Naturalization: ILR / PR needed or not?

[ukbaheadache]

History:

April 2010 - Move to the UK under tier 2 working for a company / sponsor.
November 2010 - Found another job and changed company/sponsor under tier 2
June 2013 - Made redundant and apply for EEA Visa
FEB 2014 - Got the EEA residency card and find a new job
It will be 5 years under the EEA card in Feb 2019.

Do I need to apply first for ILR / PR before naturalization or I can apply for BC immediately?

Regards

[CR001]

Do I need to apply first for ILR / PR before naturalization

Yes. PR if applying via the eea route providing your EU sponsor has been a qualified person exercising treaty rights for the 5 years you have held an eea rc.

or I can apply for BC immediately?

No you cannot. ILR or PR is mandatory before you can apply for citizenship. You also have to hold ILR or PR for 12 months before you can apply unless you are married to a British citizen.

[ukbaheadache]

Thanks for the prompt reply,
I am a bit confused because my wife who is french has a PR since Mai 2018 and for some reasons she can apply for BC (she has been a qualified person exercising treaty rights since 2011).
She doesn't need to hold PR for 12 months before she can apply.
Since i am a family member of an EU national, I was in the opinion that I have automatic PR status after 5 years of residency. Since I have lived here for approx 10 years, i don't need to wait for another 12 months.

"If you are a national of a country which is a member state of the European Economic Area or Switzerland, or the family member of such a person, you will automatically have permanent residence status after exercising EEA free movement rights in the UK for any continuous period of 5 years ending on or after 30 April 2006."
Thanks

[alterhase58]

You are correct in principle but you still need to hold a document certifying permanent resindec (DCPR). This is a requirement for naturalisation since 2015 (I believe). UKVI may reject applications without a DCPR. If you have been exercising treaty right for longer than six years you can then go straight for the AN application, with DCPR..

[AnotherUUID]

@alterhase58 is correct. Before ca. Nov 2015 one could skip the DCPR step and apply straight for BC, provided they supply all the evidence that they had "automatically" acquired permanent resident status and have held such status for at least 12 months. Which basically meant you'd have to provide the same evidence you would need for DCPR, in addition to anything else that may be required for BC.

However, as of ca. Nov 2015 the rules changed and having ILR / DCPR is now a requirement. Note that when applying for BC they will also consider your PR status as having begun from the date printed on the DCPR.

In some cases (e.g. mine) this could be the date of issue of the DCPR, which may well be later than when you "automatically" acquired PR status, or (e.g. a few people EEA I know) the DCPR you receive may be backdated, showing the date you "automatically" acquired PR. How exactly this is decided, I don't know.

[secret.simon]

Note that when applying for BC they will also consider your PR status as having begun from the date printed on the DCPR.

Not the date on the DCPR, but the date that is mentioned in the accompanying letter stating the date that you automatically acquired DCPR.

(e.g. a few people EEA I know) the DCPR you receive may be backdated, showing the date you "automatically" acquired PR. How exactly this is decided, I don't know.

Depends on what evidence you send to the Home Office with your DCPR application. The older the evidence (of five continuous years of exercising treaty rights), the further back in time the date on their system that you acquired PR.

[AnotherUUID]

Not the date on the DCPR, but the date that is mentioned in the accompanying letter stating the date that you automatically acquired DCPR.
...
Depends on what evidence you send to the Home Office with your DCPR application. The older the evidence (of five continuous years of exercising treaty rights), the further back in time the date on their system that you acquired PR.

Most curious! My letter of approval from 2014 only states:

Your document which is enclosed features an endorsement confirming your status. Also enclosed is an information leaflet.

and

You now have a right of permanent residence in the United Kingdom

along with some practical information wrt work, children, etc., but no specific date to indicate when I automatically acquired PR. I remember providing evidence for about 5y 7mo back from the date of application, but the only date I have is the date of issue on the DCPR which, not surprisingly, coincides with the date of the approval letter.

The latest Booklet AN (December 2018) does actually say that the date on the DCPR is the date of issue, which may be later than the date of acquiring PR. I also remember reading in some earlier revisions that that they would use the date printed on the DCPR. It makes perfect sense that this has now changed to what it really should be, but how can one know if they have not been provided with the exact date? Since I wasn't told any other date, I used this for my BC application.

Though I realise this is steering a bit off-topic...

[secret.simon]

Not the date on the DCPR, but the date that is mentioned in the accompanying letter stating the date that you automatically acquired DCPR.
...
Depends on what evidence you send to the Home Office with your DCPR application. The older the evidence (of five continuous years of exercising treaty rights), the further back in time the date on their system that you acquired PR.

Most curious! My letter of approval from 2014 only states:

Your document which is enclosed features an endorsement confirming your status. Also enclosed is an information leaflet.

and

You now have a right of permanent residence in the United Kingdom

along with some practical information wrt work, children, etc., but no specific date to indicate when I automatically acquired PR. I remember providing evidence for about 5y 7mo back from the date of application, but the only date I have is the date of issue on the DCPR which, not surprisingly, coincides with the date of the approval letter.

The Home Office changed the format of the DCPR letter about a year or so ago, well after the Brexit Referendum, to include the date on which PR is evidenced to have been acquired. Presumably that was meant to make it easier for EEA citizens to know when they would be eligible to apply for British citizenship.