What is the British citizenship test?
The British citizenship test — officially called the Life in the UK test, and sometimes the British nationality test — is a 24-question multiple-choice exam required for anyone applying for British citizenship or Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR). All questions come from the official handbook Life in the United Kingdom: A Guide for New Residents (3rd edition).
Format at a glance
- 24 questions, multiple choice, single or “select two” answers
- 45 minutes to complete
- Pass mark: 18/24 (75%)
- Cost: £50 per attempt
- Taken in person at an approved UK test centre
- Valid for life once passed
The five topics covered
Every question maps to one of the handbook's five chapters: Values & Principles, What is the UK, A Long & Illustrious History, Modern Society, and Government & Law.
Sample British citizenship test questions
Here are 5 British citizenship test examples — one from each handbook chapter — in the exact format of the real exam. Each question is single-answer (pick one of four) unless flagged as multi-select.
- History. In which year was the Battle of Hastings fought? (1066)
- Government & Law. How many elected members sit in the House of Commons? (650)
- Values & Principles. Which of the following is one of the fundamental principles of British life? (The rule of law)
- What is the UK. What is the capital city of Wales? (Cardiff)
- Modern Society. Who is the patron saint of Scotland? (St Andrew)
British citizenship test examples — what to expect on the day
Expect the question screen to look very simple: question on top, four answer options below as clickable radio buttons, and a Next button. There's a question counter (1 of 24) and a timer (45 minutes total). You can flag a question and come back to it, and you can change your answer right up until you submit. No essay questions, no spelling, no maths — just multiple choice. The questions are plain English at roughly B1 reading level. If you've prepared, the format itself won't surprise you on the day.
How to practise
Take our two free practice tests first to benchmark yourself. If you score below 18/24, drill weak topics in our training mode and revisit our cheat sheets for the dates, monarchs and saints that come up most often. For sample questions in other phrasings (UK citizenship questions, British nationality test questions, life in the UK test examples) see our questions and answers hub.