Proof of residence for citizenship
Posted: Sat Aug 09, 2025 1:59 pm
Hi team
I am due to apply for naturalisation next week and was wondering if you could help.
When trying to submit the form online, the documents checklist states:
- "Proof of living in the UK for XXX for 5 years if applying in your own right or 3 years if applying as the spouse of a British Citizen.
If you do not have your passport or it was not stamped when you entered the UK, you need to include letters (for example, from your employer or government department) as proof.
Bank statements or household bills are not suitable proof you have been living in the UK."
I received ILR last year, for which I submitted a list of all my travels outside the UK for the 10 years preceding my application, along with the relevant stamps.
Since receiving my ILR, I have travelled a bit but as you know, the border agents are not stamping passports anymore.
So I have a couple of questions:
- do i need to prove residence just for the last year (after receiving ILR) or do i need to prove it for the whole of the past 5 years again?
- Since my passport doesnt have many stamps coming into the UK for the past year, do i need to provide any additional proof of residence? or will the immigration records against my passport (which I'm assuming the HO already has) be sufficient?
- if I do need to provide evidence, will it be for the whole 5 years or just the past year after my ILR? I do have council tax bills for the past year but not beyond that. I changed a few jobs as well and have burned bridges to I dont think receiving a letter from my past employers is an option. I was hoping to submit bank statements but apparently those are not suitable for proof.
Any help would be highly appreciated!
I am due to apply for naturalisation next week and was wondering if you could help.
When trying to submit the form online, the documents checklist states:
- "Proof of living in the UK for XXX for 5 years if applying in your own right or 3 years if applying as the spouse of a British Citizen.
If you do not have your passport or it was not stamped when you entered the UK, you need to include letters (for example, from your employer or government department) as proof.
Bank statements or household bills are not suitable proof you have been living in the UK."
I received ILR last year, for which I submitted a list of all my travels outside the UK for the 10 years preceding my application, along with the relevant stamps.
Since receiving my ILR, I have travelled a bit but as you know, the border agents are not stamping passports anymore.
So I have a couple of questions:
- do i need to prove residence just for the last year (after receiving ILR) or do i need to prove it for the whole of the past 5 years again?
- Since my passport doesnt have many stamps coming into the UK for the past year, do i need to provide any additional proof of residence? or will the immigration records against my passport (which I'm assuming the HO already has) be sufficient?
- if I do need to provide evidence, will it be for the whole 5 years or just the past year after my ILR? I do have council tax bills for the past year but not beyond that. I changed a few jobs as well and have burned bridges to I dont think receiving a letter from my past employers is an option. I was hoping to submit bank statements but apparently those are not suitable for proof.
Any help would be highly appreciated!