Unlike immigration applications, you don’t have to wait for the outcome of an application for British citizenship if you want to travel abroad. You can leave the UK and come back to the UK while your application is pending. You don’t have to declare these absences to the Home Office – they don’t count for the purposes of your application and don’t prejudice you in any way. You may take employment abroad and if you are moving outside the UK for a temporary purpose, this is also fine.
However, when planning your trips, don’t forget to allow time for a biometric appointment. Once the application for naturalisation, or registration, you have to arrange for a biometric appointment within 45 days. If an appointment is not booked within that time, the application may be considered void and you would receive a refund of the fees paid. If this happens, you will have to reapply and any absences after the first application will also count when making a repeated application.
After submitting your biometric information, you are not required to do anything else. And you a free to travel.
Once your application for British citizenship has been approved, you will have to book and attend a citizenship ceremony. This ceremony has to be booked within 90 days of the date of the decision. Only after the citizenship ceremony, you become a British citizen.
However, you won’t receive a British passport at the ceremony. You will be given a certificate of naturalisation, which confirms your British citizenship. A British passport is a travel document for which you have to apply separately.
Strictly speaking, you are not required to have a British passport, but it is much easier to prove your status if you have one. Unlike some other countries, Britain doesn’t have National ID cards and passports serves as a valid ID document, as well as proof of your right to work, rent, open a bank account etc etc.
If you are planning to travel abroad, you need a British passport to return to the UK. You can leave the UK with a passport of another country, but to return, you will need a British passport. Technically, you can apply for the first British passport outside the UK, but this will take longer than an application made in the UK and waiting may become stressful if your home is in Britain.
To apply for the first British passport, you will need a referee to confirm your identity. There is no priority service with the first passport application and it takes on average around 3 weeks (for applications made in the UK).
We don’t recommend travelling during this time as you will need your British passport to return to the UK. Even if you have another passport of country the nationals of which can travel to the UK without a visa, from February 2026 you need an electronic travel authorisation (ETA) to board an airplane or to use other international transport services. ETA cannot not be issued to a British citizen and you would need a passport to return.
If it is absolutely necessary to travel before your first passport is issued, you make ask family or friends to post it to you overseas when it is received. Alternatively, you may have to apply for an emergency travel document to be able to return to the UK without a passport.
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