This section looks at the fundamental principles behind British life and the process of becoming a permanent resident or citizen. The test expects you to know both the values themselves and the practical steps and numbers involved in settling and naturalising.
The UK is built around a shared set of values that everyone living here is expected to respect. These are: democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, and mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs. These four ideas underpin the whole ethos of the test - many questions elsewhere in the syllabus link back to one of them, so learn them by heart.
Most people who want to settle permanently apply for 'indefinite leave to remain' (ILR), sometimes called settlement. To qualify you generally need to have lived in the UK legally for a set period (commonly 5 years, though routes vary), pass the Life in the UK Test, and meet the English language requirement.
After holding ILR for 12 months (or immediately if married to a British citizen and you already hold ILR), a person can apply for naturalisation as a British citizen. Applicants must:
Successful applicants attend a citizenship ceremony where they pledge an oath of allegiance to the Monarch and a citizenship pledge affirming loyalty to the UK's values, rights and freedoms. This is a legal requirement, not optional - you are not a citizen until you have attended.
Britain's first inhabitants were hunter-gatherers of the Stone Age. Around 4000 BC farming began, marking the switch to the Neolithic period. Stonehenge, on Salisbury Plain, was built during the Stone Age and Bronze Age, roughly 2000 to 1500 BC, and is one of the most famous prehistoric monuments in the world.
The Celts arrived from around 500 BC, spreading across Britain and Ireland. Julius Caesar led a Roman invasion in 55 BC but did not conquer Britain. The real Roman conquest began in AD 43 under Emperor Claudius. The Romans stayed for about 400 years. Their most famous legacy is Hadrian's Wall, built by Emperor Hadrian around AD 122 to defend the northern frontier against the Picts (in modern Scotland). The Romans introduced towns, roads and a system of law. They left Britain in around AD 410.
After the Romans left, Angles, Saxons and Jutes settled from around AD 449, giving England its name (from 'Angle-land'). They divided the land into separate kingdoms. St Alban, a Roman Christian, was Britain's first Christian martyr, and St Augustine was sent by the Pope in AD 597 and became the first Archbishop of Canterbury, spreading Christianity across England.
Vikings from Denmark and Norway began raiding in AD 789 and later settled, particularly in the north and east. King Alfred the Great of Wessex (ruled 871-899) successfully defended his kingdom against the Vikings and is the only English monarch known as 'the Great'. Athelstan, his grandson, became the first king of a united England in AD 927.
In 1066 King Harold defeated an invading Norwegian army at the Battle of Stamford Bridge, then marched south to face William, Duke of Normandy, at the Battle of Hastings. Harold was killed and William, 'the Conqueror', became king - the last successful invasion of England. The Domesday Book, completed in 1086, was a survey of land and property ordered by William to help him tax the country.
Henry VII won the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485, ending the Wars of the Roses and starting the Tudor dynasty.
Henry VIII had six wives and broke from the Roman Catholic Church in the 1530s when the Pope refused to annul his marriage to Catherine of Aragon.
He made himself Head of the Church of England - this became known as the English Reformation.
His daughter Mary I tried to restore Catholicism and had Protestants burned at the stake, earning her the nickname 'Bloody Mary'.
Elizabeth I (reigned 1558-1603) restored Protestantism and oversaw a golden age of exploration and culture.
In 1588 the English navy defeated the Spanish Armada, a huge fleet sent to invade England.
William Shakespeare wrote his plays and poems during Elizabeth's reign - remember him as the era's most famous writer.
James I (also James VI of Scotland) united the crowns of England and Scotland in 1603.
In 1605 Guy Fawkes and others tried to blow up Parliament in the Gunpowder Plot - this failed and is remembered every 5 November (Bonfire Night).
A civil war between King Charles I and Parliament broke out in 1642. Charles I was executed in 1649.
Oliver Cromwell then led England as a republic (the Commonwealth) until his death in 1658.
The monarchy was restored in 1660 when Charles II became king - known as the Restoration.
In 1666 the Great Fire of London destroyed much of the city.
In 1688 the Glorious Revolution saw William of Orange and Mary become joint monarchs, and Parliament passed the Bill of Rights in 1689, limiting royal power.
In 1707 the Act of Union joined England and Scotland to form the Kingdom of Great Britain.
Britain led the world into the Industrial Revolution, with new machinery transforming farming and manufacturing.
Key inventions include the steam engine (improved by James Watt) and new textile machinery like the spinning jenny.
Factories and canals grew rapidly, and railways expanded fast in the 1800s - the Stockton and Darlington Railway (1825) was the first public railway to use steam locomotives.
Cities grew hugely as people moved from the countryside for factory work, creating overcrowding and poor conditions.
Reformers like William Wilberforce campaigned against the slave trade - it was abolished in the British Empire in 1833.
Queen Victoria reigned from 1837 to 1901, a period called the Victorian era, marked by empire expansion and industrial growth.
Don't mix up the Armada (1588, Elizabeth I) with the Great Fire of London (1666, Charles II).
Don't confuse the Civil War execution of Charles I (1649) with the Glorious Revolution (1688).
Remember the Act of Union (1707) created Great Britain - it is different from the later Act of Union with Ireland (1801).
Britain entered the First World War in 1914 and it ended in 1918. Around 2 million British men volunteered in the first two years, and conscription (compulsory service) was introduced in 1916 for the first time in British history. The Second World War ran from 1939 to 1945. Winston Churchill became Prime Minister in 1940 and led Britain through the Blitz, the German bombing campaign on British cities. VE Day (Victory in Europe) was 8 May 1945, and VJ Day (Victory over Japan) was 15 August 1945.
In the summer and autumn of 1940 the RAF fought the German air force in the Battle of Britain, stopping a planned invasion. Many children were evacuated from cities to the countryside to protect them from bombing raids.
After the war, the 1945 Labour government led by Clement Attlee built the modern welfare state. The National Health Service (NHS) was created in 1948, offering free healthcare at the point of use, funded through taxation. This is a very common exam theme - remember the year 1948 exactly.
From the late 1940s Britain's empire declined as colonies gained independence. India and Pakistan became independent in 1947. Many former colonies joined the Commonwealth, a voluntary association of independent countries that still exists today, currently with over 50 member states.
The ship Empire Windrush arrived in 1948, bringing workers from the Caribbean to help rebuild Britain after the war - this generation is known as the Windrush generation. Immigration from the Commonwealth and elsewhere has shaped modern multicultural Britain.
Margaret Thatcher became the first woman Prime Minister in 1979. Devolution created the Scottish Parliament and the Welsh Assembly (now Senedd) in 1999, and the Northern Ireland Assembly followed the Good Friday Agreement of 1998, which brought peace after decades of conflict known as the Troubles.
Do not mix up VE Day (8 May) and VJ Day (15 August) - both are in 1945. Do not confuse the NHS founding year (1948) with the welfare state's wider creation across the late 1940s. Remember conscription started in 1916, not at the very start of WWI in 1914.
The UK is a parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy. This means the King is head of state but has no real political power - he acts on the advice of ministers. Real power lies with Parliament, made up of the House of Commons (elected MPs) and the House of Lords (appointed and hereditary members plus bishops).
The UK does not have a single written constitution. Instead it is built from Acts of Parliament, common law, and conventions built up over centuries. A common mistake is assuming there is one document called 'the UK constitution' - there is not.
General elections must be held at least every 5 years, under the Fixed-term Parliaments arrangements as amended. The UK is divided into 650 constituencies, each electing one MP under the first-past-the-post system - the candidate with the most votes wins, even without an overall majority.
The party with the most MPs usually forms the government, and its leader becomes Prime Minister. If no party has a majority, parties may form a coalition or minority government.
You can vote in a general election if you are 18 or over, a British, Irish or qualifying Commonwealth citizen, resident in the UK (with some overseas-elector exceptions), and registered to vote. Voting is not compulsory in the UK.
Since the late 1990s, power has been devolved from Westminster to the Scottish Parliament, the Welsh Parliament (Senedd), and the Northern Ireland Assembly. These bodies control matters like health and education in their nations, while defence and foreign policy stay with the UK Parliament in Westminster.
The UK justice system is based on the idea that a person is innocent until proven guilty. Everyone is equal before the law, including the police and the government.
Jury service is a civic duty: most people aged 18-75 registered to vote can be called for jury service and must attend if summoned - it's an important responsibility, not optional.
Key citizen responsibilities include voting in elections, paying taxes, obeying the law, and (if called) serving on a jury. A common exam trap is confusing 'rights' with 'responsibilities' - know both lists.
Remember: defence, foreign affairs, immigration and the constitution are reserved to the UK Parliament everywhere in the UK - devolved bodies cannot legislate on these.
Britain gave the world many modern sports. Football's first rules were written in England in 1863 (the Football Association). Rugby is said to have started at Rugby School when a boy picked up the ball and ran with it. Golf developed in Scotland, and the sport's oldest tournament is The Open Championship, first held in 1860. Wimbledon is the oldest tennis tournament in the world, held every year in London. The FA Cup is the oldest football cup competition, dating from 1871. Britain has hosted the Olympics three times - London in 1908, 1948 and 2012.
Well-known British painters include Thomas Gainsborough, JMW Turner (landscapes) and Lucian Freud (portraits). Anish Kapoor made the ArcelorMittal Orbit sculpture for the 2012 London Olympics. Antony Gormley created the Angel of the North statue near Gateshead.
William Shakespeare is Britain's most famous playwright, born in Stratford-upon-Avon in 1564. His plays include Hamlet, Othello, King Lear and Macbeth (tragedies), and A Midsummer Night's Dream (comedy). The Proms is a season of classical music concerts held every summer at the Royal Albert Hall in London, ending with the Last Night of the Proms. Well-known composers include Edward Elgar (Enigma Variations, Pomp and Circumstance) and Gustav Holst (The Planets). Well-known British bands and musicians include The Beatles, Elton John and Adele. Alfred Hitchcock and Charlie Chaplin were pioneering British filmmakers. The BAFTA awards recognise excellence in film and television.
Jane Austen wrote Pride and Prejudice. Charles Dickens wrote Oliver Twist and A Christmas Carol. The Brontë sisters (Charlotte, Emily, Anne) wrote novels such as Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights. Robert Burns is Scotland's national poet, celebrated every year on Burns Night (25 January) with haggis and readings of his poems.
Each nation of the UK has a patron saint's day: St David's Day (Wales) on 1 March, St Patrick's Day (Northern Ireland) on 17 March, St George's Day (England) on 23 April, and St Andrew's Day (Scotland) on 30 November. Common mistake: candidates mix up the dates and the saints - learn them as a set.
Pantomime is a traditional form of theatre performed at Christmas, based on fairy tales, with audience participation. The Chelsea Flower Show is a famous annual gardening event in London. The Notting Hill Carnival is an annual Caribbean-style street festival held in London each August. Well-known British hobbies include gardening and going to the pub. A quiz question style trap: know WHICH nation each patron saint belongs to, not just the date.