Post
by Jambo » Tue Nov 08, 2011 3:52 pm
You got it right.
If not married to a British citizen, you wife will need to wait 12 months after ILR but if she applied after you become BC, she doesn't need to wait.
vinny referred to case when a joint application was made and a request was made in a cover letter to consider the main applicant first and then the second applicant to be considered as a spouse. This is a discretion outside the rules which is not documented but did work for some cases. The main advantage is speed and money (joint application instead of two singles).
Naturalisation on average takes nowadays 3-4 months but can take up to 6 months for a decision to be made. Afterwards, you will need to attend a citizenship ceremony (might be a few more weeks to wait) and then you are a BC.