United Kingdom
The British citizenship test and naturalisation requirements
The test at the top is a full mock of the Life in the UK Test, the citizenship test itself. Under the summary, a calculator gives your earliest date to apply from your trips abroad.
Your score · United Kingdom: Life in the UK
0 / 24
0 / 24 answered
Pick an answer to start
| Pass mark: 18 of 24 |
Practice questions written by Radif Partners from the facts of the official guide. Not the official test.
The British citizenship test is the Life in the UK Test: 24 questions on the official handbook in 45 minutes, passed with 75% or more (18 correct answers), at £50 a sitting. It is one of several conditions for naturalisation. Under section 6(1) of the British Nationality Act 1981 you need 5 years of residence, no more than 450 days abroad in that period and 90 in the last 12 months, and indefinite leave to remain or settled status held for 12 months. Under section 6(2), for the husband, wife or civil partner of a British citizen, the period is 3 years with 270 days abroad at most, and no waiting period after settlement. You must also be 18 or over, of good character, prove your English, Welsh or Scottish Gaelic, and intend to live in the UK. Only whole days abroad count. The fee is £1,709 plus £130 for the ceremony, and a decision usually takes up to 6 months.
Earliest date you can apply
2 March 2027
in 129 days
On that date
| In the UK on the first day of the period | met |
| Days abroad in the period (37 / limit 450) | met |
| Days abroad in the last 12 months (0 / limit 90) | met |
| Settled long enough | met |
Questions, dates and fees by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · How the questions and dates are built
Two routes to naturalisation
Most adults become British by naturalisation under one of two sections of the British Nationality Act 1981. The table compares them, with the figures from the Home Office guidance and the gov.uk pages for each route.
| Requirement | Section 6(1): settled residents | Section 6(2): spouse or civil partner of a British citizen |
|---|---|---|
| Residence period | 5 years | 3 years |
| Most days abroad in the period | 450 | 270 |
| Most days abroad in the last 12 months | 90 | 90 |
| Settlement held before applying | 12 months | none required beyond holding it |
| Minimum age | 18 | 18 |
| Life in the UK Test and English | required unless exempt | required unless exempt |
Both routes also require good character, being of full capacity and, for section 6(1), the intention to keep your main home in the UK. gov.uk adds that you should not have broken UK immigration laws during the period; if you hold indefinite leave, the Home Office will not usually check breaches before it was granted.
When the qualifying period starts
You must have been physically in the UK on the first day of the residence period. The guidance explains how to find that day: take the day after the application date, minus the length of the period. Its example is a section 6(1) application made on 1 September 2022, for which the applicant must have been in the UK on 2 September 2017. gov.uk gives a second example: an application received on 20 June 2022 does not qualify if the applicant was abroad from 10 June to 25 June 2017; they need to wait until 24 June 2022.
The relevant date is the day the Home Office receives your application. Online, that is the same day; by post it takes longer. The calculator under the summary finds the first date that works with your own trips.
Counting days abroad
Only whole days outside the UK count as absences: the days you leave and come back are treated as days in the UK. A trip from Monday to the following Monday is six days of absence, not eight. When you apply, gov.uk asks for your time abroad and suggests using your own records, such as emails or boarding passes; the Home Office then checks its records and corrects any gaps.
Discretion over excess absences
Going over the limit is not always fatal. The guidance says that where the excess is 30 days or less, discretion must be exercised unless there are other reasons to refuse. For larger excesses, between 480 and 900 days under section 6(1), or 300 and 540 days under section 6(2), discretion is considered only when you have established your home, work, family and finances in the UK and one of the listed reasons applies, such as postings abroad in Crown service or a career that made travel unavoidable. The final-year limit of 90 days is assessed separately.
Good character, English and the test
Good character is a requirement of both routes, assessed under its own Home Office guidance, to which gov.uk refers applicants. Knowledge of language and knowledge of life in the UK are two further requirements: you prove your English, Welsh or Scottish Gaelic, and you show a pass in the Life in the UK Test. A pass obtained for settlement is reused. People under 18, aged 65 or over, or with a long-term condition shown by a form or a doctor's letter do not sit the test; the exemption page has the detail.
The quiz at the top of this page is a full 24-question mock. For practice against the clock, use the timed mock test, and check a score against the pass mark.
Fees, decision and ceremony
Under the fees table in force from 8 October 2026, naturalisation costs £1,709 and the ceremony £130, so £1,889 with one test sitting. Biometric information is taken free of charge after you apply. A decision usually comes within 6 months, and you are told before then if it will take longer. If you are granted citizenship, you attend a ceremony arranged by your local authority, make an oath or affirmation and a pledge, and receive your certificate. The cost page adds the fees for a whole household, including children registered at £1,000 each.
Coming next: earned settlement
The Home Office consulted on an "earned settlement" model under which settlement would no longer be granted automatically after a fixed period. The consultation closed on 12 February 2026 and, at our last check on 24 October 2026, the Home Office was still analysing responses and no new rule was in force. Because section 6(1) relies on settlement held for 12 months, any change to settlement would matter for the timing of citizenship. The rules on this page are those in force today, and we will update them when the final policy is published.