Citizenship from spouse visa

[Amrit4386]

Hello, my wife arrived from India a couple of months ago and i was wondering what is the process of her gaining british citizenship? Does she have to sit some type of exam? Any info would be helpful. Thanks

[harv]

Hi Amrit

Assumptions:

You are UK citizen
Your wife is on the Spouse VISA - valid for 27 months

Once your wife complete 2 years here in the UK she can apply for ILR (Indefinite Leave to Remain in the UK). In fact you can apply 27 days before she completes her entire two years here in the UK (when she first arrived on the UK 2 year Spouse VISA) with you.

For further info go to: [http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/visas ... ettlement/]


The above application also requires that Knowledge of language and life in the UK is also completed by the applicant. This is an additional requirements that she will need to pass before applying for ILR. For further info [http://lifeintheuktest.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/]



Once she has got her ILR, she can apply for British citizenship after 1 year.


Hope this is helpful.

[Amrit4386]

Thanks Harv,
One other thing, is there some time frame in which she has to do the test by? i.e can she take the test a year before she applies for her ILR. Will the test certificate be valid?

Thanks in advance

[harv]

Hi Amrit

As far as I know, there is no expiry for this test and you can try it as many times as you like. They simply have a Pass or a Fail, so as long as you get a Pass all is fine.

Since your wife won't be applying for ILR until having completed 2 years in the UK, she can take the test any time in this 2 years duration. So that you are able to submit your application in time I would suggest you do not leave it to the last minute but their is no point rushing it either, your wife has a lot of time to be comfortable before taking the test.

[Amrit4386]

Sorry to bother you again Harv, but do you know how long these courses last and if u know any places to take the test in West London. Do they charge a fee for the courses?

Thanks

[harv]

Hi Amrit

To be honest with you I don't know.

I am not British by Birth so I also took this test around 7 years ago. I did not do any course but studied on my own for the test. Since I was studying in a University and my English is not that bad either. I was able to take the test with self study.

I read through the Life in the UK booklet that has all the content for the test, tests can be based on any part from these booklets. So if you wife is comfortable with English language, I think she could try to read through this booklet and check whether she feels comfortable with the exam or not.

I passed it the first time because the content is not that hard for someone residing in the UK for a few years. I am not sure how tough it might be for your wife since she may not have that much knowledge about the British culture and life. However I would recommend that you ask her to read through this booklet.

I am not sure where you can get the booklet, try to search online you might find a PDF (I did it through a free PDF). Or you might have to buy the book if it is available.