Indefinite leave to remain and British citizenship: the long road to a UK passport

For now, most Americans can still apply for indefinite leave to remain (ILR) after five years, but the government has announced a move to a 10-year default, so the rules in force on the day you apply are the ones that count.

The short version

• Today: you can usually apply for ILR after 5 years in the UK on a qualifying route, and for citizenship 12 months after getting ILR [1].
• Coming: on November 2, 2026, the Home Secretary set out "earned settlement," with 10 years as the new default and shorter routes for high earners and some public service workers. The changes are due to be laid in the Immigration Rules from December and phased in over 2027, so they are not in force yet [2][3].
• English goes up in March 2027. Settlement applicants will need English at a higher, A-level-equivalent standard [4]. But US nationals are on the list of nationalities that don't have to prove their English [5].
• Fees in 2026: ILR costs £3,226 (about USD 4,320) and naturalization £1,839 (about USD 2,460), including the ceremony [6][7].
• You keep your US passport. US law doesn't make you choose, and becoming British on your own initiative doesn't cost you US citizenship unless you intend to give it up [8].

How settlement works today

ILR is the UK's version of a green card. It lets you live and work in the UK with no time limit and no visa conditions. It's also the usual stepping stone to citizenship.

Most Americans in London are on one of a few routes that lead to ILR:

GOV.UK says you can usually apply for ILR after you've lived in the UK for 5 years [1]. You'll need to meet the route's own requirements, pass the Life in the UK test and meet the English requirement. Watch your absences, too: long stretches back in the States can break your continuous residence. Once you have ILR, it usually lapses if you spend more than two years in a row outside the UK.

Earned settlement: what's announced, and what isn't law yet

This is the part everyone in London is talking about. The government consulted on "A Fairer Pathway to Settlement" from November 2025 to February 2026 and published its response on November 2, 2026 [2][9]. The headline: settlement will have to be "earned."

The announced qualifying periods

According to the Home Office announcement [2]:

Everyone would also have to meet four baseline conditions: a clean criminal record, English at the required level, no debts to the UK government, and a record of sustained National Insurance contributions [2]. Family members of British citizens are to keep their current pathways [2], which matters for Americans married to Brits. People who already hold settled status won't lose it [2].

When does it start?

Not yet. Reporting on the announcement says the changes "will begin to be laid from the December Immigration Rules" and be implemented over the course of 2027 [3]. Until those rules are published, the 5-year qualifying period still applies [3]. Final details, including any transitional protection for people already partway along a 5-year route, will be in the rules themselves.

Here's the practical heads-up: in UK immigration law, it's the rules in force on the day you apply that count. If you're close to five years, plan your application date carefully and keep an eye on GOV.UK's Statements of Changes. An immigration lawyer can check your situation.

The English change that is confirmed

Separately, the government announced on March 5, 2026, that from March 2027 most people applying to settle will need English at an A-level-equivalent standard, up from the GCSE level, proved by an approved test [4]. As a US national, you're on GOV.UK's list of nationalities that don't need to prove their knowledge of English [5], though it's worth confirming that exemption against the new rules when they're published.

The Life in the UK test

You need to pass this for ILR and for citizenship, unless you're under 18, 65 or over, have passed it before, or have a documented long-term condition [10].

• What it is: 24 questions about British traditions and customs, in 45 minutes [10].
• Cost: £50 (about USD 67) [10].
• How to book: online, with an email address, a debit or credit card and accepted ID [10].
• How to prepare: the questions come from the official handbook, Life in the United Kingdom: A Guide for New Residents. Expect questions on kings and queens, the Magna Carta, Parliament, sports and the arts. It's a bit like the US civics test with more medieval history.

Book it well before your ILR date, because you'll need the pass result in your application.

Fees in 2026

Home Office fees didn't change in the October 8, 2026, update [6]:

A couple applying together pays the ILR fee for each person. Add the cost of a UK passport after you naturalize, and you're in sticker-shock territory. Budget for it the way you'd budget for a used car.

From ILR to British citizenship

To naturalize based on ILR, you generally need to [7]:

1. Have lived in the UK for 5 years and have been physically in the UK exactly 5 years before the day the Home Office receives your application.
2. Have held ILR for 12 months. If you're married to (or the civil partner of) a British citizen, you can apply as soon as you have ILR, as long as you've lived in the UK for the last 3 years [1].
3. Stay within the absence limits: no more than 450 days outside the UK in the 5 years, and no more than 90 days in the last 12 months [7].
4. Pass the Life in the UK test and meet the English requirement [7].
5. Be of good character and intend to keep living in the UK [7].
6. Attend a citizenship ceremony and take the oath or affirmation. You're British from the ceremony date.

Count your days out of the country carefully. Thanksgiving trips, summers on the Cape and work travel add up faster than you'd think.

Keeping your US citizenship

Good news here. The State Department says US law doesn't require you to choose one nationality, and a US citizen can naturalize in another country without risking US citizenship [8]. You'd only lose it if you applied for the foreign nationality voluntarily and intended to give up US nationality [8].

A few rules follow you as a dual citizen:

• Use your US passport to enter and leave the United States [8]. Use your British passport for the UK and Europe if you like.
• Uncle Sam still wants his return. Citizenship-based taxation doesn't stop because you're British too. Keep filing your 1040 and FBAR.
• Kids born in London can be US citizens too, if you meet the transmission rules. Register them with a Consular Report of Birth Abroad.

Going through ILR or citizenship right now? Compare notes in our community group for Americans in the UK.

USD conversions use the Federal Reserve H.10 rate of October 30, 2026 (USD 1.3398 per GBP).

Sources

1. Become a British citizen, GOV.UK
2. Home Secretary unveils new rules for migrants settling in the UK, Home Office
3. Home Secretary confirms major changes to indefinite leave to remain rules under earned settlement reforms, Electronic Immigration Network
4. Higher standard of English now required to settle in the UK, Home Office
5. Prove your English language abilities: exemptions, GOV.UK
6. Home Office immigration and nationality fees, 8 October 2026, GOV.UK
7. Apply for citizenship if you have indefinite leave to remain: eligibility and fees, GOV.UK
8. Dual nationality, US Department of State
9. Earned settlement consultation, GOV.UK
10. Life in the UK test, GOV.UK

Keep reading

• Moving to London as an American: visa routes
• Getting a National Insurance number
• Dual citizenship and US law
• Registering a child born abroad: the CRBA