BC Residence Requirement Doubt

[bagadbilla]

Hello Everyone

Me and my wife are planning to apply for Naturalisation as a British Citizen in the month of April. My families current passport and ILR status are as follows

Myself: On ILR since October-2010 (already eligible for Naturalisation since October-2011)
Wife: On ILR since March 2013 (will become eligible for Naturalisation by end of March-2014)
Daughter: British Citizen (born on 30.09.2013 and has her British Passport)

My Question is:

On the booklet guidance for AN form, it says that, my wife is eligible under the following categories of residence requirement

Category 1
========
- If you are married to or the civil partner of a British citizen (section 6(2) of the British Nationality Act 1981)
-- Have lived in the UK for a minimum of 3 years before you apply and meet the following residence requirements

OR

Category 2
========
- If you are NOT married to or the civil partner of a British citizen (Section 6(1) of the British Nationality Act 1981)
-- Have lived in the UK for a minimum of 5 years before you apply

Now this is a bit confusing, I am pretty sure my wife falls under the first category and we can apply together in a joint application. But by basic understanding I ideally fall under second category as of today since I do not have a BC yet. I hope it does not mean I have to apply for BC first and then my wife can apply later just to fall under category 1.

Any clarification will be deeply appreciated.

Kind Regards
Siddharth

[Jambo]

It's very simple. Are you British now or not? Then 1 or 2 apply.
See the FAQ (link below) for more details.

[bagadbilla]

Thanks a lot for the reply. But I seem to be still in a quandary.

According to FAQ Q1, my wife is eligible as she has completed 1 year after getting an ILR so she can apply, but according to Q2. she might have to wait until I get my BC.

Sorry if I am sounding confused, but it is necessary for me to get this correct, which at present seems a bit ambiguous to me.

Regards
Siddharth

[Jambo]

In Q1 there is also a link to the other requirements which require 5 years of residence in the UK. If she meets that, she can apply the same time as you (individual applications, joint reduced fee). If she has not completed 5 years of residence, apply first and once you are BC, she can apply (if completed 3 years of residence).

[bagadbilla]

Thanks a lot jambo.

Much appreciated

I will apply first and then she can apply after I get the BC. So in all she will have to wait for a few more months. I was really under the impression that we both have ILR > 1 year so it must have sufficed. But really missed that she also needed to have 5 years instead of 3 years for non-BC spouse.

Thanks again