You can apply for any job in the Civil Service as long as you’re a UK national or have dual nationality with one part being British. In addition, about 75% of Civil Service posts are open to Commonwealth citizens and nationals of any of the member states of the European Economic Area (EEA). The remainder, which require special allegiance to the state, are reserved for UK nationals.
This page sets out the technical information that Civil Service departments need to apply nationality rules. If you’re interested in becoming a civil servant, go to the careers section.
The Cabinet Office’s “Civil Service Nationality Rules: Guidance on Checking Eligibility” has been extensively updated. It is intended to assist departments and agencies to discharge effectively their responsibilities on nationality matters related to Civil Service recruitment. For ease of reference, specific aspects of nationality have been addressed in separate annexes to the guidance.
To view the updated Guidance on Checking Eligibility and related annexes, please use the links below:
- Civil Service Nationality Rules: Guidance on Checking Eligibility – Word version[MS Word, 143KB, 16 pages]
- Civil Service Nationality Rules: Guidance on Checking Eligibility – PDF version[PDF, 69KB, 16 pages]
- Annex A – Nationality rules – Word version[MS Word, 92KB, 9 pages]
- Annex A – Nationality rules – PDF version[PDF, 43KB, 9 pages]
- Annex B – Territories forming part of the Commonwealth – Word version[MS Word, 89KB, 4 pages]
- Annex B – Territories forming part of the Commonwealth – PDF version[PDF, 20KB, 4 pages]
- Annex C – Flowchart for checking eligibility – Word version[MS Word, 37KB, 1 page]
- Annex C – Flowchart for checking eligibility – PDF version[PDF, 16KB, 1 page]
- Annex D – Aliens’ certificates – Word version[MS Word, 25KB, 1 page]
- Annex D – Aliens’ certificates – PDF version[PDF, 13KB, 1 page]
- Annex E – Prescribed public bodies – Word version[MS Word, 23KB, 1 page]
- Annex E – Prescribed public bodies – PDF version[PDF, 8KB, 1 page]
- Annex F – Suggested nationality questions – Word version[MS Word, 28KB, 1 page]
- Annex F – Suggested nationality questions – PDF version[PDF, 8KB, 1 page]
Contact
If you have any queries, please contact Civil Service Employee Policy’s Expert Consultancy Service at contact.us@csemployeepolicy.