Time of eligibility

[Huntsgale19]

Dear all,
First of all thank you to all of your great and valuable advice.
I had my ilr application approved now . Wondering when I can apply for naturalisation. As I were on FLR m (5years) route but completed my ten years lawfully applied for set LR which is approved now.
Need to know whether I can apply for citizenship straight away as my partner and kids are BC or do I have to wait for one year to be eligible

[alterhase58]

If you are married to a British citizen you can apply now - if not married then you need to wait 12 months on ILR. Please refer to the guidance for the requirements: https://www.gov.uk/government/publicati ... n-guidance

[Huntsgale19]

Thanks for your reply.
Yes I’m married to a British citizen since Jan 2017.
Can I still apply regardless I’ve got ILR on ten years lawful residence?

[CR001]

Your route to ILR is irrelevant.

[Huntsgale19]

I thought you can apply for citizenship soon after obtaining the ilr on FLR m route only. Didn’t knew that you can also apply being spouse to the BC at the time of application regardless which route you secured the settlement status

[Huntsgale19]

One of the lawyer said I have to wait for 12 months as below .....
Ok so you said you got Set LR which is the indefinite leave to remain after spending lawful 10 years in UK (LR stands for long residence) in this case you have to wait for 12 months before you apply for naturalisation.
The second route is when you are married to a British national or a settled person and spend five years on souse visa. At the end of the five years you apply for indefinite leave to remain and in this situation you don’t have to wait for 12 months and can apply as soon as possible.
HOWEVER in both of the above scenarios you should have been residing in uk for five years preceding g the date of the naturalisation application.
The third route is that if you have permanent residence (this is given to EU people who spend five years in UK) so if someone has permanent residence and want to apply for naturalisation you should have been resident in UK for three years preceding the application.

[CR001]

The lawyer is talking absolute nonsense. Nowhere does it state you have to have held a spouse visa and received ilr as a spouse visa holder to be able to apply without waiting 12 months, provided you meet the 3 year residence requirements You're wasting your money with lawyers.

The rules simply state you do not have to wait 12 months if hold ilr and you are married to a British citizen.

[Huntsgale19]

Morning CR001
Thanks for your reply please clarify the following question

1)prove you were in the UK exactly 3 years before the day the Home Office receives your application
Thanks

[CR001]

You need to have been physically present in the UK at the start of the qualifying period. You only need to submit your passport stamped pages to prove this.

[Huntsgale19]

You need to have been physically present in the UK at the start of the qualifying period. You only need to submit your passport stamped pages to prove this.

I was on holiday exactly 3 years back in these dates. Should to wait until I came back and apply in mid of September?

[CR001]

Yes you should wait. Not being physically present at the start can lead to a refusal and you lose your fee. Physically present in the UK 3 years ago is a mandatory requirement

[Huntsgale19]

Yes you should wait. Not being physically present at the start can lead to a refusal and you lose your fee. Physically present in the UK 3 years ago is a mandatory requirement

Dear CR001,
Thanks for your help,
After speaking with few lawyers they all said you cannot apply for citizenship straight away as you were granted ILR on long residence not on spouse visa route. You have to wait 12 months then you’ll be eligible.
Really confused with different suggestions

[CR001]

You are wasting your time with these so called lawyers. They don't seem to have any clue what they are talking about

Your route to ilr is IRRELEVANT. The citizenship rules do NOT state you are
exempt from waiting 12 months only if you got ilr visa a 5 year spouse visa.

I would suggest you ask these "lawyers" for the official UKVI guidance in this point they are making.

Also, you do NOT need a lawyer for a citizenship application. It is not a difficult application to make at all.

[Huntsgale19]

Thanks CR001,
Is there anyone have got approved recently same circumstances as mine?
Also at the end of the application it has asked if there’s anything you would add if Secretary of State refused your application?

[CR001]

Many have had approval. Your circumstances are certainly not unique at all


You are completely overthinking this. The rules are very clear. Your route to ilr is irrelevant.

Also at the end of the application it has asked if there’s anything you would add if Secretary of State refused your application?

Not relevant. This is for those who have complex and difficult immigration histories, like refugees or overstayers for example.

[Huntsgale19]

Thank you,
Seems like I’m good to go ahead now
But I need to wait till 16th of sep as exactly three years back I was out of country

[Huntsgale19]

Which category I’ll be applying in as married to bc or on the basis of ILR?

[vinny]

I believe CR001 has given you the correct advice, multiple times. They don’t differentiate on how you obtained ILR.

Just make sure you satisfy the relevant requirements of the category of your choice.