Questions regarding ilr and british citizenship

[hannah27]

Hi All

This site was invaluable to me when applying for my husbands marriage visa so im hoping u can help me with a few questions I have.

My husband is currently on a 2year spousal visa which expires november this year, we will then apply for ilr to remain.

My husband first came to england in 1999 as an asylum seeker and didnt leave the country again until 2007 when we went back to albania to get married, he was always known about in england and was never 'in the black', he used to sign in regulary with the Home Office, Now i know that you would normally have to wait another year on ilr before u can apply for British Citizenship but would my hubby be able to apply straight away as he had been in the country previous to us getting married even though he wasnt on a visa or anything?

Also once we hopefully have ilr, under what circumstances could this be revoked, not that im planning for anything to happen! but i am a worrier and would just like to know, im guessing it can be revoked if a crime is committed? would this include traffic offences?

Also how long does it roughly take between applying for citizenship and getting a passport and is there any reason as to why they might not give u citizenship?

Again sorry for all the questions but im a worrier and me and my hubby are wanting to start a family soon but the thought of him possibly having to go back if he doesnt get citizenship or ilr gets revoked makes me think that it is probably best to wait until he has citizenship before we bring children into it.

Thanks everyone

Hannah

[mirnat]

I think u are a bit too much of a worrier but best to be cautious I guess! My husband is also Albanian and has just recently (as from 26 March 2009) been granted ILR to remain here in the UK. He also came to the UK as an assylum seeker in 1998 and was caught by the police and removed back to Albania in November 2006. He came back to the UK on a 2 year spouse visa in March 2007 and applied in February 2009 for ILR which he's now got! I was told that he can only apply for naturalisation after residing legally in the UK for 3 years so his time beforehand as a failed assylum seeker doesn't count towards this so he will be applying in March next year for naturalisation.

I'm in a similar position to u in that we'd like to have a baby but are gonna wait until he has British citizenship. As for what can take ILR away - I know of a couple that got divorced after ILR was granted and it wasn't taken away. Dunno about criminal activities - I like to think my hubby is a good boy (as is yours I'm sure!) so I don't worry too much about that although I think he and I will be much more relaxed when he has a British passport cos it makes it easier to go on holiday if nothing else! Has your husband tackled the Life in the UK Test yet ready for ILR?

Well good luck with it all anyway and don't worry too much - these things have a way of working themselves out especially if ur a genuine couple and u provide all the paperwork the Home Office asks for!

[Emma84]

I'm a bit of worrier myself, I did so when I applied for ILR.

As for ILR being revoked, it can be revoked if it is found that you deceived the Home Office in your application by giving out false info, or if you leave the UK for more than a two year period. I think those are the main reasons why ILR would be revoked. They can't revoke it for things like traffic offences.

Once your hubby has ILR, he will be eligible to apply for naturalisation as soon as he has ILR, as he will have been here more than 3 years and you are married.

Here's a link to all the requirements to apply for nat as a spouse of a Brit citizen (I am assuming you are British correct?) http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/briti ... ofcitizen/

Hope that helps!

[mirnat]

Emma this is most useful information for me also but like with Hannah's husband I was under the impression that my husband cannot apply for naturalisation immediately upon receiving ILR as he would only have been legally resident in the UK for 2 years (i.e. on the 2 year spouse visa). My husband entered the UK with his spouse visa on 24th March 2007, got ILR on 26th March 2009 and has been told to wait one more year til next March to apply for ILR - this is cos he needs to be legally resident here to make up the residential qualifying period required for naturalisation. My husband has in fact been in the UK since 1998 but due to his assylum claim failing, he's only been legally resident since 2007 when he got his 2 year spouse visa so has to wait one more year.

When u look at the guidelines it says that a person cannot count time they have spent in the UK while exempt from immigration control (i.e. here illegally, not on any sort of visa) as part of the residential qualifying period and that they must have been in the United Kingdom legally throughout the residential qualifying period. The guidelines also go on to say that they may refuse a person's naturalisation application if they have breached the immigration laws during the residential qualifying period and that if that person came to the UK as an assylum applicant, they would be considered to be in breach of the immigration rules if their application for refugee status and any appeals were refused.

Like with Hannah my husband has only done 2 years out of the 3 needed for a qualifying residential period because although we are now married and he was in the UK previously, he was here illegally before we got married!

Perhaps someone can enlighten me, maybe I've got the rules wrong in which case my husband could apply for naturalisation now no?

[Emma84]

My apologies, I must have misread that part of both hannah's and your posts. Yes, both your husbands would need to wait to complete the three year qualifying period to apply for naturalisation. Just remember to bear in mind that the qualifying period starts from the date they were first here with a legally held visa, the HO get very fussy about these sorts of things.

Hannah, as to your question about how long it takes between applying for citizenship and getting a passport, it varies on the complexity of the case. I have ILR as a spouse currently, and have been waiting for about a month to hear if the HO has approved my naturalisation app. As an educated guess, it can take anywhere from 3 to 7 months, occassionally longer for really complex cases.

The HO denies around 10% of naturalisation applications, usually for things such as being in breach of immigration law during the 3 year qualifying period, which as I understand your posts, your husbands haven't.