Contacting us

This page explains who you should contact if you have questions about British citizenship and right of abode.

If you live in the UK

You can download application forms and guides from the Applying section.

We have also published a series of leaflets on nationality-related topics. You can download these from our Information leaflets page.

If you are a UK resident and you have a question about British citizenship or right of abode, that is not answered by our guides and leaflets, you can phone or email our nationality contact centre (under 'Contact' on the right side of this page). If you email us, we may take up to 10 days to respond to your message.

  • The application guides contain information about exemptions from requirements including the 'knowledge of English and life in the UK' requirement.
  • We cannot advise you by phone whether you will be exempted from any requirements where you may wish us to exercise discretion.
  • If you have a question that is not about British citizenship or right of abode, you should contact one of our other contact centres.

If you live abroad

You can phone our nationality contact centre direct from abroad on +44 151 672 5626. The phone lines are open 09:00 to 17:00 Monday to Friday, excluding public holidays.

If you live in the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man, you should contact the Lieutenant Governor's office.

If you live in a British overseas territory, you should consult the Governor's office.

Duplicate certificates of citizenship, registration or naturalisation

If you want to request a duplicate certificate for a grant of citizenship (citizenship of the UK and colonies or British subject status) made in October 1986 or later, you should use our certificate request form. You can find this form under 'Related documents' on the right side of this page.

We do not retain records of the grant of British citizenship before October 1986.

Duplicate certificates of registration (from January 1949 to October 1986) and of naturalisation (from 1870 to May 1969) are held by the National Archives. To find out how to obtain certified copies of these certificates, visit the National Archives website.

Duplicate certificates of naturalisation between June 1969 and October 1986 are not available, as they have not been retained.