From 16 July 2012 if you are applying for British nationality from outside the UK you must send your application form to:
UK Border Agency
PO BOX 306
Liverpool
United Kingdom
L2 OQN
From 16 July you cannot submit your application for British nationality to the British High Commission or British Consulate in your country.
Residents in Hong Kong should continue to submit their application at their British High Commission or British Consulate.
The Border Agency will shortly be updating the information contained in the official guide ‘Where to send your application form’ to reflect these changes.
Paying your application fee
You must pay your application fee by completing a payment slip and sending it to us along with your application form and supporting documents.
Requesting additional information
If the BIA needs to contact you about your application they will contact you by e-mail. You must provide your e-mail address on your application form.
If you do not provide the BIA with your email address, the processing of your application may be delayed. If the BIA is unable to contact you by email, they will write to you via your nearest British High Commission or British Consulate.
Supporting documents
All documents submitted in support of your application must, where possible, be originals. The BIA strongly recommends that you send your documents via courier service to ensure we receive them safely.
If you cannot send your original passport, you should send a complete copy of your passport that has been certified by a local notary or equivalent. This could be because the authorities of your country do not allow passports to cross national borders.
The countries affected by this are:
- Afghanistan
- Albania
- Armenia
- Azerbaijan
- Belarus
- Georgia
- Iran
- Kazakhstan
- Kyrgyzstan
- Libya
- North Korea
- Morocco
- Pakistan
- Russia
- Tajikistan
- Tunisia
- Turkmenistan
- Ukraine
- Uzbekistan
- Western Sahara
If you submit a copy of your passport, you may be asked to provide or present the original document to one of our staff, in your country, for verification.
Processing your application
Once the BIA has made a decision on your application, your nearest British High Commission or British Consulate will contact you.
If you are applying to naturalise as a British citizen, your nearest British High Commission or British Consulate will contact you about your citizenship ceremony, if applicable. This completes the process of naturalisation. You will be presented with your citizenship certificate at your citizenship ceremony.
If you are not required to attend a citizenship ceremony, your nearest British High Commission or British Consulate will contact you about collecting your citizenship certificate.
