Naturalisation possible?

[whatislife786]

Dear all members and gurus,
Im just asking behalf of my frind if he is eligible for Naturalisation?
Here is his immgration history
Came to uk 2007 as student visa valid till August 2008
Got extension October 2008 to August 2010
Married to eu national: july 2010
Applied eea2 rc july 2010
Rc refused : september 2010
Got divorce: june 2011
Married again to eu national: july 2011
Got rc 5yrs 2012
Got pr 2017 January
If he apply for Naturalisation will ok for him?
Thanks

[ouflak1]

Dear all members and gurus,
Im just asking behalf of my frind if he is eligible for Naturalisation?
Here is his immgration history
Came to uk 2007 as student visa valid till August 2008
Got extension October 2008 to August 2010
Married to eu national: july 2010
Applied eea2 rc july 2010
Rc refused : september 2010

Need more details here. Was there an appeal? Or was your friend simply without a visa during this period?

Got divorce: june 2011
Married again to eu national: july 2011
Got rc 5yrs 2012

What date was this application? When (in 2012) was it approved? Are they still married (and living together)?

Got pr 2017 January
If he apply for Naturalisation will ok for him?

Depends on the answers to the questions above.

[whatislife786]

Thanks for your quick reply he got rc feb 2012 and got pr(ror) he not anymore with his wife.
He can full fill 5yrs qualifying period which is starts from march 2013 not sure if ho can go back to 2013?
He didn't go for appeal he was in divorce proceedings that time. Any advice please thanks

[ouflak1]

Thanks for your quick reply he got rc feb 2012 and got pr(ror) he not anymore with his wife.
He can full fill 5yrs qualifying period which is starts from march 2013 not sure if ho can go back to 2013?
He didn't go for appeal he was in divorce proceedings that time. Any advice please thanks

It looks like the very soonest he will be able to apply for citizenship is February 2022, ten years from when he acquired EU-RC. Any attempt to apply before then will almost certainly result in a refusal due to failing the good character requirement for no illegal presence in the UK in the previous ten years prior to the application. This is no discretion on this as far as I'm aware.

[Hstepper07]

Thanks for your quick reply he got rc feb 2012 and got pr(ror) he not anymore with his wife.
He can full fill 5yrs qualifying period which is starts from march 2013 not sure if ho can go back to 2013?
He didn't go for appeal he was in divorce proceedings that time. Any advice please thanks

It looks like the very soonest he will be able to apply for citizenship is February 2022, ten years from when he acquired EU-RC. Any attempt to apply before then will almost certainly result in a refusal due to failing the good character requirement for no illegal presence in the UK in the previous ten years prior to the application. This is no discretion on this as far as I'm aware.

I do not think so. He did not breach immigration rule simply because he did not get a residence card. The issue I think will be the fact that he divorced EEA National partner bf they were married for 3 years which meant he was no longer a qualified person under EEA rules as at June 2011 when marriage ended.

He married EEA again in July 2011 so PR clock restarts from this date. I do not know how HO will view the gap between jun/jul as he was not a qualified person and he would have been expected to leave the uk. Maybe discretion can be applied as the gap was so short. (28 day rule?). Not so straight forward. Senior members thoughts will be appreciated here.

[whatislife786]

Thanks guys any advice from senior gurus?

[ouflak1]

I do not think so. He did not breach immigration rule simply because he did not get a residence card.

Ofcourse not. He simply did not, after the point of refusal and before he remarried and applied again, have a valid visa to remain in the UK. This will be considered against the Good Character requirements.

The issue I think will be the fact that he divorced EEA National partner bf they were married for 3 years which meant he was no longer a qualified person under EEA rules as at June 2011 when marriage ended.

He married EEA again in July 2011 so PR clock restarts from this date. I do not know how HO will view the gap between jun/jul as he was not a qualified person and he would have been expected to leave the uk. Maybe discretion can be applied as the gap was so short. (28 day rule?). Not so straight forward. Senior members thoughts will be appreciated here.

From the OP's description, the gap is well over a year. As far as the Good Character requirements are concerned, there is no discretion, not even for one day. For visas and ILR, the 28 day rule comes into play. But for citizenship, the requirements are quite different. I don't see anyway the OP's friend can apply before February 2012. Not with the rules as they are now.

[Hstepper07]

I do not think so. He did not breach immigration rule simply because he did not get a residence card.

Ofcourse not. He simply did not, after the point of refusal and before he remarried and applied again, have a valid visa to remain in the UK. This will be considered against the Good Character requirements.

The issue I think will be the fact that he divorced EEA National partner bf they were married for 3 years which meant he was no longer a qualified person under EEA rules as at June 2011 when marriage ended.

He married EEA again in July 2011 so PR clock restarts from this date. I do not know how HO will view the gap between jun/jul as he was not a qualified person and he would have been expected to leave the uk. Maybe discretion can be applied as the gap was so short. (28 day rule?). Not so straight forward. Senior members thoughts will be appreciated here.

From the OP's description, the gap is well over a year. As far as the Good Character requirements are concerned, there is no discretion, not even for one day. For visas and ILR, the 28 day rule comes into play. But for citizenship, the requirements are quite different. I don't see anyway the OP's friend can apply before February 2012. Not with the rules as they are now.

I see your point but refusal of RC and him not appealing does not mean he was here unlawfully. The partner may have been exercising treaty but then had not provided adequate documentation to HO. HO usually highlights in the letter refusing RC that not issuing RC is not a formal determination of applicants status under EEA rules but to give applicant an opportunity to assemble a complete dossier of evidence and apply again when applicant is able to so.

If it were the case that he did not have adequate visa as you said, he got married again to an EEA National in July 2011. This means that the earliest he can apply for naturalization based on good character requirement is in July 2021 if partner was exercising treaty right and not Feb 2022 as you stated. Having a residence card is not compulsory for direct family members of EEA Nationals

[ouflak1]

If it were the case that he did not have adequate visa as you said, he got married again to an EEA National in July 2011. This means that the earliest he can apply for naturalization based on good character requirement is in July 2021 if partner was exercising treaty right and not Feb 2022 as you stated. Having a residence card is not compulsory for direct family members of EEA Nationals

Good catch and I agree with July 2021 as the soonest application date. I sometimes forget about the subtleties of the EEA routes.

The only issue I see creeping in is the posible appearance to the Home Office that he entered into marriages of convenience just to remain in the UK. That could lead to trouble if they decide to look more deeply into the immigration history and make that designation.

[Hstepper07]

Yep. That too. If that was the case, OP had better wait till 2021.

[ouflak1]

The only issue I see creeping in is the possible appearance to the Home Office that he entered into marriages of convenience just to remain in the UK. That could lead to trouble if they decide to look more deeply into the immigration history and make that designation.

Yep. That too. If that was the case, OP had better wait till 2021.

It won't matter. Even if he waits until the appropriate date, if the HO goes poking around and it becomes obvioius that these were marriages of convenience, not only will he not get citizenship, there's a good chance they'll revoke his PR as well in the same process. The OP's friend should think long and hard about this. Similar such dramas have played out before on this forum.

[Hstepper07]

The current marriage is not one of convenience. Lets say HO pokes around if he applies in Jul 2021 and first marriage happens to be one of convenience. It should not affect application as it happened over 10yrs ago.

[ouflak1]

The current marriage is not one of convenience.

According to the OP, the second marriage has also ended in a divorce.

Thanks for your quick reply he got rc feb 2012 and got pr(ror) he not anymore with his wife.

None of us, except the OP's friend and his previous spouses know for sure. Now not to be judgemental, I'm just saying that this scenario has atleast two of the key signs that these marriages were of convenience (that the first marriage was within a month of visa expiry - big warning flag, that the second marriage occurred so shortly after the first failed to produce an RC). Another warning flag is how conveniently the second marriage ended once it served its purpose.

Lets say HO pokes around if he applies in Jul 2021 and first marriage happens to be one of convenience. It should not affect application as it happened over 10yrs ago.

If the Home Office determines, based on whatever criteria it decides to apply, that these marriages, especially the second one, were marriages of convenience, it's all over as far as citizenship is concerned. And there is a good chance they'll go after and get his PR as well. The ten year Good Character requirement covers many things, such as minor crimes and illegal stay. But some things are unforgivable, such as use of deception at any point in the immigration journey, a history of certain major crimes, and other things. The Home Office has wide discretion on these matters. People have been stripped of their citizenship, lost their Asylum protection, been stripped of ILR, when things like this have come to light. Some of these dramas have played out on this forum and the HO is ruthless.

Life in the UK as a PR is not a bad life at all. The OP's friend should take caution about what their next move should be. If eveything was truly legitimate, then there should be no problem when the time comes. Otherwise... there is some considerable risk....