Who Can Be a Referee in a British Citizenship Application?

By Taya Sayekaya – Immigration Barrister

01 Mar 2025

In This Article

1. Understanding the Requirements of a Referee in a British Citizenship Application”
2. The Importance of British Citizenship and Available Routes
3. Home Office Guidance on Referees for British Citizenship
4. Who Can Act as a Referee in a British Citizenship Application?
5. Do Both Referees Have to Be British Citizens?
6. Who qualifies as an ‘Acceptable Professional Person’?
7. Responsibilities of a British Citizenship Referee
8. Final Thoughts on Choosing a Referee
9. Contact Our Immigration Barristers
10. Frequently Asked Questions
11. Glossary

1. Understanding the Requirements of a Referee in a British Citizenship Application

One of the most important requirements that will be encountered when applying for British citizenship relates to referees. Applicants for British citizenship are required to provide two referees in support of their application and the selection of referees can be a complicated process. 

Given the nature of citizenship applications, and the Home Office’s view (expressed in their guidance (‘Guide AN’)) that naturalising as a British citizen “is not an entitlement” but rather a privilege, it should come as no surprise that strict requirements are placed on who is eligible to act as a referee in this type of application. As such, the purpose of this article is to explain the rules and requirements governing referees for British citizenship, including who can act as a referee in a British Citizenship application.

2. The Importance of British Citizenship and Available Routes

Becoming a British citizen carries with it a significant degree of importance, as is made abundantly clear by the Home Office, who have stated in their published Guide AN that aside from the practical benefits of making such an application (namely the ability to later make an application for a British passport – a process discussed in our article British Citizenship Application Granted: What Next?, it also “gives [an applicant] the opportunity to participate more fully in the life of [their] local community”. 

Given the significance placed on being granted citizenship, it may be helpful to first provide a brief explanation of the routes to ‘British citizenship’, before turning to consider the specific requirements imposed on referees. It should be noted from the outset that naturalisation is not the only means through which an individual can obtain British citizenship. As has been explained in our other blog posts, it is possible for an individual to obtain citizenship through automatic acquisition, through registration, and of course through naturalisation. 

Each route imposes its own requirements and a full consideration of the exact rules which must be followed in each route is beyond the scope of this article. The routes are outlined in depth in all three of the separate articles linked above and in other articles in the Knowledge Centre on our website for those who would like to gain a better understanding of the available routes. It is worth emphasising that determining which route is most appropriate will require a careful consideration of all the facts at hand in order to avoid making mistakes which could impede an individual’s citizenship application.

3. Home Office Guidance on Referees for British Citizenship

The Home Office’s Guidance for British Citizenship (Nationality Policy: general information – all British nationals (‘Nationality Policy Guidance’)), which looks at common elements present across nationality applications, outlines that all applicants for British citizenship are required to provide two referees who can establish the applicant’s identity.

4. Who Can Act as a Referee in a British Citizenship Application?

The Nationality Policy Guidance goes on to outline the following requirements that all referees must adhere to. These include the following points:

1. the referee must have known the (adult) applicant for at least 3 years;
2. the referee must be a British passport holder and either a: 
   1. professional person; or
   2. aged over 25. 

At least one referee must be a professional person. 

It then explains that the referee must also not:

1. be related to the applicant or the other referee; 
2. the applicant’s representative;
3. be employed by the Home Office;
4. have been convicted of an imprisonable offence in the last 10 years for which the sentence is not spent under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.

The Home Office’s Guide AN builds upon this by providing that “Checks may be carried out to ensure that the referees do not have unspent convictions and are qualified to act for you and that their signatures are genuine”, again highlighting the strict nature of these requirements. 

5. Do Both Referees Have to Be British Citizens?

A key ambiguity that arises when selecting referees is the fact that the relevant Guidance and the Referee Declaration itself appear to say different things in respect of the nationality requirements imposed on referees. As we saw above, the Home Office’s Nationality Policy Guidance refers to referees needing to be a “British passport holder and either a professional person or aged over 25 (at least one referee must be a professional person)”. In contrast, the Home Office’s Guide AN explicitly states that “One referee can be of any nationality but must be a professional person”, as is also stated in the Referee Declaration itself, which says that “one referee should be a person of any nationality who has professional standing” and the second “must normally be the holder of a British citizen passport”). The Guide AN document in relation to the other referee being a British citizen uses stricter language, stating that the “other referee must be the holder of a British citizen passport”.

As of the time of writing this article, this inconsistency between the Nationality Policy Guidance on the one hand, and Guide AN/Referee Declaration on the other still appears to be present. In the absence of clear direction from the Home Office, if it is possible to do so, it may be that the safest option for an applicant is to provide two British referees. However, if this is not possible, then an applicant may be able to rely on the provisions in both the Referee Declaration and Guide AN to provide one referee who is not a British citizen, and another referee who is a British citizen. 

6. Who qualifies as an ‘Acceptable Professional Person’?

Another key requirement in both the Referee Declaration and the relevant Guidance is that at least one of the referees must be a ‘professional person’. The Declaration describes this as a person who “has professional standing, eg minister of religion, civil servant, or a member of a professional body e.g. accountant or solicitor (who is not representing you with this application)”. 

The Nationality Policy Guidance builds on this by providing a non-exhaustive list of what constitutes an ‘acceptable professional person’. The full list can be found Commonly Used Terms in Nationality Regulations and Guidance and from this, we can see that there are a wide array of professions which would be acceptable for the purposes of acting as a referee. This list should be consulted prior to submitting a citizenship application in order to ensure that at least one of the chosen individuals is in a suitable profession. It is also worth remembering that when selecting potential referees, only one of them needs to be a professional person for these purposes. However this does not preclude an applicant from relying on two professional persons should they choose to do so as long as the other requirements are met.

7. Responsibilities of a British Citizenship Referee

Once an applicant has identified suitable referees and confirmed that they satisfy the criteria detailed above, both referees will be required to provide a ‘Referee Declaration’ (an example of which can be found on Referees and Identity) confirming that they are:

• qualified to act as a referee and understand each of the points raised in the “Requirements of a referee” section;
• that the photograph of the applicant (which will need to be affixed to the Declaration) is a ‘true likeness’ of them;
• that to the best of their knowledge, the details provided by the applicant in their citizenship application are correct;
• that the details which the referee has provided in the citizenship application are also correct.

The Home Office retains a power to contact referees but the Nationality Policy Guidance expressly states that caseworkers must only do so “if this could resolve concerns about the application” and they have “authority from a senior caseworker to do so”. Therefore, it is important to explain to chosen referees that they may be contacted by Home Office officials and to ensure that they are willing to speak to such officials in the event that they are contacted. 

If the Home Office comes to the conclusion that a referee in a British citizenship application does not meet one or more of the requirements detailed above, the Nationality Policy Guidance directs a caseworker to ask the applicant to provide alternative referees. Given the potential delays and additional inconvenience that this could entail, it is again worth emphasising that applicants should carefully consider who they are selecting as their referees in order to avoid such an outcome. 

Finally, Guide AN brings specific attention to the fact that it is a criminal offence for a referee to provide false information (either knowingly or recklessly) and where such an offence is committed, Guide AN outlines that it is “punishable with up to 3 months imprisonment or by a fine not exceeding £5,000 or both under section 46(1) of the British Nationality Act 1981.” The Referee Declaration also requires the referee to confirm that they understand they “could be fined up to £5,000, or go to prison for up to 3 months, if [they] knowingly give false information.” It is important to note that although the referee declaration says knowingly only, the Guide AN, as stated previously, also says recklessly; extreme care must be taken when being a referee and providing information.

8. Final Thoughts on Choosing a Referee

As will hopefully have been seen from this article, selecting a suitable referee to support your British citizenship application may not be a straightforward endeavour. There are many requirements and restrictions on who is able to act as a referee, with certain duties being imposed on referees. Given the importance of obtaining British citizenship, it is vital that both applicants and the referees themselves carefully consider the requirements and responsibilities detailed above in order to avoid any undue issues. 

To discuss your nationality enquiry with one of our immigration barristers, including issues around referees and citizenship, contact us on 0203 617 9173 or complete our enquiry form below.