Referee Essentials For UK Citizenship Applications

When it comes to submitting a citizenship application – whether as a child or an adult – one of the requirements is that it is supported by suitable referees. Knowing who can be a British citizenship referee is crucial to ensuring your application meets Home Office standards. Who can act as a suitable referee does differ for adults and children. Both naturalisation and registration applications need to be supported by two referees.

Adults

For adults applicants, the referees must have known the applicant for at least 3 years. One of the referees needs to be a British passport holder and either a 'professional person' or aged over 25. The other referee needs to be a professional person, such as a director of a UK limited company, a minister of religion or an accountant. A list of all roles which are considered to meet the 'professional person' criteria for a citizenship application can be found here: Countersigning passport applications and photos: Accepted