Settlement (ILR)
ILR then citizenship: what the whole path costs
The calculator includes indefinite leave to remain for each person. Adjust the household and options to see the total for both steps.
Official cost
£5,115
| Naturalisation fee | £1,709 |
| Citizenship ceremony | £130 |
| Life in the UK Test | £50 |
| Indefinite leave to remain | £3,226 |
Fees are paid to the Home Office and HM Passport Office when you apply; this site takes no fee and sends no application.
Most people who become British pay twice: first for indefinite leave to remain, then for naturalisation. Under the Home Office fees table in force since 8 October 2026, ILR costs £3,226 for each applicant, main applicant and dependants alike, and naturalisation costs £1,839 per adult (£1,709 plus the £130 ceremony). The Life in the UK Test, at £50 a sitting, is usually paid only once, since a pass for settlement also serves for citizenship. A first adult passport adds £102 online. One adult who passes the test first time therefore pays £5,217 across the two steps, before any English test, whose price is set by the provider. The bills are spread out: on the standard route there are at least 12 months between the ILR grant and the citizenship application. EU citizens with settled status skip the first bill, because the EU Settlement Scheme charged nothing.
When can I apply after getting ILR?
Settlement wait ends
2 March 2027
| Wait after ILR | 12 months |
| Also needed | 5 years, at most 450 days away |
| ILR fee (if not yet paid) | £3,226 |
Questions, dates and fees by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method
One person, two steps
| Step | Fee | When |
|---|---|---|
| Life in the UK Test | £50 a sitting | before the ILR application, if your route needs it |
| English test (if needed) | set by the provider | before ILR, or before citizenship |
| Indefinite leave to remain | £3,226 | when you qualify for settlement |
| Naturalisation + ceremony | £1,839 | 12 months after ILR on the standard route; at once for a spouse of a British citizen |
| First adult passport (online) | £102 | after the ceremony |
| Total, one adult, one test sitting | £5,217 |
A family over time
Take Ravi and Meera, both on work routes with two children aged 9 and 13, all applying for settlement together. The tool at the top lays out the same household. Their bills fall in three waves:
- Settlement: four ILR applications at £3,226, £12,904 in all, plus £100 for two Life in the UK Test sittings if both parents pass first time.
- Citizenship, at least 12 months later: £3,678 for the parents and £2,000 to register the children.
- Passports: £204 for the adults online; the 13-year-old's depends on age at the time (adult rate from 16, £102; child rate under 16, £66.50).
Using the child rate for both children, the whole path costs £19,019. Spread over the waiting period, the second wave can be saved for while the first is digested.
Ways the total moves
- Spouse route. A spouse or civil partner of a British citizen still pays for ILR but can naturalise straight after, so both bills may fall within a few months.
- EU Settlement Scheme. Settled status was free, so EU citizens pay only the citizenship step, plus the test and English they did not need for the scheme.
- Failing the test. Each extra sitting costs £50; there is no limit on attempts.
- Priority. £500 more per application, on either step.
- Losing ILR. ILR lapses after 2 years in a row abroad, and getting back in costs more time and money; see time abroad.
Paying once instead of twice
Two of the costs on the path can be paid a single time if you plan for it. The first is the Life in the UK Test: gov.uk says you do not need to take it again for citizenship if you passed it for settlement, so the £50 you spend before ILR also covers naturalisation. The second is the English test. A B1 speaking and listening result accepted for your ILR can be relied on for citizenship with no time limit, according to Guide AN and gov.uk, whereas a result taken separately for citizenship has to be less than 2 years old when you apply. Applicants whose route excuses them from English at settlement sometimes take the test anyway and include it with the ILR application for that reason.
The reverse also holds: an application made without the test or English, when you are not exempt, can be refused with the fee retained, Guide AN warns. Checking each requirement before paying £3,226 or £1,839 is the cheapest step of all. Biometrics carry no separate fee for citizenship, according to gov.uk.
Timing the second bill
The tool below gives the first date you can apply for citizenship from your ILR grant. That date is also the earliest moment the £1,839 falls due, though you can apply later. The fees are revised from time to time; the table of 8 October 2026 kept these figures unchanged, and we read it again every month. For the citizenship step alone, including children and options, the citizenship cost page has a dedicated calculator.