Marrying a BC after being in UK for 6 years

[sunshine234]

Hi

I've been in the UK for about 6 years now. I came in on a Student Visa, then moved on to Post Study Work and then Company sponsored Tier 1 General (been on that for 2 years now).

I will be marrying a BC in the coming months and wanted to know what the quickest way is to get a British Passport.

Thanks for your help

[Jambo]

Stay on Tier-1G for another 3 years. Get ILR and then you can apply for British citizenship.

[sunshine234]

Thank you Jambo

Is it worth it getting a Spouse visa and going that route?

Also, I heard from some colleagues that as I have lived here for over 5 years, I could straight away apply for ILR once I marry...does that have any validity? (I haven't been able to find any info on this on the UKBA site, so I'm guessing this is not an option!)

[alexboy84]

Hi

I've been in the UK for about 6 years now. I came in on a Student Visa, then moved on to Post Study Work and then Company sponsored Tier 1 General (been on that for 2 years now).

I will be marrying a BC in the coming months and wanted to know what the quickest way is to get a British Passport.

Thanks for your help

Hi Sunshine,

I would advice you to apply for the spouse visa once you are married.
You only quality for ILR after 3 years of marriage on spouse visa. (you don't quality for ILR immediately).
You can apply for ILR after 3 years on the spouse visa and once your ILR is granted, you can apply for Naturalisation immediately.

Hope this helps.

Al

[sunshine234]

Hi Al

Thanks for your help

Could you kindly provide me with the website or link where this information is? I haven't been able to find it on the UK gov website.

I thought it takes 5 years as a spouse before I get ILR?

Thanks

[alexboy84]

Hi Sunshine,

Apologies. I wasn't aware there was a law change in 2012.
I got my ILR in 2011 and the requirement back then is 2years.
If you move to spouse visa now, you'll have to wait for an extra 5 years before you can apply for ILR.
I'm not sure about the tier application.

Sorry for the confusion.

Al

[Jambo]

Thank you Jambo

Is it worth it getting a Spouse visa and going that route?

No. No point to start from zero and also it will require you to leave the UK and apply from abroad.

Also, I heard from some colleagues that as I have lived here for over 5 years, I could straight away apply for ILR once I marry...does that have any validity? (I haven't been able to find any info on this on the UKBA site, so I'm guessing this is not an option!)

This is not true. You qualify for ILR based on the route you are on. You can't mix and match for a 5 years ILR (you can for 10 years ILR).