YESSSSS! JUST GOT MY PR, APPLY FOR CITIZENSHIP NOW?

[bebe2]

hi all
just got call from my lawyer saying i got my pr. after 8months on grounds of divorce.
funny enough i never got asked for more documents.
when can i now apply for british citizenship?

[abi_abc]

After another 12 months.

Because you are no longer married to a British Citizen you cannot apply immediately even if you have lived in the UK lawfully for 3 years.

[bebe2]

i wasnt married to british.
he was an eea national.

[mego_1980]

congratulation bebe

could you summarize your case for us please?

thanks

[bebe2]

got married may 2003
got residence permit dec 2003
applied for pr nov 2008 after getting my decree nissi
final divorce dec 2008

i never asked for more documents, i emailed a letter to the european complaint pleading with them to please see to my case on the 14july 2009.

my lawyer called me yesterday to say they have stamped my passport with the pr granted.

my lawyer has posted it as at this morn i havent recieved it.

[John]

Bebe2, a little more detail please. When did you first come to the UK? And was that on an EEA Family Permit?

I am just trying to work out when you first started to exercise EU Treaty Rights in the UK?

The point is this. The PR sticker you now have ..... congratulations .... is merely confirmatory. Its issue does not actually give you any more rights, it merely confirms you have those rights.

That confirmation is very helpful to you, a non-EEA citizen. But you actually got PR status automatically on the 5th anniversary of starting to exercise EU Treaty Rights in the UK.

As already said you need to have PR status for at least one year before being able to apply for Naturalisation as British. But when is your one year up? That is the question in my mind.

[bebe2]

came to uk africa 2001 on visiting visa and overstayed.
got married may 2003, got residence card dec 2003.
my rc expired nov 2008.
got pr july 2009.

do i then assume i can apply fo naturalisation in nov, becos thats wen my pr status becomes 1 yr . that is disregarding when my pr was actually issued(july 09)

or should i have applied fo naturalisation in may when my marriage was 6 yrs old.?

[mego_1980]

Thanks Babe for your replay,

what are the documents you sent when you apply for PR?
what do you mean by final divorce is not when they issue the decree absolute?
when you recieve your decree absolute did you send it after PR application ?

thanks

[John]

bebe2, the problem here is that the current EU regulations came into force on 30.04.06, and thus back in 2003, when you got married, and when you got issued with your RC, the previous EU regulations were in force.

Other opinions very welcome, but I think the safest thing to do is to wait until sometime in December 2009, 6 years after you got issued with your RC. It is totally clear that from that time you were exercising EU Treaty Rights, thus got PR status 5 years later, sometime in December 2008, and accoridngly will have had PR status for 1 year sometime in December 2009.

It could be argued that you might have started your EU clock in May 2003, but in view of the cost of the Naturalisation application, I would not risk it ... unless someone else can come up with a good argument convincing you to proceed.

But another point ... have you passed the Life in the UK Citizenship test? If not, do appreciate that the pass certificate will need to be supplied when you apply for Naturalisation. Whilst it was not required to get you your PR, it is certainly needed for your Naturalisation application.

[bebe2]

thanks john
i have passed my life in the uk test.

i thot i will be eligible for naturalisation in july 2010, if i can get it in dec i will be very pleased. how sure are u of the december? can they argue that they met when it was stamped on your passport.

have you met anyone who naturalised without waiting for one year after the date pr was stamped on their passport.

if i marry a student or someone on visiting while am still on my pr what status wud that person get?

[Ben]

if i marry a student or someone on visiting while am still on my pr what status wud that person get?

Spouse of a person "present and settled" in the UK, I believe.

[John]

i thot i will be eligible for naturalisation in july 2010, if i can get it in dec i will be very pleased. how sure are u of the december? can they argue that they met when it was stamped on your passport.

I do not think they could argue that. If you look at The Immigration (European Economic Area) Regulations 2006, and in particular Regulation 15(1)(f) you will see it reads :-

15.—(1) The following persons shall acquire the right to reside in the United Kingdom permanently—

(f) a person who—
(i) has resided in the United Kingdom in accordance with these Regulations for a
continuous period of five years; and
(ii) was, at the end of that period, a family member who has retained the right of
residence.

-: And I think that, on your facts, you clearly did that sometime in December 2008, and indeed arguably sometime in May 2008.

have you met anyone who naturalised without waiting for one year after the date pr was stamped on their passport.

I must admit, no, but do appreciate that until the current EU regulations came into force on 30.04.06, no one got PR status until they had a sticker in their passport saying that. It was only the EU Directive that came into force on 30.04.06 that made gaining PR status automatic on the 5th anniversary, and the PR sticker merely confirmatory of that status.

But this is highly technical stuff, and other opinions about this would be very welcome. I know we have members here who are very knowledgeable about EEA matters and PR.

if i marry a student or someone on visiting while am still on my pr what status wud that person get?

What exactly are you planning? Where now is the person you intend to marry?

[Ben]

What exactly are you planning? Where now is the person you intend to marry?

Indeed!

bebe2, your business is your business, but you've only been divorced for a matter of months. Baby steps.

[bebe2]

thanks benifa,

although i have been divorced on paper for a few months but i have been without a man for well over a year and girlllll i miss those things.

there is a bloke i have been eyeing for sometime he used to be at my uni hence is on a student visa. am just making enquiries .

i need to start popping before my biological stops. ha ha ha sounds harsh.

[mego_1980]

Hi Babe

would you be able to answer my enquires please as i'm applying for PR at the moment.

what are the documents you sent when you apply for PR?
what do you mean by final divorce is not when they issue the decree absolute?
when you recieve your decree absolute did you send it after PR application ?

thanks

[bebe2]

hi mego
my case is very unusual hence i call it a miracle.
i gave them my p60s for five years, my ex p60 for 2yrs proof of address for both of us andsavings bank account details and my decree nissi. becos i didnt have my decree absolute then.

i was preparing my recent payslips, thinking of how to beg him for his current employment and other things that other on this forum were being asked then my lawyer called me to say they have sent back my passport with pr granted so i never got to give them anyother document.
hope that helped.
if u have more query pls ask.

[mego_1980]

Thanks for your replay Bebe,

Do you mean that you have never send the decree absloute to Home Office?

from reading all forums it looks like most of the people who get PR after divorce are Females not males is it right?

Mego

[bebe2]

yess my dear hence i call my case a miracle becos am the only one i know that has been granted pr without them asking for more doc.

to answer ur ? . yes i never gave them the decree absolute.