NEED ADVICE on naturalisation

[raviyuka]

i came to UK on a permit free training visa in 2002
met my wife in UK in 2003 , got married in 2005
my wife is a British citizen, got HSMP in 2005
Changed to spouse visa in 2006 and 10 days ago i got my ILR.
completely legal stay through out without any blemish with respect to Law and maintained myself fully financially and paid NI for 6 years continous ! and still paying
when can i apply for Naturalisation and how long do you reckon its gonna take?
i do not have much absences from UK
i am sorry if my scenario has already been discussed elsewhere. Many thanks
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[vinny]

See also Requirements for naturalisation if you are married to or the civil partner of a British citizen. Suggest that you use the Nationality checking service when applying.

[raviyuka]

Am i right to assume that even when one is on a non settlement visa their stay is counted for naturalisation purposes.
sorry to ask again do you know how long does this process take ?

[sakura]

Am i right to assume that even when one is on a non settlement visa their stay is counted for naturalisation purposes.
sorry to ask again do you know how long does this process take ?

Any legal stay is counted, even visitor's visas.

The process can take anything from 4 weeks to 4 months...depends on how straightforward your application is and what nationality you hold.

[raviyuka]

Thanx for the reply Sakura .
i did not know that one's nationality had a bearing on the decision.
Sakura can i ask, if you have a reference which refers to one's nationality
before Naturalisation decisions are taken. my nationality is indian whereas my wife's japanese , will it make any difference ?
your advice appreciated. Many thanks

[sakura]

Thanx for the reply Sakura .
i did not know that one's nationality had a bearing on the decision.
Sakura can i ask, if you have a reference which refers to one's nationality
before Naturalisation decisions are taken. my nationality is indian whereas my wife's japanese , will it make any difference ?
your advice appreciated. Many thanks

I didn't mean they take nationality into consideration (I should have put it a different way!), and it doesn't matter if you are Indian or Thai or French. Sometimes they do background checks, whcih drags the process on for some weeks or months.

Also, if you have committed an offence a while back, they might want to check to ensure you haven't committed any offences since then.

That's all I meant. By the way, is your wife also planning to naturalise? If so, she would need to renounce her Japanese citizenship, as they do not permit dual nationality.

[raviyuka]

many thanks for your advice, Sakura san. my wife has already got british citizenship but i was trying to find out more about the matter of dual citizenship.
i didnt think this would be the right forum.i know japan doesnt recognise dual nationality but will she have to formally renounce her Japanese citizenship or will the embassy send a letter asking her to do it ?
Is there any way she can keep both without breaking any law ?
My another query is will she find it difficult to renew her
soon to expire japanese passport ? and any advantage in renewing in japan?

I would be grateful if you could advice.....by the way are you japanese becos your name's cherry blossom right !!

[John]

.i know japan doesnt recognise dual nationality but will she have to formally renounce her Japanese citizenship or will the embassy send a letter asking her to do it ?

There is no requirement as far as the UK is concerned. The UK is quite happy with people also having another nationality.

Is there any way she can keep both without breaking any law ?

That is a Japanese law matter, not a UK law one. Anyone with knowledge of Japanese Citizenship law able to comment?

[angkorgo99]

If a Japanese citizen takes on another citizenship, he or she is obliged to give up his or her Japanese citizenship. This is most easily done by sending in the passport to the Japanese Embassy or, as the case may be, surrendering it upon returning to Japan.
Many individuals, of course, break the law and don't tell the Japanese authorities that they have assumed another nationality. This is, however, illegal; and if caught will have their Japanese citizenship stripped from them and, quite possibly, be barred from entering Japan again (albeit in extreme circumstances).
Again, the UK -- like other Anglo-Saxon countries (other than the US) -- doesn't care about what citizenships you held before or after becoming British. The US, in contrast, requires individuals to give up previous citizenships upon becoming a US Citizen, but doesn't care a fig if they take on other citizenships after becoming a US Citizen... Go figure!
Hope this helps!

[JAJ]

Again, the UK -- like other Anglo-Saxon countries (other than the US) -- doesn't care about what citizenships you held before or after becoming British. The US, in contrast, requires individuals to give up previous citizenships upon becoming a US Citizen,

No it doesn't. New U.S. citizens are not required to provide evidence of having lost their previous citizenship.

[Christophe]

The US, in contrast, requires individuals to give up previous citizenships upon becoming a US Citizen, but doesn't care a fig if they take on other citizenships after becoming a US Citizen...

That's not right. It is true that on naturalizing as a US citizen, a person has to swear in front of the competent US authority to renounce all other allegiences, but the USA does not require that renunciation to be made formally (i.e. to the competent authority of the person's other citizenship). So if the other country allows its citizens to retain citizenship on taking up a new citizenship, the person becomes a dual citizen (whether he or she likes it or not).

The US accepts that this is the case, and although it requires its citizens (naturalised or natural-born) to present themselves at all times to the US authorities as a US citizen (e.g. by using a US passport to enter and leave the USA), it doesn't attempt to restrict or prevent dual citizens from using their other citizenship when outside the USA.

You're right about people retaining their US citizenship after naturalising as the citizen of another country: as long as the naturalisation was not done with the intention of losing US citizenship, then the US citizenship is retained unless specifically renounced to the US authorities.