British citizenship referees and documents: a practical checklist

Who can be a referee

You need two referees who have known you personally for at least three years. One must be a professional person — for example a teacher, accountant, civil servant or minister of religion — and the other must be a British citizen aged 25 or over. Referees must not be related to you or to each other, must not be your solicitor or agent acting on the application, and must not have certain recent criminal convictions.

What referees are asked to do

Each referee signs a declaration confirming your identity, that the photograph is a true likeness, and that to their knowledge the details in the application are correct. It is a serious declaration: referees should understand what they are signing, and you should give them time to read it.

The documents a naturalisation application usually needs

• Current and previous passports or travel documents covering the qualifying period
• Evidence of ILR, settled status or indefinite leave to enter
• Evidence of residence and absences across the qualifying period
• Life in the UK Test pass notification and English language evidence
• Marriage or civil partnership certificate where applying on the spouse route
• Details of any convictions, penalties or immigration history, with evidence where relevant

Common document problems

Missing passports for part of the qualifying period, referee declarations signed incorrectly or by someone who does not qualify, and English language evidence from a provider that is not accepted are the problems we see most often. Each is avoidable if checked before submission.

Where a solicitor helps

We check your referees against the current criteria before the application is started, review the document set for gaps, and prepare the application so the caseworker can find everything in the order they expect to see it.