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Hi all

Just wanted to confirm that a person living on the Isle of Man does not break his/her residence for any purpose whatsoever, especially for the citizenship.

It seems so from the AN Guide and British Nationality Act 1981 but just to confirm, applicant would NOT need to declare presence in the Isle of Man as if "abroad".

Would proof of address from the Isle of Man for the period of 3 months be required at all or just leave the main address as is?

Thanks and no rush with the answer.

Living on the Isle of Man or in Jersey/Guernsey counts as you would live in the UK. But as far as I know, if you live there, you should use another form to apply, not the standard online AN form for the UK residents.

If you lived on the Isle of Man for 3 months, specify that in the list of addresses in the last 5 years, but no need to include a proof of address. I can't find anywhere in the guidance anything specific about time spent on the Isle of Man, Jersey/Guernsey/Channel islands as not counting towards citizenship.

Thanks for the reply. We would come back and apply from the UK, as these paper forms take longer it seems, up to 6 months rather than 3-4 months in the UK.

Although, we may consider doing it on the Isle of Man, why not. But who would review the application? Would it still be UKVI?

Good point re mentioning 3 months' living on IOM (person is staying with a relative free of charge, no tenancy agreement or anything).

For the purpose of the British Nationality Act 1981,

Section 50 (Interpretation) of the British Nationality Act 1981 wrote: “ the United Kingdom ” means Great Britain, Northern Ireland and the Islands, taken together;

“ the Islands ” means the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man;

If you are resident on the Isle of Man, you would apply through the Manx government site and the application, which will be on paper, not online, will be to the Lieutenant Governor of the Island, not the Home Secretary.

You will also get a slightly different passport, which will state "Isle of Man" and not "The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland" on its cover.

Pre-Brexit, a Manx passport holder would not have been treated as an EU citizen in the rest of the EU.

Lawgic wrote: ↑

Mon Jan 19, 2026 10:34 pm

who would review the application? Would it still be UKVI?

To the best of my knowledge, UKVI does not assess naturalisation applications even within the UK. UKVI administers immigration law, which comes to an end at ILR.

The wider Home Office administers nationality law. It is likely that an application made on the Isle of Man would be administered by the Manx government, but with support from the UK Home Office for scrutiny, etc.

Would it maybe be wiser to just apply to the UK even if from the IOM? The application asks for the permanent address and if we'd lived there for 5 years, to which the answer is YES. There won't be room for the IOM address (esp. that it's relative's address, no proof, nothing).

We'd rather keep it simple and quick, rather than go to some Lieutenant ))))))))

Need to think about pros and cons of applying from the IOM. They may get more applications in the UK and are quicker, while this lieutenant guy (his office, obviously), may just be more tedious, slow and picky etc.

What prevents the applicant from going back to the UK, applying there and coming back to the IOM?

P.S. Also, even if naturalisation is done via IOM, applicant can apply for a UK passport (not Manx passport) and so no difference there. There have been issues for Manx citizens/residents getting problems in Turkey, who didn't understand that it's all the same GBR passports and didn't let them board planes in Turkey going to UK ))))

If you are on the isle of Man, you apply to the Lieutenant. You don't get to decide to apply to the UK. If you live on the Isle of Man (no matter how long for, if it's been for months you should include that address) you can't answer YES to the question "have you lived at the same address for the last 5 years?" it is not relevant that you don't have a proof of address, but your address history needs to be accurate.

If you want to apply online and you are still on the Isle of Man you need to move back to mainland UK and apply from there and do your biometrcs appointment. If you intend to return to the IoM, keep in mind you will also most likely need to attend your naturalisation ceremony on mainland UK, and then apply for a UK passport, then I'd return to the IoM.

Thanks for the responses. Obviously, would travel to the UK for the ceremony etc. Need to think of pros and cons of doing it from IOM vs. UK except for the extra travel to Liveprool/Heysham and back.

Hey all

AN Guide on page 14 says that you do not need to upload documents which have already been provided as part of previous applications.

Does this mean that even though you need to prove, say, 3 or 5 years presence, you only need to upload those documents which span the period from receiving ILR to the date of application?

For instance, you lived in the UK from 2020-2025 on a visa. 1 Jan 2026 you get ILR, Jan 2027 you apply for citizenship. To prove residence, do you only need to provide evidence for 2026 and that's all?

Provide evidence of residence for the appropriate qualifying period.

but it clearly says you don't need to, except for what is missing. Why reupload 5 years when you are asked to provide only 1 year's evidence?

It's just a way to be sure they have everything they need rather than expecting them to go hunting for evidence. We routinely advise this on the forum.

Lawgic wrote: ↑

Mon Jan 26, 2026 9:26 am

but it clearly says you don't need to, except for what is missing. Why reupload 5 years when you are asked to provide only 1 year's evidence?

Unsure what documents you are referring to that you apparently do not need to upload that were used previously.

Documents for citizenship are so minimal, all pages of passport stamps and bio page, English test if a paper cert, marriage certificate and bio page of British citizen or naturalisation cert if a naturalised British citizen.

Not uploading the required documents causes delays and ukvi can and will request them the applicant.

But by all means, upload what you believe is needed only for the last 12 months and let us know how you get on.