Referee Help

[Selina001]

Hi All,

Apologies if this has already been covered elsewhere — I have a few questions regarding the British Citizenship application process.

My husband recently received his Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR), and thanks to all the amazing advice on this forum, we’re now preparing to apply for his British passport.

We’re a bit confused about the referee requirements.

The standard reference isn’t a problem, but we’re unsure about the professional one. I checked the list of accepted professions on the gov.uk website, and driving instructors aren’t mentioned. However, I’ve heard that they’re sometimes accepted as referees. We personally know two instructors and were hoping to use one of them. My husband also knows a surgeon, but he’s based in Wales while we live in England — would that be an issue?

Are driving instructors considered acceptable referees?

Also, do we need two separate referees? I came across something suggesting that if the professional referee holds a British passport, they can also serve as the standard reference. Is that correct?

Lastly, aside from the gov.uk list, are there any other official or comprehensive guides that detail which professions are accepted as referees?

Thanks
S

[contorted_svy]

Hi All,

Apologies if this has already been covered elsewhere — I have a few questions regarding the British Citizenship application process.

My husband recently received his Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR), and thanks to all the amazing advice on this forum, we’re now preparing to apply for his British passport. You are applying for naturalisation first - then a British passport. They are two separate process.

We’re a bit confused about the referee requirements.

The standard reference isn’t a problem, but we’re unsure about the professional one. I checked the list of accepted professions on the gov.uk website, and driving instructors aren’t mentioned. However, I’ve heard that they’re sometimes accepted as referees. We personally know two instructors and were hoping to use one of them. My husband also knows a surgeon, but he’s based in Wales while we live in England — would that be an issue?

Are driving instructors considered acceptable referees? If driving instructors are not mentioned, they are not an accepted profession. Surgeon who lives in Wales is ok, the process can all be done digitally.

Also, do we need two separate referees? I came across something suggesting that if the professional referee holds a British passport, they can also serve as the standard reference. Is that correct? You need two separate referees, at least one of which must be a professional and the other one must be over 25 years old and British.

Lastly, aside from the gov.uk list, are there any other official or comprehensive guides that detail which professions are accepted as referees? No.

Thanks
S

[Selina001]

Hi everyone,

I just wanted to ask about other people’s experiences, as I know the Home Office do not publish their exact criteria.

We submitted my husband’s naturalisation application, and his biometrics were completed on 8 November 2025. The case is very straightforward.

However, we received an email yesterday saying there was a typo in the Life in the UK test reference number, and that they were unable to locate the result in their system. They asked us to provide the correct reference. We sent the correct number straight away, along with the original confirmation email he received when he passed the test.

They had given us a deadline of 10 February 2026 to provide this.

Does anyone know if receiving this kind of email usually means a decision is coming soon? I’m not sure whether they’ve already checked everything else (such as referees), so I’m interested in hearing from anyone who had a similar request and how long it took for a decision after submitting the corrected information.

Thanks,
S

[alterhase58]

The email is not an indication that the approval is coming shortly.
Could take another couple weeks or months.