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British Citizenship Tracker
The Home Office target is up to 6 months. Applicants who got a decision in July 2026 waited a median of 131 days from application (n=61), up from 67 days a year earlier (n=47). See where you sit.
Where are you in the queue?
Enter the date you submitted your naturalisation application. We compare it against what applicants actually reported, not the Home Office target.
Searching for the wait after biometrics? Our median runs from application to decision, because that is what applicants report. Biometrics typically follow the application by about 8 days (n=2,122), so subtract roughly that if you only know your biometrics date.
Who actually got a decision in July? Mostly February applicants.
Decisions issued in July 2026, grouped by the month the application was submitted. Data through 2026-07-31.
Official target vs what people report
The published service standard is a ceiling, not an average. Both numbers are useful: the target is what you can hold UKVI to, the community median is what to plan around.
Home Office target
Up to 6 months
Standard service, published service standard.
Community median
131 days
July 2026 decisions, n=61. Roughly 4 months.
Priority service
+£500
Target 30 working days from biometrics. New applications only, launched 6 July 2026.
Citizenship decisions are slowing
Median days to decision, by the month the decision was issued. Every bar states its own sample size.
2026 decision months. Data through 2026-07-31. Figures and methodology in the monthly community report, which is free to reuse with attribution.
CS email → Atlas email
10 days
Gap between the informal "a decision has been made" reply and the official approval email (90th percentile 19, longest observed 26, n=24).
Approval → ceremony
19 days
Median wait to your ceremony (n=446). You become a citizen on the ceremony date, not the approval date.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I track where my citizenship application is?
The Home Office target for naturalisation is up to 6 months. Community-reported timelines run shorter than that ceiling but have been lengthening: decisions issued in July 2026 took a median of 131 days from application to decision across 61 reported cases, against 67 days for decisions issued in July 2025 (47 cases). Note that our median runs from application, not from biometrics. Biometrics typically follow the application by about 8 days, so subtract roughly that if you are counting from your biometrics appointment.
Is there a priority service for British citizenship?
Yes, since 6 July 2026. The Home Office offers a priority service for nationality applications at £500 on top of the application fee, targeting a decision within 30 working days of biometrics. It is available for new applications only, so you cannot upgrade an application already in the system, and 30 working days is a target rather than a guarantee. Because the service launched in July 2026, community-reported priority timelines are only beginning to appear.
Why has my citizenship application taken longer than the median?
A median means half of applicants waited longer, so being past it is common rather than a warning sign. Among July 2026 decisions, a quarter of applicants were still waiting at 137 days and one in ten past 142 days. Longer waits are more likely where the Home Office needs further checks, where there are complex absences or good-character matters to consider, or simply where caseworking capacity is stretched. If you have passed the published 6-month service standard you can contact UKVI for an update.
What is the difference between the CS email and the Atlas email?
Applicants often get an informal reply from UKVI Customer Service confirming that a decision has been made, before the official approval email arrives from the Home Office's Atlas casework system. In community-reported timelines the median gap between the two is 10 days, with a 90th percentile of 19 days and a longest observed gap of 26 days across 24 reported cases. A wait of two or three weeks between them is normal.
How long after approval is the citizenship ceremony?
Community-reported timelines put the median wait from approval to ceremony at 19 days across 446 reported cases. 67% of those who stated a ceremony type booked a private ceremony rather than a group one. You become a British citizen on the date of the ceremony, not the date of approval, and you can apply for a passport afterwards.
Where does this data come from, and how reliable is it?
Figures are aggregated from timelines posted publicly in community megathreads by people who have received a decision, and every figure on this page states its sample size. It is a self-selected sample rather than a random one, so treat it as what real applicants reported rather than as an official statistic. The Home Office's own published service standard remains up to 6 months. Full methodology and a downloadable CSV are in the monthly community report.
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