Form AN Naturalisation application

[damianpfister]

Hi Folks

My wife (non-EEA family member) received her permanent residence sticker in her passport back in September 2012, so is planning to submit her BC application in September this year. Looking over the application form (Form AN), Booklet AN and Guide AN a few questions have arisen...which don't appear to be completely answered (or raised) in any threads on this site (that I can find - please correct me if I missed one).

Does anyone have any recommendations around the following questions at all?

- Can one submit the application for checking by the Passport Checking Service a month or so in advance (August in this case) of the date one officially needs to send it to UKBA (September), or will they refuse to perform the required checks until the "correct" date?

- Question 1.7 in form AN states "Name at birth if different from above". Should this include maiden name with explanation then provided on pg 13 as requested in this question? Should a birth and marriage certificate be provided as evidence of this name change?

- Guide AN states "If you are a national of a member state of the EEA, or the family member of an EEA National, and do not have indefinite leave to remain in the United Kingdom you should complete these sections.". Question 2.4 - 2.6 is therefore not required by non-EEA family members if they already have a Permanent Residence sticker in their passport, right?

- Question 3.5 requests info regarding tax office address or tax office reference. All we have from the tax office is the P.O. Box address and not a physical address (or tax reference). Is this a potential problem?

- Section 5 requires two referees that are not related to each other. What if the referees are an unmarried couple, with different surnames, living together (same address) - is this still considered "unrelated" or does this raise questions that would disqualify one of them from standing as a referee?

- Should the referees include any proof of their suitability to stand as referee, such as professional certificate and/or passport?

- The "Supporting Documents" page at the end states that for section 3 one needs to provide evidence of lawful residence in the UK for the 5 years prior, and is required for all applicants. Is it sufficient to merely include a copy of the Permanent Residence stamp in one's passport as evidence, or does one need to again provide 5 years worth of council tax/bank/gas statements (as done for EEA4 application)?

- As a non-EEA family person already with Permanent Residence (sticker in passport), is it required to submit the EEA family member's Passport as well?

Thanks
Damian

[Amber]

Hi Folks

My wife (non-EEA family member) received her permanent residence sticker in her passport back in September 2012, so is planning to submit her BC application in September this year. Looking over the application form (Form AN), Booklet AN and Guide AN a few questions have arisen...which don't appear to be completely answered (or raised) in any threads on this site (that I can find - please correct me if I missed one).

Does anyone have any recommendations around the following questions at all?

- Can one submit the application for checking by the Passport Checking Service a month or so in advance (August in this case) of the date one officially needs to send it to UKBA (September), or will they refuse to perform the required checks until the "correct" date?

I think you mean the NCS, you need to ring them and ask.

- Question 1.7 in form AN states "Name at birth if different from above". Should this include maiden name with explanation then provided on pg 13 as requested in this question? Should a birth and marriage certificate be provided as evidence of this name change?

Yes include maiden name, the passport should show current name.

- Guide AN states "If you are a national of a member state of the EEA, or the family member of an EEA National, and do not have indefinite leave to remain in the United Kingdom you should complete these sections.". Question 2.4 - 2.6 is therefore not required by non-EEA family members if they already have a Permanent Residence sticker in their passport, right?

Yes if you have pr you can skip.

- Question 3.5 requests info regarding tax office address or tax office reference. All we have from the tax office is the P.O. Box address and not a physical address (or tax reference). Is this a potential problem?

The tax reference, is on HMRC letters as is the address.

- Section 5 requires two referees that are not related to each other. What if the referees are an unmarried couple, with different surnames, living together (same address) - is this still considered "unrelated" or does this raise questions that would disqualify one of them from standing as a referee?

I would get referees that are not living together in a relationship.

- Should the referees include any proof of their suitability to stand as referee, such as professional certificate and/or passport?

No, but read the form as it asks for their British passport number if they have one (on must).

- The "Supporting Documents" page at the end states that for section 3 one needs to provide evidence of lawful residence in the UK for the 5 years prior, and is required for all applicants. Is it sufficient to merely include a copy of the Permanent Residence stamp in one's passport as evidence, or does one need to again provide 5 years worth of council tax/bank/gas statements (as done for EEA4 application)?

Yes the passport is enough

- As a non-EEA family person already with Permanent Residence (sticker in passport), is it required to submit the EEA family member's Passport as well?

Thanks
Damian

[Plum70]

Damian, when did your wife automatically acquire PR? She can apply for BC one year after this date without going by the date her on her PR document - this was a formality and did not confer any rights she did not already have.

In section 1.3 you may enter the date of automatic PR acquisition and include an explanation in section 13 as to why this is.

To answer your questions:

Enter her full maiden name. Your marriage certificate should suffice to confirm this or an old passport in her maiden name or her birth certificate.

Your wife doesn't need to complete questions 2.4 - 2.6.

The supporting documents page is for your information and doesn't need to be included with the application. For residence her passport(s) (and PR doc.) should suffice as stated on there.

Lastly, are you also British? If so then as the spouse of a British Citizen who automatically acquired PR, your wife could immediately apply to naturalise without needing to satisfy the requirement to hold PR for one year. See: Naturalising as the spouse of a British Citizen.

[damianpfister]

@D419125:
Thanks for the quick answers, most of which confirm my own thoughts. Finding other referees might be tricky though, so perhaps I could include reference on pg 13 that although referees live together they are not related?
All HMRC letters for my wife only provide the PO Box for the tax office she is registered again. There is nothing on her P60 that adds more info to this unfortunately, which is strange as all my P60 and HMRC papers have this detail. Perhaps it is because she has been working as a temp for a few years now (through an agency).

@Plum70:
My wife acquired automatic PR in Feb 2012, however for us to have confirmed this would have been difficult as we bounced around between various places the first month or two (B&B's, hotels, etc). This is why we waited until July 2012 before submitting EEA4...which initially was declined due to lack of documentation, then resubmitted (with loads more info) and approved in September 2012.
If I state we are applying based on her February 2012 automatic PR status, I will have to again prove all the same stuff I proved with EEA4...which is painful (way too much documentation).
I am Swiss so don't have the quicker British route unfortunately.

[Plum70]

@Plum70:
My wife acquired automatic PR in Feb 2012, however for us to have confirmed this would have been difficult as we bounced around between various places the first month or two (B&B's, hotels, etc). This is why we waited until July 2012 before submitting EEA4...which initially was declined due to lack of documentation, then resubmitted (with loads more info) and approved in September 2012.
If I state we are applying based on her February 2012 automatic PR status, I will have to again prove all the same stuff I proved with EEA4...which is painful (way too much documentation).
I am Swiss so don't have the quicker British route unfortunately.

OK. If it is the case that not enough strong documentary evidence exists to apply using automatic PR acquisition, then go with the date PR was confirmed.

I know (knew) you are Swiss but was uncertain if you were also British as this would have meant your wife could apply to naturalise immediately. September is not far off anyway.