Applicants seeking naturalisation or British citizen registration are required to provide two referees who can help prove and verify their identity. 

The referees will be important in verifying your identity. However, it is critical that your referees satisfy the requirements set out by the Home Office; failure to do so may result in a refusal or delay of your application.

If you are uncertain about which referees to choose as British citizenship referees, you may want to seek legal advice to make sure you are choosing referees that meet the right criteria. 

Does a person need a requirement to be a referee?

Referees used in a British citizenship application are required to satisfy specific requirements, including knowing the adult applicant for a minimum of three years.

• be a British passport holder and either a professional person or aged over 25 (at least one referee must be a professional person).
• In addition to the above, the referees must not:
• be related to the applicant or the other referee;
• be the applicant’s representative;
• be employed by the Home Office; or
• have been convicted of an imprisonable offence in the last ten years for which the sentence is not spent under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.

At least one referee must be a person of professional standing. This referee can be of any nationality.

The second referee must be the holder of a British citizen passport and be over 25 years old unless they are a person of professional standing. The second referee can be any British citizen over 25, therefore a retiree would be suitable as just one of the referees needed to be of professional standing. They cannot serve as your first referee because they can no longer be held to the standards of their professional authorising body.

What does professional standing mean?

One of your referees must be of professional standing which implies they need to work in a particular field. The Home Office has produced a list of suitable professional person occupations and this can be viewed online.

Here are a few examples of qualifying jobs for your referees:

• Accountant
• Dentist
• Barrister
• Civil servant
• Teacher or lecturer
• Police officer
• Legal secretaries
• Local government officer manager or Personnel officer
• Limited company assurance agent
• Certified or qualified paralegals
• Officer of the armed services
• Warrant officers
• VAT-registered charity director or manager

Referees for children applying for British citizenship

If the citizenship application is for a child, at least one of the British citizenship referees must be someone who has worked with children at some stage in a professional capacity. For example, this could be someone who works as a teacher, doctor, health visitor, social worker or religious leader. The other referee must normally be a British citizen passport holder and either a ‘professional’ or over 25 years of age.

If the child applicant is unable to provide a referee who has worked with them in a professional role and has provided evidence to show that they have attempted to do so, UKVI may instead accept two referees who meet the criteria for referees for an adult application.

What does a referee need to provide?

Referees must provide their details and sign a declaration confirming that they are eligible to act as a referee and that the photograph is a true likeness of the applicant.

The details they must provide include:

• full name;
• date of birth;
• addresses for the last three years;
• profession;
• telephone number;
• email address;
• passport number, if a British passport holder; and
• details of how they know the applicant.

Referees who provide false information, knowingly or recklessly, can face a fine of up to £5,000 or up to three months imprisonment.

What if my referee is not accepted?

If you use a referee who does not meet the requirements, Immigration Services will contact you to ask you to provide another, more suitable referrer.

If a replacement referrer cannot be found, your application for British citizenship may be refused by the Home Office.

Your British citizenship certificate is an important document that proves that you have the right to live and work permanently in the UK and that you are not subject to any immigration restrictions.

As a referrer is required for your application to be successful, it is important for individuals applying for British citizenship to first consider whether they can provide a referrer who meets the above requirements.

Our immigration team specialise in all aspects of citizenship and nationality, including applications to become or become a British citizen. If you require legal advice on this or any other aspect of immigration law, our immigration specialists will always be happy to discuss this with you at an early stage. Please contact us on 020 3865 6219 or leave us a message.