Can I Travel During My UK Citizenship Application?

What the Home Office says

The Form AN guidance answers this directly: “After submitting your application, you are free to travel using your valid passport – and evidence of your valid immigration status – while you are waiting for a decision on your application. You do not need to tell us about your travel plans.”

It adds that there is nothing during the citizenship process that would prevent you from travelling, but it asks you to make sure the Home Office can contact you quickly with any queries.

One thing the guidance is firm about: “A citizenship application does not provide you with immigration permission in the UK, and you will need to demonstrate your entitlement to enter the UK at the UK border.” Applying for British citizenship neither adds to nor extends your existing status, and that status must stay valid until your ceremony.

The two deadlines to be back for

• Biometrics within 45 days. The guidance says you will usually need to enrol your fingerprints and photograph within 45 days of submitting, and that failing to do so would invalidate the application. You are told how to do this after you submit, so plan a long trip around it. See our biometrics guide.
• The ceremony within 90 days. If the application succeeds and you are 18 or over, you must arrange and attend a ceremony within 90 days of the invitation. The guidance says that if you do not attend within 90 days without good reason, the application will be refused and you will need to apply again.

What to watch for

While you can travel, there are practical risks:

Missing correspondence

The Home Office may write to you requesting additional documents, asking for clarification, or notifying you of your ceremony date. If you are abroad and miss a deadline, it could delay your application. Set up mail forwarding or have someone check your post regularly.

Absences of more than 6 months

This is a published rule, not a worry. On the 5-year route you must confirm that you intend to continue living in the UK. The guidance says that if, when you apply, you indicate you are abroad or intend to go abroad for a continuous period of more than 6 months, the application will usually be unsuccessful, unless:

• you are undertaking voluntary work, such as with Voluntary Service Overseas
• you are undertaking studies, training or employment abroad that is necessary to pursue a UK-based profession, vocation or occupation
• the absence forms part of an established pattern, such as employment at sea, and you are primarily based in the UK

The guidance also names a recent absence of 6 months or more, and a partner who lives or intends to live outside the UK, as things that may cast doubt on the future intentions requirement. It says this does not necessarily mean refusal, but you may need to provide more information. The requirement does not apply on the 3-year route for spouses and civil partners of British citizens.

Keeping your settled status

If you hold indefinite leave to remain, it lapses after 2 years continuously outside the UK, or 5 years for settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme. That matters if your application is delayed and you are travelling a great deal, because the guidance requires you to hold valid permission right through to the ceremony. See our citizenship absences guide.

Absences during the qualifying period

The limits are measured over the period ending on the day the Home Office receives your application:

• No more than 450 days outside the UK in the 5 years before the application, or 270 days over 3 years on the spouse route
• No more than 90 days outside the UK in the final 12 months, on both routes

Because the period ends on the day the application is received, travel after that date is not counted against these limits. For details, see our continuous residence guide.

What to carry when travelling

The guidance names two things: your valid passport, and evidence of your valid immigration status. In practice:

• Your passport, and, if your status is linked to a different passport, that one too
• Your UKVI account, with the travel document linked to it, and a share code from the view and prove service if you need to show your status to anyone. A share code lasts 90 days
• An older biometric residence permit, if you still hold one. These stopped being issued at the end of 2024, but GOV.UK says an expired one can be used for 24 months after the date printed on the card, or until 31 December 2026, whichever comes first

The Home Office asks you to make sure it can reach you quickly. Its citizenship and nationality enquiries team can be emailed at nationalityenquiries@homeoffice.gov.uk, and the guidance says you should tell it if your circumstances change while you are waiting, for example if you move house, get married or are arrested.

The citizenship ceremony

Once your application is approved, you will be invited to attend a citizenship ceremony. The guidance says you must arrange and attend it within 90 days of receiving the invitation, and that the deadline date will be given in the invitation. If you do not attend within 90 days without good reason, the application is refused and you have to apply again.

The invitation may arrive by email, and the Home Office suggests checking spam and junk folders. If you are outside the UK, arrangements can be made for a ceremony at a British embassy, high commission, consulate, governor’s office or lieutenant-governor’s office. You are not British until you take the oath and pledge at the ceremony.

Find more at the GOV.UK citizenship ceremonies page.

Processing times

The Home Office aims to decide naturalisation applications within 6 months of receiving them, and says it will contact you if it expects to take longer. It asks applicants not to chase within that period. For more, see our citizenship processing time guide. Official guidance is available on GOV.UK.

In summary

In short: the published position is that travel is allowed and does not have to be reported. The constraints are the 45-day biometrics deadline, the 90-day ceremony deadline, keeping your existing immigration status valid until the ceremony, and, on the 5-year route, the rule about continuous absences of more than 6 months.

Related guides:

• Citizenship Absence Rules
• Citizenship Processing Time
• Citizenship Ceremony Guide
• Citizenship Documents Checklist

Questions and answers