provisions of the same Act read a day apart carry different cut-offs, and the cut-off must be taken from each page rather than from the Act. It carries no Immigration Rules: the Rules are laid before Parliament under section 3(2) of the Immigration Act 1971 and published by the Home Office, and nothing in them is on this site. Some instruments are served only as made, with no revised text at all, and the site says so on the page - the Driving Licences (Exchangeable Licences) Order 1984 is one, and its electronic text was contributed by Westlaw from the printed copy. Where a page lists outstanding effects, the text shown is known to be behind its own amendments, and where an amending provision was never commenced the page lists an effect that will never arrive: section 6 of the British Nationality Act 1981 carries effects from a 2009 Act whose amending provisions are themselves prospectively repealed. It is not a source for what a department does, for fees set administratively, or for any external document an instrument incorporates by reference.
We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source
- consolidatesBritish Nationality Act 1981, Schedule 1
The National Archives, legislation.gov.uk · consolidated to 2026-10-11
About this source
The official statute book of the United Kingdom, run by The National Archives. It serves every Act of Parliament and every UK statutory instrument, and for most of them it serves a revised text maintained by an editorial team rather than the text as enacted. One provision at a time is addressable: legislation.gov.uk/<type>/<year>/<number>/<section|regulation|schedule|article>/<n>, with /part/<n> under a schedule and /made for the original of a statutory instrument. That shape is what makes a statute book this size readable - section 3 of the Immigration Act 1971 is 61,000 characters where the Act entire is unusable. Every provision page prints a status box stating the date to which it is up to date, a Changes to Legislation disclaimer, and, where there are any, a list of effects the editorial team has not yet applied.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: Its consolidation date is not an editorial date but the date of the request, so two provisions of the same Act read a day apart carry different cut-offs, and the cut-off must be taken from each page rather than from the Act. It carries no Immigration Rules: the Rules are laid before Parliament under section 3(2) of the Immigration Act 1971 and published by the Home Office, and nothing in them is on this site. Some instruments are served only as made, with no revised text at all, and the site says so on the page - the Driving Licences (Exchangeable Licences) Order 1984 is one, and its electronic text was contributed by Westlaw from the printed copy. Where a page lists outstanding effects, the text shown is known to be behind its own amendments, and where an amending provision was never commenced the page lists an effect that will never arrive: section 6 of the British Nationality Act 1981 carries effects from a 2009 Act whose amending provisions are themselves prospectively repealed. It is not a source for what a department does, for fees set administratively, or for any external document an instrument incorporates by reference.
We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source
- issuesImmigration Rules Appendix Long Residence
Home Office (UK Visas and Immigration)
About this source
The department that lays the Immigration Rules before Parliament under section 3(2) of the Immigration Act 1971 and publishes them on gov.uk. The Rules - HC 395 as amended - are the operative law of almost every immigration route: the Acts set the framework and delegate, and what a person must actually satisfy is in an appendix. The consolidated appendices are served one per page under gov.uk/guidance/immigration-rules, with an index page listing every Part and Appendix with a one-line description of each, which is the only published closed list of the routes that exist. Changes are made by a statement of changes laid before Parliament, and those are collected at gov.uk/government/collections/immigration-rules-statement-of-changes.
Standing: Issues the instrument
Cannot be cited for: No appendix page carries a version date or an in-force date on its face. The only way to date the text is the statement of changes collection, which gives the most recent statement laid but not which appendix it touched, so a citation to an appendix can be dated only to "the consolidation current at or after HC <n> of <date>". The Rules are not enacted: Parliament may disapprove a statement but does not pass it, so this is a department publishing its own rules and the site is both the issuer and the only publisher of the consolidated text - there is no independent consolidation to check it against. A closed route is hollowed rather than removed: the headings for Tier 1 (Investor), Tier 1 (General) and retired persons of independent means still stand above paragraphs reading DELETED, so the presence of a heading proves nothing. It is not a source for departmental guidance, for fees, for sponsor licensing decisions or for the lists of endorsing bodies, approved tests and designated institutions that the Rules make load-bearing and publish elsewhere.
We re-read it every 45 days. More about this source