British nationality applicants can now pay to jump the queue. In a notice published on 23 July 2026, immigration law firm Clarkslegal confirmed that the Home Office has rolled out a new Priority Service for naturalisation and registration applications, priced at an additional £500. The service went live on 6 July and aims to issue a decision within 30 working days of biometric enrolment—cutting the standard six-month wait by almost 80 %. Unlike the long-standing priority options for work and settlement visas, no super-priority (24-hour) tier is available. The Home Office stresses that the faster service does not relax the stringent residence, good-character or absence rules; complex files may still fall out of the 30-day target. Applicants must therefore be “decision-ready” with complete documentation. For corporates the change fills a crucial gap. Executives who need a British passport for seamless intra-EU travel, or families relocating whose assignment hinges on citizenship timing, now have a predictable, budgetable timeline. Mobility teams should factor the £500 surcharge per applicant into cost projections and track biometrics dates closely—delays in booking an appointment will knock on to the 30-day clock. The move also aligns citizenship processing with the Home Office’s wider digital-status overhaul. Decisions under the Priority Service will be issued in digital form, with successful applicants invited to a virtual oath ceremony before applying for their first passport. This could further delay passport issuance, so employers planning autumn deployments should engage early. Lawyers welcome the option but caution that supply may outstrip capacity. The department has not published a daily cap, and previous premium services were paused during pandemic backlogs. Companies should flag high-priority cases early and keep fallback travel documentation ready.
Source: Clarkslegal LLP
