Can i apply for a BC after 3 years instead of 6 years?

jam2011 · Post by **jam2011** » Wed Jun 15, 2011 12:03 am

hi,
Iam a non EEA married to EEA NATIONAL, Iam on a 5 years RC and my EEA wife is getting her BC soon, so can i apply for a BC after 3 years or do i have to wait for 5+1 years??
thanks

Post by **geriatrix** » Wed Jun 15, 2011 3:36 am

You cannot apply for naturalisation unless you acquire PR (under EEA regulations) or are granted ILR (under UK laws).

Backer · Post by **Backer** » Wed Jun 15, 2011 5:05 am

Once you have PR and assuming your wife is British you can immidietly apply for BC assuming you lived in the country for at least 3 years instead of waiting another 12 months in the case your wife is not British (so the total time goes down from 5+1 to 5 only)

enny07 · Post by **enny07** » Wed Jun 15, 2011 9:04 pm

Backer wrote:Once you have PR and assuming your wife is British you can immidietly apply for BC assuming you lived in the country for at least 3 years instead of waiting another 12 months in the case your wife is not British (so the total time goes down from 5+1 to 5 only)

Hi there,
Does it matter if one's spouse has lost her original EEA citizenship after naturalization? Or better still in a country that does not allow dual citizenship.
Will this situation affect in a negative way a non-EEA family member to naturalize after obtaining PR (i.e 5yrs after RC being a spouse of the EEA citizen).

Thanks for reponses.

Backer · Post by **Backer** » Thu Jun 16, 2011 7:50 am

Enny07 - Your situation or the situation you're describing is not completely clear to me.

However, what I can say is that once having PR then the EU status of the partner is not relevant anymore and applying for naturalization can be based on being married to a British citizen or by waiting 12 more months and basing the application on 5 years of stay and 12 months on PR status.

If EU status of the partner is lost before PR of the family memeber is achieved then the family member might have a problem because his EU family member visa does not technically exist anymore and he might need to swtich to another visa.

enny07 · Post by **enny07** » Thu Jun 16, 2011 10:57 am

Backer wrote:Enny07 - Your situation or the situation you're describing is not completely clear to me.

Hi Backer,
Thanks for the reponse.
I initially applied for RC as an unmarried partner in June 2007 having been with my then partner (now my wife) since 2005 and having a baby born in 2006. Although I have overstayed my visa by this time by 2yrs. I was issue COA in less than a month and we felt things would come in has quickly as it seems.

However, we waited for almost a year without any news. We eventually got married in May 2008 and RC was issued in Jan.2009.

Now my wife got her British Citizenship this May and her country (Latvia) does not encourage dual citizenship although u can only lose citizenship by renouncing or revoking by a court if it has been found out that the person has received a different country's citizenship without renouncing Latvian citizenship.
We however want to keep quiet about her new citizenship if it would be possible for me to get my BC in 2yrs (hopefully)

So that is my story and hope it does shed more light into my case.
Thanks.

Backer · Post by **Backer** » Thu Jun 16, 2011 8:08 pm

Actually, now I come to think that your case is more complex than I initially thought. Why? Because your wife is now British and so you are a spouse of a British citizen which may override residency rights of a spouse of an EU citizen (in this case, Latvia).

When you will ask for confirmation of your PR status you will need to prove that your wife is exercising her rights as an EU citizen which may not be true anymore because she is British.

You may need to switch visa types now to a spousal visa (of a British citizen)

Perhaps other members of the forum can provide their views?

enny07 · Post by **enny07** » Fri Jun 17, 2011 8:21 am

Backer wrote:Actually, now I come to think that your case is more complex than I initially thought. Why? Because your wife is now British and so you are a spouse of a British citizen which may override residency rights of a spouse of an EU citizen (in this case, Latvia).

When you will ask for confirmation of your PR status you will need to prove that your wife is exercising her rights as an EU citizen which may not be true anymore because she is British.

You may need to switch visa types now to a spousal visa (of a British citizen)

Perhaps other members of the forum can provide their views?

Thanks Backer for ur response.
Thats why am a bit confused, the only hope (i think) is for Latvia to accept dual citizenship. Although, there is an ongoing debate at the Latvian parliament about it with the backing of the President. Hopefully, it wont be long before they decide.

Is it possible to apply in country to switch visa category? Some claim I will have to go back to my country to apply. Is this true?

Backer · Post by **Backer** » Fri Jun 17, 2011 3:53 pm

If Latvian citizenship is taken away from your wife then you have a problem. However, what I'm saying is that you might already have a problem because your wife is British and this overrides any EU law.
You should seek advise from others on this.

enny07 · Post by **enny07** » Fri Jun 17, 2011 5:00 pm

Backer wrote: You should seek advise from others on this.

Anybody's advise is welcome pls. Thanks

enny07 · Post by **enny07** » Tue Jun 21, 2011 5:09 pm

Any Gurus in the house? Advise needed pls!!!

Backer · Post by **Backer** » Tue Jun 21, 2011 8:38 pm

Have a look at this - similiar case to yours:

http://www.immigrationboards.com/viewtopic.php?t=78819

Immigrationboards.com: Immigration, work visa and work permit discussion board

Can i apply for a BC after 3 years instead of 6 years?

Can i apply for a BC after 3 years instead of 6 years?