Gherson provides a comprehensive service to its clients who wish to apply for British nationality bynaturalisation. This usually involves meeting the requirements of section 6 (1) and Schedule 1 of the BritishNationality Act 1981, whereby someone becomes eligible to apply for British nationality when he or she:
has spent a period of five years living continuously in the UK (barring absences not amounting to more than 450days in the whole of the five years or more than 90 in the last year) without there being any conditions attachedto his or her stay - which means that for this time he or she will have had indefinite leave to remain in the UK
has not been subject to any immigration conditions during this period
has not been in breach of any immigration laws during this period
has a good character
has sufficient knowledge of English Welsh or Scottish Gaelic and
has sufficient knowledge about life in the UK
People who meet these requirements will normally be naturalised, although by section 6 (1) of the Act when the Secretary of State grants a certificate of naturalisation as a British citizen it is granted by the exercise of hisor her discretion. The subsection says:
“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.”
This is what the UK requires – but obviously it is extremely important to note that the country of which the person
applying for UK nationality is already a citizen must not object to its citizens acquiring another nationality.
People should always check before applying for nationality that their own country permits its citizens to have dual nationality.