How to Pass the British Citizenship Test

If you have Indefinite Leave to Remain status or you have been married to a British Citizen for 3 years or more, you may be considering becoming a British Citizen.

The process of this is called Naturalisation and involves everything you need in order for your application to be successful. One of the metrics of Naturalisation is passing the British Citizenship test.

Also known as the Life in the UK test, is a 24 multiple choice exam based on your knowledge that is considered should be known to all those who have spent a considerable amount of time in the UK.

We’ve put together some tips and information, so you know what to expect and give you the best chance of success in your application.

The test itself allows you to answer 24 questions within 45 minutes with no outside material that may support your answers. As a multiple-choice test, you will be presented with multiple answers where you will need to choose the correct ones. To pass the exam, you will need to get 75% of the questions correct.

Booking your Test

Currently, the Life in the UK test costs £50, and the fee is payable at the time of booking. You can retake the test as many times as you need but will need to wait 7 days before you can book again and will need to pay the £50 fee each time. You can use the online booking system to choose 5 preferred centres of the 30 made available around the UK.

To take the test, you will need the correct identification. Here are the accepted forms of ID:

You will not be able to take the test if you cannot produce the correct ID to support your application and you will not get a refund.

You can book the Life in the UK test on the online portal where you can select the appropriate date, time and location and pay the application fee. You will need to verify your ID at this stage in order to complete the booking. Once your booking is complete, you will receive a confirmation email from one of your chosen locations.

Preparing for the Exam

To someone born in the UK, the Life in the UK test is considered to be general knowledge questions, but the test is not simple. It is argued that even British born citizens would struggle to answer the questions.

The answers to the questions are easily available on the internet, but you may need to know the questions you are going to be asked. There are Home Office approved learning materials available from Official Life in the UK.

We recommend studying the book and practising all of the questions and seeing how well you do. Remember you need to pass 75% in order to pass the real exam. There are also many websites that offer practice tests online.

What to Expect on Exam Day

You should arrive at the location detailed in your confirmation email, where you will roughly be there 2 hours in total so be sure to arrive on time.

On arrival, you will have your ID checked and made to show proof of address. So, bring original documents showing your name and address (must be no longer than 3 months old) – you can use any of the following:

Once your identity has been confirmed, you will have a photo taken of yourself prior to taking the test and be allocated a locker for your valuables.

In the test room, your ID is checked again, and you will be seated at a computer to complete your Life in the UK test.

When the test begins, you will be provided with four practice questions (they don’t contribute to your score), and then you will complete the 24-question exam. You can flag any questions that you are unsure of the answer to, so you can answer them later in the test. Once you’re done, you’ll be returned to the waiting room.

You may need to wait a short while before your name is called, where you will be told if you have passed or not. If you have passed, you will be given a ‘pass notification letter’. You will need to keep this safe as you will need to provide this to the Home Office when we submit your Naturalisation application.

Don’t worry if you fail, you can take the test as many times as you need to.

If you have Indefinite Leave to Remain status or have been married to a British citizen for 3 years or more and would like to apply for British Citizenship please visit British Citizenship for more information or call 023 8023 4433 to get started.

Disclaimer: Information on this webpage is not intended for legal purposes or advice. If you require legal advice or services you should seek a professional legal practitioner.