Naturalisation 3 vs 5 year route

[avinash2904]

Hi all,

I’m a British citizen and my wife received her ILR 2 years ago. However owing to long absences from the country during Covid we didn’t apply for citizenship for my wife immediately after ILR at the time (I was already a british citizen when she received her ILR).

Now, she fulfills all the requirements both under the 5 year residence route as well as the 3 year route. In the 3 year route, her absences still exceed the 270 days but is within the allowable range based on the latest guidance.

My question is - can we still apply for naturalisation for her under the 5 year route even if she if married to a british citizen? Or are we obligated to apply under the 3 year route? The main reason I’m considering the 5 year route is because this will involve less paperwork and we don’t have to rely on the exceptions (and having to show additional documentation) with respect to her allowable absences under the 3 year route.

Thanks very much for your guidance.

[Ticktack]

Hi all,

I’m a British citizen and my wife received her ILR 2 years ago. However owing to long absences from the country during Covid we didn’t apply for citizenship for my wife immediately after ILR at the time (I was already a british citizen when she received her ILR).

Now, she fulfills all the requirements both under the 5 year residence route as well as the 3 year route. In the 3 year route, her absences still exceed the 270 days but is within the allowable range based on the latest guidance.

My question is - can we still apply for naturalisation for her under the 5 year route even if she if married to a british citizen? Or are we obligated to apply under the 3 year route? The main reason I’m considering the 5 year route is because this will involve less paperwork and we don’t have to rely on the exceptions (and having to show additional documentation) with respect to her allowable absences under the 3 year route.

Thanks very much for your guidance.

Not sure you get to chose how you want to be accessed. The minute you add in the form that your spouse is British, the system starts to align towards that.
You can try adding a cover letter of what you want, not adding your spouse British passport and your marriage cert. Maybe then it could works as you qualify in your own rights.

[avinash2904]

Thank you. Indeed there was no way to ‘choose’ a particular route. I just provide all the details along with a cover letter that would cover both scenarios so hopefully this should be okay.