My Eligibility for British Passport

[arun_av]

I got my ILR last October (04) along with my Wife and Kid as dependants. I decided to have some career growth and went back to India in Dec'04. Since not much worked out i have come back here on permanent employment this June. Since i had a break for close to 6 months, when can i apply for a British Passport

[John]

Your main problem appear to be the "not out of the UK more than 90 days in the one year before IND receive the application" rule.

So it seems to me that you will need to delay your Naturalisation application until about March 2006, so as to ensure that you pass that rule.

Before that six month absence, any other lengthy absenses from the UK since you first arrived in the UK?

[Kayalami]

1. Only British Citizens (and other categories of British Nationals) are eligible for a British Passport. You must first obtain British Citizenship by way of naturalisation before applying for a British Passport. Part of the application is a residence requirement to substantiate ties to the UK. Given you are not the sposue of a British Citizen you need to have as a minimum held ILR for 12 months prior to making the naturalisation application so would have to wait at least until October 2005. Likewise you must not be out of the UK for more than 90 days in the year preceding (date of) naturalisation application and not more than 450 days over the 5 yr period preceding the application including the 1 year on ILR....it looks like you need to wait into the 1st quarter of 2006.

2. ILR status is deemed lost where a person remains outside the UK for a period of more than 2 years consecutively. Exceptions exist based on ties to the UK consistently determined as having spent most of your life in the UK as a minimum. It might be worth your family returning to the UK if they are not here or they may have to undergo an expensive (and rather unecessary) route back to ILR. Was your child born in the UK?

3. Under the Indian Citizenship Act you lose your Indian Citizenship automatically upon acquisition of another citizenship.

[arun_av]

Thanks for the response. Before the 6 months absence there has not been any lengthy absences other than the usual 4 weeks holidays every year.

[John]

OK, so I think you can apply for Naturalisation say nine months after you got back to the UK. So look at the actual date in June 2005 and then apply on that same date in the month but in March 2006.

If you apply before March 2006 then you will be asking, in effect, for a discretion to be exercised in your favour. Have a read of Annex B of the instructions given to IND staff dealing with naturalisation applications. In particular go to no. 5 of that Annex.

Firstly your absence from December 2004 to June 2005. Do an accurate day count. How many days outside the UK not counting the day of leaving nor the day of arriving back. 180 days or less? Or more than 180 days?

If 180 days or less then you might consider applying in October 2005, after you have had your ILR for one year.

Why might this be a good idea? Because any applicant for naturalisation received by IND on or after 1st November 2005 will need to enclose a pass certificate for the new Citizenship Test. But if you apply in October 2005 then you will not need to worry about that, but will instead need to consider the language aspect.

But do have a good read of no. 5 of Annex B. In particular the future intention to live in the UK.