Can someone help

[Malik39]

I entered in the UK in 2007 as a student, married with a British Citizen in 2010. Spouse visa was granted & now BRP card is issued on 14-08-2012.
I have been living in the UK for the last 5 years (i.e. from 2007).
Can someone advise on this:
1. Does the 3 years spent on the student visa counts towards the residential qualifying period?
2. What the LAW says i.e. Can I apply straightaway for the UK naturalization?

[JulesN19]

I entered in the UK in 2007 as a student, married with a British Citizen in 2010. Spouse visa was granted & now BRP card is issued on 14-08-2012.
I have been living in the UK for the last 5 years (i.e. from 2007).
Can someone advise on this:
1. Does the 3 years spent on the student visa counts towards the residential qualifying period?
2. What the LAW says i.e. Can I apply straightaway for the UK naturalization?

In principle, any time when you were not in breach of the Immigration Rules can count toward the residential qualifying period. Keep in mind that you must have been in the UK exactly three years before the date of your application (meaning not, for example, on holiday abroad during the date that is exactly three years before your application). The total amount of time that you have spent outside the UK in the three-year period ending on the date of the application must be under 270 days. The total amount of time that you spend outside the UK in the last year must be under 90 days.

It is not clear from your post whether you are able to apply. You say that you have a biometric residence permit, but not what the permit says. You will need to have indefinite leave to remain on the day when you apply. If you don't yet have indefinite leave, then you are not yet eligible.

There are some other requirements, including character (generally meaning no problems with the law), and sufficient knowledge of the English language and life in the UK (meaning that you must pass the Life in the UK Test, which you would need for ILR anyway).

[Malik39]

I entered in the UK in 2007 as a student, married with a British Citizen in 2010. Spouse visa was granted & now BRP card is issued on 14-08-2012.
I have been living in the UK for the last 5 years (i.e. from 2007).
Can someone advise on this:
1. Does the 3 years spent on the student visa counts towards the residential qualifying period?
2. What the LAW says i.e. Can I apply straightaway for the UK naturalization?

In principle, any time when you were not in breach of the Immigration Rules can count toward the residential qualifying period. Keep in mind that you must have been in the UK exactly three years before the date of your application (meaning not, for example, on holiday abroad during the date that is exactly three years before your application). The total amount of time that you have spent outside the UK in the three-year period ending on the date of the application must be under 270 days. The total amount of time that you spend outside the UK in the last year must be under 90 days.

It is not clear from your post whether you are able to apply. You say that you have a biometric residence permit, but not what the permit says. You will need to have indefinite leave to remain on the day when you apply. If you don't yet have indefinite leave, then you are not yet eligible.

There are some other requirements, including character (generally meaning no problems with the law), and sufficient knowledge of the English language and life in the UK (meaning that you must pass the Life in the UK Test, which you would need for ILR anyway).

JulesN19
Thanks for the reply.
BRP means Indefinite Leave to Remain, that has been introduced recently by the Home Office in exchange of ILR. Moreover, I have been exactly present in the UK for the last 3 years. My total absentees during the last 3 years are not more than 60 days. No conviction during the whole period. KOL test already passed in January 2012 for the purpose of ILR.
My basic question is again:
Does the period spent on the student visa counts towards the residential qualifying period?
Thanks again for the expert advice.

[JulesN19]

Your previous post was not clear because it merely specified that you had a biometric residence permit. (Biometric residence permits have been used to confer the grant of limited leave for some time and are now used to confer the grant of indefinite leave as well.)

If you are the spouse or civil partner of a British citizen, then the eligibility requirements are as follows:
1. You were in the UK on the date that is exactly three years before the date of your application.
2. Your absences from the UK in the last three years add up to no more than 270 days.
3. Your absences from the UK in the last year add up to no more than 90 days.
4. You are not subject to any time restriction on your right to remain in the UK (meaning you have indefinite leave under national immigration law or permanent residence under EEA law) as of the date of your application.
5. You have not been in breach of any immigration laws in the last three years.
6. You are of good character.
7. You have sufficient knowledge of English, Welsh, or Scottish Gaelic.
8. You have sufficient knowledge about life in the UK.

From what you have said, you seem to meet the requirements, but you know all your circumstances better than I do and I can't make the determination.

The fact that you were in the UK three years ago as a student should count, provided that you never overstayed a visa during the last three years and did not breach any restrictions on your leave. Make sure, however, that you were physically in the UK on the date that is exactly three years before your application date. If you were, say, legally in the UK for the full 3.5 years before you applied but were in the middle of a two-week holiday exactly three years before the date of your application, then you are technically ineligible when you apply. You will have to list all your trips outside the UK and I'd apply when well clear of the three-year anniversary of any trip abroad.

A note with respect to your comment on "expert advice": Nothing here should be taken as expertise or advice. All people on this forum do is share their experience and information they have come across. If you need expert advice, then you need to go to a professional adviser.

I applied using my local authority's Nationality Checking Service and I think that it's usually a good idea to apply via the NCS. An employee of the local registrar's office checks over your paperwork for any obvious errors or omissions. More importantly, the NCS officer takes certified copies of your key documents so that you may retain them; this is helpful if you may need to travel before the Home Office decides your application (but the NCS generally advises against travelling within a week of making your application so as to avoid a situation where you are outside the UK when the Home Office receives your application). The only downside to using the NCS is that there is an extra fee.

[aprilclub]

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[push]

I entered in the UK in 2007 as a student, married with a British Citizen in 2010. Spouse visa was granted & now BRP card is issued on 14-08-2012.
I have been living in the UK for the last 5 years (i.e. from 2007).
Can someone advise on this:
1. Does the 3 years spent on the student visa counts towards the residential qualifying period?
2. What the LAW says i.e. Can I apply straightaway for the UK naturalization?

You have blatantly hijacked a thread started by another member. I am moving your posts to another thread.