Settled status and citizenship application for French national

[newrat]

My wife is a French national with PR (this blue paper document called 'Document certifying permanent residence').

Does she need to apply to apply for settled status? The gov website says the deadline for this is 30 June 2021. So her PR will definitely still be valid between 1 Jan 2021 and 30 June 2021 right?

Second question: She is eligible to apply for citizenship and has already done the life in the uk test and the B1 language test. We're just holding off until we can gather the exorbitant £1400 fee. If she gets settled status will this interfere with her PR history, which is the basis of her citizenship application? As in, will she then need to stay a year on Settled status or something until she can apply for citizenship?

[kamoe]

Does she need to apply to apply for settled status?

If she is already eligible for British Citizenship before June 2021, that is, PR +1 year, then she can skip the Settled Status and apply directly for British Citizenship. If, on the other hand, the case was that come June 2021 she was still far from eligible for British Citizenship, then she would need to apply for the Settlement Scheme, to cover the period were previous EEA documents cease to be valid.

The gov website says the deadline for this is 30 June 2021. So her PR will definitely still be valid between 1 Jan 2021 and 30 June 2021 right?

If she wants to apply for Settled Status, yes, the hard deadline is June 2021; it is reasonable to assume that previous EEA residence documentation remain valid until that date.

Second question: She is eligible to apply for citizenship and has already done the life in the uk test and the B1 language test. We're just holding off until we can gather the exorbitant £1400 fee.

Would this be before June 2021?

If she gets settled status will this interfere with her PR history,

No, PR and Settled Status are indpendent of each other and not mutually exclusive. One can have both at the same time, and one does not interfere with the other.

which is the basis of her citizenship application?

Whichever is more convenient. Generally speaking, PR usually allows for application to British Citizenship straight away if 6+ years of residence, while Settled Status forces an additional year after application, no matter how many years of residence have been accrued. That being said, if you have both PR and Settled Status, you can choose which regime applies to you.

As in, will she then need to stay a year on Settled status or something until she can apply for citizenship?

If she is already eligible for British Citizenship, she is already eligible for British Citizenship, period.

Acquiring Settled Status would not impose an additional year before she can apply. The additional year only applies to people who do not qualify otherwise.

[newrat]

Hey kamoe, thanks for this. It makes a lot of sense. I have just a couple of follow up questions then:

1. Yes she is already eligible for citizenship through PR. But if we were to wait (due to lack of funds) until after 30 June 2021, would this mean that we would have to get SS and then wait an extra year, because after that PR route won't be possible anymore?

2. If we apply for citizenship on 29 June 2021 do we not need to apply for SS? Would she still be able to travel while her citizenship application is pending?

Just thinking aloud here: I suppose we might as well apply for SS anyway since it's free and then aim to apply for citizenship via PR before 30 June 2021. The main question is what happens if we wait until after 30 June.

[kamoe]

1. Yes she is already eligible for citizenship through PR. But if we were to wait (due to lack of funds) until after 30 June 2021, would this mean that we would have to get Surinder Singh route and then wait an extra year, because after that PR route won't be possible anymore?

I'm assuming you mean Settled Status, not Surinder Singh (if you type 'S S' this site automatically converts that into 'Surinder Singh').

Uhmm... That's a good question. I do not know whether applying for British Citizenship based on PR alone will be possible after June 2021.

In any case, if, for financial reasons, she does have to wait after June 2021 before applying for British Citizenship, then she definitely needs to apply for Settled Status, as her PR will not cover her beyond that date.

Best approach is to apply for Settled Status now. It costs nothing and she will get it. Then if it turns out she needs to wait an extra year (I personally doubt it, but cannot confirm it) at least come June 2021 she has already waited a good 8-6 months and there is less to wait than if she left it to the last minute and waited until June 2021 to apply!

2. If we apply for citizenship on 29 June 2021 do we not need to apply for Surinder Singh route? Would she still be able to travel while her citizenship application is pending?

Again, not Surinder Singh but Settled Status.

It is my understanding that she can skip the Settlement Scheme altogether. She would have applied for a superior status than Settled Status, so it is reasonable to think that this will pose no problem.

And yes, she can travel while her citizenship is decided.

Just thinking aloud here: I suppose we might as well apply for Surinder Singh route anyway since it's free and then aim to apply for citizenship via PR before 30 June 2021. The main question is what happens if we wait until after 30 June.

As explained above. A number of unknowns, but the one thing known is that the Settlement status application is free, and almost guaranteed to succeed.

[newrat]

Amazing, thanks so much kamoe. That's cleared everything up. I'll apply for settled status now and try and get the citizenship app done before the deadline to avoid any confusion. And yes I typed 'S S', meaning Settled Status