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Hello All

Quite technical question,seems a bit tricky.

My wife and I first entered UK on 23rd December 2008,I as main applicant Under Tier 1 visa and she as dependant. She registered and left the country and returned back on 6th January 2011.Effectively she is here for 3 years and by next January when I want to apply for naturalisation it will be 4 years for her to be here continuously.

We both received our indefinite leave to remain on 12th December 2013.

I am going to apply for naturalisation on 12th December. There are 2 questions:

1. Will I be able to apply for my wife as I am not a British citizen yet, does the 3 years rule apply to her as a joint application or she has to wait for 5 years, or maybe I get naturalised first and she apply the day after I get the paper? What is the exact timing for that?

2. Again I received my IRL visa on 12th December 2013, when is the earliest I can send my documents for nationalisation? 28 days before this date or it has to be after 12th December?

Thanks for your time.

Best,

Brad

1. The moment you become British citizen your wife can apply as a spouse of BC provided that she has been resident in the UK for the last 3 years and holds ILR.
2. You can apply on December 12th and not before. There is no 28 day rule for naturalisation.
You have to have been resident in the UK for the last 5 years.

Thank you so much for the information.

Best,

Brad

i was jus thinking again, if this is the case, why they say married to british citizen for 3 years, by this it means 3 years after i get naturalized, at the moment i have ILR visa? do i make sense? i need some clarfification hear

brad1980 wrote:i was jus thinking again, if this is the case, why they say married to british citizen for 3 years, by this it means 3 years after i get naturalized, at the moment i have ILR visa? do i make sense? i need some clarfification hear

No, it is three years residence if married to a British Citizen at the time of applying. It does not matter how long you have been a British Citizen for, it is your status at the time of her application that matters for the 3 years.

thank you,but will it be the same case for us as we both entered as TIER 1 Visa, extended, received IRL, and now applying for naturalisation?
some clarification is HIGHLY appreciated please

best,
brad

If you apply together, your wife will need to meet the 5 year requirement in her own right.

She can only apply as spouse of BC once you are British, which means you would need to apply first, attend your ceremony and then she can apply using the 3 years residence requirement.

There is no 'family' application process for citizenship, each applicant has to meet the requirement individually. There is also no longer a reduced fee for married couples.

Thanks Char
my concern is she and I entered as Tier 1, she did not come as Spouse Visa but Tier1 partner? does it make any difference?
thanks again

No it does not matter that it was T1, the relevant detail is ILR and that you are British when she applies for naturalisation.

thanks a cosmos sir
all the best
Brad:)