British Citizenship

I want to share my journey and timeline as a European (Portugal 🇵🇹) to get British citizenship. It might be helpful for someone out there.

Timeline

• 08/10/2018 - The first day I step foot in the UK.
• 19/10/2019 - Granted EU pre-settlement.
• 08/10/2023 - Application for the settlement status after living five years in the UK.
• 10/10/2023 - I got an email confirming my settlement status (ILR).
• 17/04/2024 - Passed the English B1 IELTS Life Skills (Listening & Speaking). It’s a requirement since I am not a native English speaker and didn’t study in the UK.
• 02/08/2024 - I passed the Life in the UK Test. It took me three weeks from starting studying to pass the test. I bought the official book, read it twice, and started doing mock tests. When I felt confident, I booked and passed it.
• 14/09/2024 - A friend filled out the first referee and identity form.
• 18/09/2024 - My coworker filled out the second referee and identity form.
• 11/10/2024 - Submitted my citizenship application and paid the fee (£1630).
• 28/10/2024 - Upload all the required documents and submitted my biometrics in Croydon.
• 17/01/2025 - After 3 months, I finally got the confirmation letter of my citizenship and ceremony invitation.
• 10/03/2025 - I had my British Citizenship Ceremony at the Islington Council.

Tips & Tricks

Absences

As part of the citizenship application, you must provide your travel history from the last five years to the day of your application to prove you haven’t been outside the country for more than 450 days (departure and return dates aren’t considered absences).

Finding all your flight tickets outside the UK can be challenging for many people. The good news is that you can get your travel history for “free” from the government website. The caveat is that you must pay (cost me £20) a lawyer to sign a copy of your passport to prove that you are the owner.

• Government Website

Documents as a proof of Address

There are a lot of questions on the internet about which documents can be used to prove your address and stay in the UK. In my case, I used the following documents:

• Council tax letters
• Energy bills (water, gas & electricity) letters
• Taxation documents like P60
• Renting contract letters
• Employer contract letters