I am a South African passport holder trying to work out the best path for me to achieve UK citizenship.
I arrived initially in the UK on 07/04/2000 on a 2 year Working Holiday Visa
I met my now wife in 2000, who is French having lived and worked in the UK since 1998
I changed to a Work Permit which was granted for 24 months. I started this on 17/01/2002.
My Work Permit was extended for 48 months until 17/01/2008.
We then went on a round the world trip from 22/08/2004 and returned on 06/12/2005 with 2 transfer stops (01/2004 and 08/2004) through the UK during this time so in effect "reset" the clock in terms of residency requirements as we would have spent an extended time out of the UK
We were married in France on 13/07/2007.
I applied for an "EEA2" residence card on 29/11/2007 and received the new visa dated 25/07/2008 valid until 25/07/2013.
My question is how do I progress towards citizenship via FLR/PR?
I have now been living in the UK since returning from traveling and continuing my work permit for over 5 years however have been married for 3 years 10 months and have had Residence Card for 2 years 9 months.
I understand I do not actually have to apply for PR if I remain purely on the EU route as this would be automatic after 5 years (is this after marriage date 13/07/2012 or receiving the Residence Card 25/07/2013?) and then a year later can apply for citizenship but this is a long time to wait and I would really like to get a UK passport ASAP
My current 5 year status of living in the UK is a combination of both Work Permit and Residence Card so where to from here?
Do I need to get PR/ILR?
Can I apply for PR now using EEA4 (6 months application time) or can I apply for ILR which is a much quicker process.
Is citizenship then 12 months from when I receive PR/ILR?
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