ILR and citizenship in the UK — who gets it?
ILR (Indefinite Leave to Remain, usually after 5 years) and naturalisation. Home Office figures for 12 countries.
Need help, not numbers?
ILR and citizenship by 12 countries — the numbers
Three charts — three questions. Your country is highlighted.
Who gets ILR?
Number of ILR issued by 12 countries, 2025. Sorted descending.
Source: Home Office
Who gets citizenship?
Number of naturalisations by 12 countries, 2025.
Source: Home Office
Path asylum → ILR → citizenship (5+5 years)
Approximate funnel for the selected country based on recent years' figures.
Source: Home Office
Frequently asked questions
What is ILR?
Indefinite Leave to Remain — permanent residence in the UK. After 5 years in the country on a work/family visa. For refugees and people with humanitarian protection: 5 years if status was granted before 2 March 2026; 30 months with extensions if status was granted from 2 March 2026 (except unaccompanied children, who get 5 years). It gives you the right to live and work with no visa restrictions.
How many years after asylum can I apply for ILR?
It depends on the date of your status: if status was granted before 2 March 2026 — after 5 years. If status was granted from 2 March 2026 — your first grant of protection lasts 30 months (except unaccompanied children, who get 5 years straight away), and the route to ILR is longer; details at /reform.
How many years before I can apply for citizenship?
At least 12 months after ILR (or 3 years if ILR through marriage to a UK citizen). Requirements: Life in the UK test (B1+), English B1, no criminal issues, spend most of your time in the UK.
Should I become a citizen?
It is your choice. The UK recognises dual citizenship — a British passport does not cancel your country’s citizenship (but your country may not recognise it — check). A British passport gives visa-free travel to ~190 countries.
How much does it cost?
For 2026 (from 8 April): ILR application £3,226 — but refugees and people with humanitarian protection apply for ILR for free (£0). Citizenship — £1,709 + £130 for the ceremony (£1,839 total) + the Life in the UK test £50. Children have separate fees.
Where do these numbers come from?
Home Office release 27 August 2026, year ending June 2026.
Where these numbers come from
All data on this page is official Home Office statistics (Immigration System Statistics, quarterly release; current cut — year ending June 2026).
We count main applicants — as in the release tables.
We don't recalculate or estimate anything — we show the official figures in plain words and update the page after every release.
Download the data: CSV (asylum) · CSV (citizenship) · CSV (returns) · JSON
Data: Home Office, release 27 August 2026. ILR and citizenship — settlement-datasets + citizenship-datasets, year ending June 2026. Page updated: 27 August 2026.