Refusal of naturalisation application

[Omar222]

I came here in uk as a British spouse on 15th December 2015
I got my indefinite leave to remain ( issue date = 28-09-2018) which was valid until 31-03-2021
I applied on 31st December 2021
And today 8th of june 2021 I received an email from caseworker that my application has been refused
The reasons i am copying down


Reasons for decision
An applicant for naturalisation is expected to meet certain UK residence requirements which are set out at www.gov.uk/becoming-a-british-citizen.
Your application was received on 31st December 2020. As you were subject to a time limit on your stay in the United Kingdom on the date of your application you do not meet one of the residence requirements. The Home Secretary has no discretion to waive this particular requirement and as you do not meet it your application is refused.
If you still wish to become a British citizen, you will need to make a fresh application. Any fresh application will be decided on the basis of enquiries taken at the time.
As you are currently in the UK without leave under the immigration laws, you must take steps to regularise your immigration status without delay. Information on how to do so, for example by making an application for leave to remain in the UK, can be found at www.gov.uk/uk-visas-immigration.
As explained in our schedule of fees, the application fee for British citizenship is not refundable and has been retained to cover the cost of handling and processing your application.
Arrangements are being made to return the sum of £80.00 which is refunded as unsuccessful applicants are not required to attend a citizenship ceremony.



The reasons for this decision are set out on the next page.
You may apply for reconsideration of our decision if you believe it was not soundly based on nationality law, policy or our procedures. Instructions on how to do so can be found under the ‘next steps’ section of this letter.


Please i am so depressed
I dont underStand what to do now
I need help
Please
What is all this
Whats the next step to do

[secret.simon]

Are you sure that you had ILR granted to you? What does it state on your BRP card?

I came here in uk as a British spouse on 15th December 2015
I got my indefinite leave to remain ( issue date = 28-09-2018) which was valid until 31-03-2021

ILR is normally granted after five years residence in the UK as the spouse of a British citizen. In your case, you seem to have got it in 2.5 years.

From the description (of an issue date and an expiry date that is about 2.5 years apart), I think you had an FLR(M) Further Leave to Remain, not ILR.

[Omar222]

On my residence permit card it’s written:
Spouse/Partner Leave to remain.

[heri97]

On my residence permit card it’s written:
Spouse/Partner Leave to remain.

Leave to remian & indefinite leave to remianare different. That could probably be the reason to why they’ve rejected it as you should’ve applied for indefinite leave to remain first.

[Omar222]

Now i have to apply for indefinite leave to remain
Whats the fees for that

[CULLINAN]

Now i have to apply for indefinite leave to remain
Whats the fees for that

£2389 + £19.20

You are already an overstayer now since your visa expired in March 2021.

[Omar222]

So as this now comes under overstayer.. Does this mean I need to apply for BRP and wait for that to arrive and then apply for ILR?

[CULLINAN]

Unfortunately, you are illegal in UK since your visa expired in March 2021 and you overstayed. You can not apply for ILR atm.

You need to seek professional legal advice asap to see what options you may have to regularise your stay in UK, otherwise you risk deportation.

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/immig ... -illegally

Also, note, since you overstayed in UK since March 2021, you will only be able to apply for Naturalisation 10 years after you will regularise your legal stay in UK (if you are able to do it).

Small mistake, big consequences, I wish you best of luck and advise to seek professional legal advice asap.

[secret.simon]

I concur with @CULLINAN. You are in legal/immigration hot waters due to a small and silly mistake that could impact you for 10 years or more.

Firstly, because your Leave to Remain has expired, your ILR clock has reset to zero.

So, you would be starting your immigration journey from zero.

Because you have no Leave to Remain right now, you are not eligible to apply for FLR(M)/spousal visa and will most likely have to apply for FLR(FP), which leads to ILR after 10 years from now.

Secondly, in any case, you will not be able to apply for naturalisation for 10 years after you have been granted FLR(FP), because right now, you are illegally resident in the UK (i.e. you are an overstayer). The good character requirement includes a requirement that you should not have resided illegally in the UK at any time for ten years before the date of application. You are currently illegally resident now.

[Omar222]

When we attended the Biometrics appointment and paid extra services to check the documents. The advisor confirmed all our documents were correct and didn’t mention anything about the ILR. We have email evidence which says that no further information is required.

[CULLINAN]

When we attended the Biometrics appointment and paid extra services to check the documents. The advisor confirmed all our documents were correct and didn’t mention anything about the ILR. We have email evidence which says that no further information is required.

UKVCAS staff has absolutely no knowledge about immigration matters. They are just there to follow the checklist and submit biometrics.

It is the applicant’s responsibility to make sure the application is valid and all the requirements are fulfilled.

Nationality application comes under the Nationality laws and not under UK immigration applications. Even after ILR, you have to meet certain requirements to qualify for Nationality. You never read those requirements or really were unaware about your immigration path. This small mistake is a very costly one.

[CR001]

When we attended the Biometrics appointment and paid extra services to check the documents. The advisor confirmed all our documents were correct and didn’t mention anything about the ILR. We have email evidence which says that no further information is required.

The ukvcas staff at the biometrics centre are not UKVI employees or case workers and also not immigration advisors. Ukvcas are third party agents contracted to do the Biometrics for UKVI.

It is and always will be an applicants responsibility to ensure they meet the requirements for the application they are making. You failed to do that by applying for citizenship before checking if you meet the requirements.

Also, your spouse visa initial approval letter in 2015 would have stated clearly that you are on a 5 year path to settlement (ILR).

There is no 2 or 2. 5 year path to ILR anymore and hasn't been since 9th july 2012.

[Omar222]

ILR card was missing from the checklist how can they missed that important documents from the checking list
At that time i got 2 months
If they mentioned before that my ILR card is missing from the documents i would have withdrawn my application and got time for applying ILR
I am so worried now

[secret.simon]

I would strongly urge you to consult an immigration lawyer and get your legal residence restarted (from zero) as soon as possible.

Being illegally resident can cause issues with day-to-day actions such as renting, operating bank accounts, holding down a job, etc if you are asked to prove your legal residence in the UK, not to mention the long term implications for any future immigration and naturalisation applications and even foreign travel (immigration offences against any country can bar you from getting tourist visas in some other countries).

[glas195]

I agree with most of what has been said already EXCEPT for the fact that "you have been an over-stayer since March 2021"

When you make an immigration application, you current status is kept under section 3C of immigration laws until a outcome is reached.

In this case, since March 2021, you were technically still under Spouse/partner leave to remain, until the 8th June 2021 that your application was rejected that you are now illegally residing in the UK

I think this decision can challenge this situation as you were meant to apply for ILR and not british citizenship. Ignorance of the law is not an excuse but in some cases it can be reasonable.
Get yourself a lawyer asap

[CR001]

I agree with most of what has been said already EXCEPT for the fact that "you have been an over-stayer since March 2021"

When you make an immigration application, you current status is kept under section 3C of immigration laws until a outcome is reached.

In this case, since March 2021, you were technically still under Spouse/partner leave to remain, until the 8th June 2021 that your application was rejected that you are now illegally residing in the UK

I think this decision can challenge this situation as you were meant to apply for ILR and not british citizenship. Ignorance of the law is not an excuse but in some cases it can be reasonable.
Get yourself a lawyer asap

You are wholly incorrect here.

British Citizenship, which is what the OP has applied for, does NOT fall under the immigration rule or section 3C. It comes under the completely separate and independent nationality laws where section 3C is not applicable.

They are an overstayed since their visa expired. There is nothing to challenge.

[vinny]

What happens if you mistakenly apply for British citizenship instead of indefinite leave to remain?

[vinny]

Perhaps try to use the current COVID concession to regularise stay?