Spouse of British citizen

[mkdr]

Hi, I need help as I want to apply for British naturalisation for my wife. I am a British citizen through naturalisation. My wife is living in the UK for last 4 years and has pre-settled status under EU settlement scheme. Can she apply for British naturalisation now or does she need to wait for settled status first? Thanks

[Br28016-1]

Pre settled does not meet the requirement to be free from immigration control at date of application. Settled status is needed for that.

When did you get married ? As if 5 years ago she may be able to apply for settled status then citizenship

[secret.simon]

When did you get married ? As if 5 years ago she may be able to apply for settled status then citizenship

Not sure where you've got this from.

For Settled Status, the applicant needs to have spent five years in the UK as an EEA citizen or a family member of an EEA citizen.

If they were married earlier, but the wife was not resIdent in the UK, that time won't count.

To the OP, your wife needs to hold either ILR or Settled Status before British citizenship.

She can apply for British citizenship immediately after getting ILR/Settled Status if she meets all the requirements (LITUK test, English language test, absences and physical presence requirements, etc)

[Br28016-1]

Wife got married in UK on marriage visit visa and then left for less than six months to do spouse visa application and came back at seven months after marriage point. She switched after that to EU settlement scheme route. She applied for settled status at exactly 5 years after marriage point and got settled status. Pretty sure we documented exactly visa status over the 5 years - visit visa, out of UK with no visa, spouse visa, EU presettled. Also believe thisn't unique. As OP spouse is at 4 year point may be able to exploit this to move it forward a bit. As no cost to apply for settled status nothing much to lose although took wife just under two months to get settled status answer.

As I understand it 5 years counts from point of marriage and can have a period of up to six months out of UK and still get settled status.