If you have opted for a British citizenship application, you will be required to obtain an extension of your stay in the UK until you are granted citizenship. This request will need to cover the period extending to the time when you get to undergo the citizenship ceremony.

In the case that you have been given indefinite leave to remain (ILR) or you fall under the settled or pre-settled status of the EU Settlement Scheme, this is also considered as permission to remain in the UK.

Whether you are trying for British citizenship by double descent or via ILR, let us go through the primary ways of becoming a British citizen. 

Primary Ways of Becoming a British Citizen 

If you were UK-born

British citizenship is not conferred automatically by birth in the UK. It is a matter of the circumstances of your parents and when you were born. 

If Marrying or in a Civil Partnership with a British Citizen

When applying to enter the UK as a spouse or civil partner of a British Citizen, you will be required to have resided in the UK for the past three years prior to your application.

You will also be required to have one of the following:

• Settled status following the EU Settlement Scheme
• Indefinite leave to remain (ILR)

Otherwise, you’ll be in a position to apply for citizenship right away.

If you have been granted Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR)

Usually, you may request ILR after 5 years of residing in the UK.

When applying for citizenship under ILR, it is important to note that you must have spent at least 12 months in the UK after obtaining ILR.

EU Settlement Scheme

If you are under the EU Settlement Scheme and you have the status of a ‘settled person’ Usually, to be able to apply for citizenship with settled status, you must have spent 12 months residing in the UK since its acquisition.

If you did not Submit an Application to the EU Settlement Scheme

You may still be entitled to apply for settled status even if the deadline for settlement has passed. You may then use this to obtain British Nationality. 

For the majority of individuals, June 30, 2021, was the cut-off date to submit an application to the EU Settlement Scheme. If an individual has ‘reasonable grounds’ for not being able to apply by the deadline, it is still possible to apply.

But wait, here are some other ways that you can explore. 

Other Ways to Getting British Citizenship 

The following are some of the reasons why you might qualify to apply for citizenship:

• Your parent possesses a British citizenship
• One has retained another form of British nationality
• One has a parent who is a citizen of a British overseas territory
• One is an individual who has no nationality
• One used to have a nationality but deserted it
• There are other special reasons which apply to you
• One is a descendant of Chagossians (a person, whose parent or grandparent was born in the British Indian Ocean Territory)

Conclusion 

If you qualify for any of the circumstances mentioned above, you can ensure the success of your British citizenship application. You can also hire an experienced UK immigration lawyer to help you navigate the process better.