British Citizenship (Naturalisation) · sub-route
Spouse of British citizen
£1,839 · no waiting period after ILR
Sourced from GOV.UK · Updated April 2026The short answer
Spouse of British citizen is one way to qualify for the British Citizenship (Naturalisation). The core rules of the British Citizenship (Naturalisation) apply — the specifics that set this route apart are below.
£1,839Application fee from
—IHS per year
For life (revoked only in rare national-security cases)Initial leave
—To settlement (ILR)
Who qualifies for this route
- Married to a British citizen AND hold ILR / settled status (no minimum time on ILR)
- 3 years UK residence (not 5) · Max 270 days absent in 3 yrs
- Max 90 days absent in last 12 months · B1 English + LITUK
Good to know
Form AN — same form as standard, with spouse-route declaration.
Apply the moment ILR is granted if married 3+ years and resident 3+ years.
Other British Citizenship (Naturalisation) sub-routes
Standard naturalisation
£1,839 · 12 months on ILR required
ViewChild registration (Form MN1)
£1,000 · no ceremony required
ViewBritish by descent
Free · automatic — apply for passport only
ViewSource: GOV.UK — Spouse of British citizen · Last verified April 2026
Written & verified by
UKDesk Editorial — Editor & Researcher
Reads gov.uk, HMRC and ONS source pages, verifies every figure, and writes the plain-English explainers on UKDesk.