The 45-minute test consists of 24 questions chosen by the Home Office. Information which helps to answer the questions is provided in a guide handbook, Life in the United Kingdom: A Journey to Citizenship, which can be bought in bookshops for £9.99. The test costs £34 to take and can be retaken as many times as required, although the fee has to be paid every time.
In 2005, 161,000 applications for British citizenship were granted. Of those, 39 per cent were from Asia and 29 per cent from Africa.
Applicants can ask to sit. the test in Welsh or Gaelic. The answers given here are taken from Life in the United Kingdom: A Journey to Citizenship.
1. POPULATION
a) How many people live in the countries of the UK?
b) What is the census and how is census data collected and used?
c) How many people in the UK belong to an ethnic minority and which are the country's largest minority groups?
2. REGIONS OF BRITAIN
a) Where are Geordie, Cockney and Scouse dialects spoken?
b) What languages other than English are spoken in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales?
3. RELIGION AND TOLERANCE
a) How many people say they have a religion?
b) What are the largest religious groups?
c) What is the Church of England and who is its head? What is the main Christian group in Scotland?
4. CUSTOMS AND TRADITIONS
a) Which sports and sporting events are popular in the UK?
b) Do people tend to live in towns and cities or in the country?
c) What and when are the patron saints' days of the four countries of the UK?
d) What are the main Christian festivals?
5. HOW THE UNITED KINGDOM IS GOVERNED
a) What type of constitution does the UK have?
b) What is the Queen's official role and what ceremonial duties does she have?
c) What is the House of Lords and who are its members?
d) What are MPs? How often are elections held and who forms the government?
e) How do elections for the House of Commons work? What do the party Whips do?
f) What is the role of the Prime Minister?
g) Which areas of policy remain under the control of the UK government?
6. HOW THE UNITED KINGDOM IS GOVERNED
a) What is proportional representation and where is it used?
b) What services are provided by local authorities?
c) What are quangos and non-departmental public bodies?
d) Who has the right to vote and at what age? How and when do you register to vote?
e) What rights do citizens of the European Union states have to travel and work?
f) What is the Commonwealth?
7. THE CHANGING ROLE OF WOMEN
a) Do women have equal rights in voting, education and work, and has this always been the case?
8. HOUSING
a) How many people in the UK own their own home? What is a mortgage?
b) How is the process of buying a house different in Scotland?
c) Which organisations can people rent houses from? How do people apply for council accommodation?
d) Which organisations offer help to homeless people?
9. SERVICES IN AND FOR THE HOME
a) What does the amount of council tax charged by local government depend on? b) Which groups of people can receive a reduction in the council tax they pay or benefits?
10. MONEY AND CREDIT
a) What are the values of the UK banknotes? b) Where can people get or change foreign currency?
c) What is social security and who receives it?
11. HEALTH
a) What is the NHS? b) What is the role of a general practitioner (GP)?
c) Which groups of people receive free prescriptions?
12. EDUCATION
a)What are the ages of compulsory education? How does this differ in Northern Ireland? Who is responsible for ensuring a child attends school?
b) At what age do children go to secondary school? How does this differ in Scotland?
c) What are faith schools?
d) What is the role of a school governing body (or a school board in Scotland)?
13. LEISURE
a) What is the film classification system? What are the classifications?
b) What is the National Trust? c) How old must people be before they can buy alcohol? d) How old must people be to go into betting shops?
14. TRAVEL AND TRANSPORT
a) How long can overseas driving licences be used for in the UK?
b) Where can people purchase a road tax disc?
c) What are the speed limits for cars and motorcycles?
15. LOOKING FOR WORK
a) Who can be a referee?
16. AT WORK
a) What is the purpose of a pay slip?
b) What is National Insurance? How is it paid? How can people obtain a National Insurance number?
c) What is the State Pension age for men and for women?
