Naturalisation

[stace]

Hi

This site has got me and my husband through spouse and ILR applicatiosn and now its time for the next big one and of course more MONEY!

My husband is applying for naturalisation as a british citizen in a couple of weeks and i was just afetr some general advice on any common pitfalls

He came here in FEB 2004 on a visitors visa for two weeks which we applied to extend once he was here, we applied for this on the last day of his two week visa therefore they said he could stay here until they decided which they did and extended up to the full 6 months visitors visa

In that 6 months we got married and went back to his home country for the spouse visa which we got and he was eventually granted ILR last JUNE.

We are going to send the application off a few days after his first day in the country in 2004 so he has then been here for three years.

Do you think the time between his two week visitor visa and when they decided to extend it to 6 months will not count towards the three years?


Any ideas??

[John]

You don't actually say it ... but I presume you are a British Citizen? Correct? Assuming yes .....

I think he can apply any time after the 3rd anniversary of him arriving in the UK on that short-term visitor visa.

Has he already passed the Citizenship Test?

[stace]

Sorry

Yes I am

He has the test next week

Fingers crossed?

Are there any common things we need to look out for?

Also we are asking some friend to be the references but it doesnt detail anywhere what is expected of them, excpet that they have known him for three years,
Do they get a phone call or a letter, dont want to ask them yet without being able to tell them what is the full extent of it??

[JAJ]

Also we are asking some friend to be the references but it doesnt detail anywhere what is expected of them, excpet that they have known him for three years,
Do they get a phone call or a letter, dont want to ask them yet without being able to tell them what is the full extent of it??

They may hear nothing. This Home Office document should help: (pdf)
http://www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk/docume ... iew=Binary

[kairos]

I'm not sure whether the time on his visitor's visa will count towards the three years. You could always phone the Home Office and ask them. The number for advice on Nationality is 0845 010 5200.

I found the test incredibly easy; I finished it in 4 minutes! If English is not your partner's first language he may find it a bit harder but if he reads chapters 3, 4 and 5 of the booklet I'm sure he will be fine. I bought a program on Ebay that asks questions in the same format as the actual test, which was also useful.

My big piece of advice is that you should use an NCS for your application. If you look on the 'Timeline After Application' thread you'll see that the processing time can be as little as one week for applications submitted through NCS. You can find more information at:

http://www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk/applyi ... nality/ncs

Good luck!!

[John]

I'm not sure whether the time on his visitor's visa will count towards the three years.

It does .... any time in the UK legally can count. For the OP, married to a British Citizen, there is a 3-year qualifying period. It is essential that at all times in the 3-year qualifying period, when the in the UK, the person was here legally .... and not, for example, an overstayer. The OP, based upon what has been posted, complies with that.

And of course it is essential that the person was physically in the UK exactly 3 years before IND receive the Naturalisation application. But again, based upon what has been posted, the OP will not have a problem with that if applying in the near future, as long as the application is made after the 3rd anniversary of the actual arrival date in the UK.

I certainly agree with the point about NCS .... recommended!

[stace]

thanks for all that

ill keep you posted