10 years employment history British citizenship application

Hello everyone, please I need your help with my application, I don't know where to start.

In 2016, I was due to apply for my permanent residence which was refused because of comprehensive sickness insurance, but in January 2019 I got the settled status.

I was wrongly advise by someone that I needed test of English language and life in UK test while I was applying for my PR in 2016 but the application wasn't successful.

I am now due to apply for my British Citizenship at the end of January, could please advice me if I can still use both the certificate for my application or I need to do another one. I got both certificates in 2016.

Furthermore, I would like to know every other document and everything I will need to make a successful application.

Thank you so much for your time.

LIUK test is fine as it doesn’t expire. You’ll have to redo the B1 English test at an approved test centre as you have not used the certificate in a previous successful application.

Thanks Amber, I really appreciate your reply, could you please help me on steps I need to take to make a successful application.

Miss A wrote: ↑

Thu Jan 16, 2020 9:38 am

Thanks Amber, I really appreciate your reply, could you please help me on steps I need to take to make a successful application.

The application process for citizenship is fairly straightforward compared to immigration applications.

You will need (full details here):

• ✓ LITUK
• Proof of knowledge English
• Two referees to support your application - one must be a British citizen, the other can be of any nationality but they must have professional standing. Both referees must have known you for at least 3y. You must not be related to either or them and they must not be related to each other.
• Evidence of residency in the UK for the 5y immediately prior to the application date (P60s or payslips should suffice, see Guide AN).
• You must have been physically present in the UK on the same day 5y before the application (e.g. if your application is on 31/01/2020, you must have been in the UK on 31/01/2015)
• ✓ At least 12mo of settled status prior to application
• No more than 450 days away during the last 5y from the date of the application
• No more than 90 days away during the last 12mo from the date of the application

Applications are done online.

Make sure your referees have already agreed to this before you apply as you will need their personal details for the application form and each of them will need to physically sign off a referee form.

You will also need to fill in any dates you went out of the UK and came back in. If unsure, you may be able to make an SAR request to UKVI to see what information they have on you wrt away dates.

It's difficult to give general advice on the "steps you need to take to make a successful application" as everyone's circumstances may be different. But if you have specific questions feel free to ask.

AnotherUUID wrote: ↑

Thu Jan 16, 2020 11:51 am

Miss A wrote: ↑

Thu Jan 16, 2020 9:38 am

Thanks Amber, I really appreciate your reply, could you please help me on steps I need to take to make a successful application.

The application process for citizenship is fairly straightforward compared to immigration applications.

You will need (full details here):

• ✓ LITUK
• Proof of knowledge English
• Two referees to support your application - one must be a British citizen, the other can be of any nationality but they must have professional standing. Both referees must have known you for at least 3y. You must not be related to either or them and they must not be related to each other.
• Evidence of residency in the UK for the 5y immediately prior to the application date (P60s or payslips should suffice, see Guide AN).
• You must have been physically present in the UK on the same day 5y before the application (e.g. if your application is on 31/01/2020, you must have been in the UK on 31/01/2015)
• ✓ At least 12mo of settled status prior to application
• No more than 450 days away during the last 5y from the date of the application
• No more than 90 days away during the last 12mo from the date of the application

Applications are done online.

Make sure your referees have already agreed to this before you apply as you will need their personal details for the application form and each of them will need to physically sign off a referee form.

You will also need to fill in any dates you went out of the UK and came back in. If unsure, you may be able to make an SAR request to UKVI to see what information they have on you wrt away dates.

It's difficult to give general advice on the "steps you need to take to make a successful application" as everyone's circumstances may be different. But if you have specific questions feel free to ask.

Thank you so much for the explanation, I do really appreciate it. Please what does SAR means.

Miss A wrote: ↑

Thu Jan 16, 2020 12:24 pm

Thank you so much for the explanation, I do really appreciate it. Please what does SAR means.

Sorry, my bad. SAR is short for Subject Access Request, the formal way of exercising your right to request the information that an entity holds about you. Of course, there are exceptions (e.g. national security, etc) under which some of the data may be withheld from the SAR to HO but you should be able to receive a copy of all data that doesn't fall into these exceptions, depending on the type of SAR you make.

How to do an SAR to the Home Office is explained here.

AnotherUUID wrote: ↑

Thu Jan 16, 2020 12:32 pm

Miss A wrote: ↑

Thu Jan 16, 2020 12:24 pm

Thank you so much for the explanation, I do really appreciate it. Please what does SAR means.

Sorry, my bad. SAR is short for Subject Access Request, the formal way of exercising your right to request the information that an entity holds about you. Of course, there are exceptions (e.g. national security, etc) under which some of the data may be withheld from the SAR to HO but you should be able to receive a copy of all data that doesn't fall into these exceptions, depending on the type of SAR you make.

How to do an SAR to the Home Office is explained here.

Thanks a lot for your help.

Could anyone please help me to answer this question, I arrived in UK almost 10years ago(August 2010), but I didn't start work until November 2014 and I only work 10hours a week, therefore I don't pay any tax.

My question is will I be qualify for British citizenship if I applied, am afraid of wasting my money.

Thank you.

Simply complete the form with the employment you have done.

Being employed is not a mandatory requirement for citizenship.

CR001 wrote: ↑

Thu May 14, 2020 7:06 am

Simply complete the form with the employment you have done.

Being employed is not a mandatory requirement for citizenship.

Thank you very much for your reply, I do really appreciate it. I can now go ahead with my application.

Please I need urgent help regarding naturalisation with settled status, I found the below article on a website Google recommended on my phone and I think this might be obstacle for my application, because my husband doesn't have CSI while he was studying. I qualified for ilr under settled status.
Please help me by reading the below text I copied.





It just got more difficult for Europeans to become British citizens
The Home Office has decided to make it more difficult for European residents to become British citizens. EU citizens with settled status who apply for naturalisation may now have to provide evidence that they have been living in the UK legally, according an update to government nationality policy released on 15 May.

One of the requirements for naturalisation as a British citizen is to have lived in the UK for five years (or three years if married to a Brit). Time living here in breach of UK immigration law doesn’t count. The Home Office has long taken the view that EU citizens physically present in the UK but who do not have a right of residence under EU law are in breach of UK immigration law. Unknowingly lacking a right to reside is surprisingly common — many people without comprehensive sickness insurance were caught out by this in the past.
Naturalising as a British citizen: a guide
Full guide to the requirements and process for naturalising as a British citizen, including where the Home Office will show flexibility and where not. Case studies included throughout.


Because of Brexit, European residents and their family members have been offered immigration status under UK law (instead of EU law). Getting the new “settled status” does not require proof of a previous right to reside — it is mostly based on simple presence in the UK.

But when people with settled status come to apply for citizenship, the Home Office is now saying that the right to reside issue must be dealt with in their application. Simply having settled status is not enough, in this context. Settled status will serve as proof of being free of immigration time restrictions (another of the naturalisation requirements) but will not do in terms of showing that the person’s residence up to the point of getting settled status was in accordance with immigration law.

The updated guidance says:

An EEA or Swiss citizen or their family members who have a 5 years’ continuous qualifying period of residence in the UK and Islands when they apply to the EU Settlement Scheme will be eligible for settled status… However, this grant of settled status (also know as indefinite leave to enter or remain) will not confirm that they were here lawfully under the EEA Regulations during that time, as defined by the British Nationality Act 1981 as this is not a requirement of the EU Settlement Scheme. You may therefore need to request further information from the applicant to demonstrate this.

The EEA Regulations contain the detailed rules on how EU free movement law operates in the UK.

The guidance goes on to tell officials:

You must assess whether the individual has been here lawfully during their 3 or 5 year residential period prior to pre-settled status or settled status, by considering on the balance of probabilities whether they were here:

as a qualified person (such as a worker, student, self-employed, selfsufficient, retired or incapacitated person)
as the family member of such a person.
Evidence of this can include API data or documents previously submitted to satisfy their lawful residence. Where appropriate, you must also be satisfied that the person was lawfully in the UK, with comprehensive sickness insurance (CSI).

None of this appeared in previous editions of the naturalisation policy.

Later on, the document does suggest that there is discretion to overlook some technical breaches of the EEA Regulations:

Following the introduction of the EU Settlement Scheme you may increasingly see applications from EEA or Swiss nationals who have not fully complied with additional requirements under the EEA regulations, such as having comprehensive sickness insurance where they needed it, and who may therefore have been in breach of immigration law. When considering such applications you should take into account all the facts surrounding such a breach and make a full assess[m]ent about whether discretion should be exercised in their favour.

On exercising discretion, the policy suggests that being in breach of the EEA Regulations is not as bad as entering the UK illegally or overstaying on a visa. But Europeans — assuming they are aware of their precise legal status in the first place — will have to “provide sufficient evidence to justify discretion being exercised in their favour”. The effect will be to make it more difficult for EU citizens to become British than if settled status were simply accepted as evidence of having been lawfully resident.

By contrast, if the person has previously secured a permanent residence card, that will — unlike settled status — serve as proof of five years’ lawful residence.

It should also be possible to rely on residence since being granted pre-settled or settled status without supporting evidence. The policy says that “once granted pre-settled status, [citizenship applicants] will not need to demonstrate that they were exercising a treaty right”. Compliance with the EEA Regulations is relevant to “residence prior to the grant of pre-settled status, or settled status”.


The issue will also affect citizens of Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Switzerland.

Miss A wrote: ↑

Tue May 19, 2020 12:59 am

Please I need urgent help regarding naturalisation with settled status, I found the below article on a website Google recommended on my phone and I think this might be obstacle for my application, because my husband doesn't have CSI while he was studying. I qualified for ilr under settled status.

I'm confused. What does your husband have to do with your application? Your application will be judged based on your circumtances - not your husband's.

Miss A wrote: ↑

Tue May 19, 2020 12:59 am

The Home Office has long taken the view that EU citizens physically present in the UK but who do not have a right of residence under EU law are in breach of UK immigration law. Unknowingly lacking a right to reside is surprisingly common — many people without comprehensive sickness insurance were caught out by this in the past.

Another forum member, RichardW, and I have had an extensive debate from an unprofessional (at least myself, I'm not a lawyer) perspective and, purely by reading the chain of policies stated in the relevant Acts, reached the same conclusion. We speculated whether HO will waive the seemingly obvious breach of immigration rules for EU citizens without CSI. At the time HO had no explicit guidance on the matter, but it appears we were right and HO has identified this.

I can confirm that the article you quoted (wherever it came from) is actually right. The Nationality Guidance (Naturalisation as a British citizen by discretion) (as of 15 May 2020) now officially states:

However, this grant of settled status (also know as indefinite leave to enter or remain) will not confirm that they were here lawfully under the EEA Regulations during that time, as defined by the British Nationality Act 1981as this is not a requirement of the EU Settlement Scheme.You may therefore need to request further information from the applicant to demonstrate this. The naturalisation application form (Form AN) asks for information to confirm the applicant was lawfully in the UK for the relevant 3 or 5year qualifying period.

It goes on to confirm that proof of CSI is required for time during the qualifying period spent as a student or self sufficient.

@MIss A, what were your circumstances in the past 5 years? You say you started work in November 2014. Irrespective of how much you work or how much you earn, what matters is whether you are employed? If you are an employee your residence since 2014 (which already spans a 5y qualifying period) should be considered lawful. Continuous time spent in employment should retain your right of residence in the UK and you shouldn't need to have had a comprehensive sickness insurance for this period.

AnotherUUID wrote: ↑

Tue May 19, 2020 1:00 pm

Miss A wrote: ↑

Tue May 19, 2020 12:59 am

Please I need urgent help regarding naturalisation with settled status, I found the below article on a website Google recommended on my phone and I think this might be obstacle for my application, because my husband doesn't have CSI while he was studying. I qualified for ilr under settled status.

I'm confused. What does your husband have to do with your application? Your application will be judged based on your circumtances - not your husband's.

Miss A wrote: ↑

Tue May 19, 2020 12:59 am

The Home Office has long taken the view that EU citizens physically present in the UK but who do not have a right of residence under EU law are in breach of UK immigration law. Unknowingly lacking a right to reside is surprisingly common — many people without comprehensive sickness insurance were caught out by this in the past.

Another forum member, RichardW, and I have had an extensive debate from an unprofessional (at least myself, I'm not a lawyer) perspective and, purely by reading the chain of policies stated in the relevant Acts, reached the same conclusion. We speculated whether HO will waive the seemingly obvious breach of immigration rules for EU citizens without CSI. At the time HO had no explicit guidance on the matter, but it appears we were right and HO has identified this.

I can confirm that the article you quoted (wherever it came from) is actually right. The Nationality Guidance (Naturalisation as a British citizen by discretion) (as of 15 May 2020) now officially states:

However, this grant of settled status (also know as indefinite leave to enter or remain) will not confirm that they were here lawfully under the EEA Regulations during that time, as defined by the British Nationality Act 1981as this is not a requirement of the EU Settlement Scheme.You may therefore need to request further information from the applicant to demonstrate this. The naturalisation application form (Form AN) asks for information to confirm the applicant was lawfully in the UK for the relevant 3 or 5year qualifying period.

It goes on to confirm that proof of CSI is required for time during the qualifying period spent as a student or self sufficient.

@MIss A, what were your circumstances in the past 5 years? You say you started work in November 2014. Irrespective of how much you work or how much you earn, what matters is whether you are employed? If you are an employee your residence since 2014 (which already spans a 5y qualifying period) should be considered lawful. Continuous time spent in employment should retain your right of residence in the UK and you shouldn't need to have had a comprehensive sickness insurance for this period.

Thank you very much for your reply,it means a lot to me.Does that means the csi only applies to EU citizen only, not their family members who acquire ilr through settled status.

Miss A wrote: ↑

Tue May 19, 2020 5:15 pm

Thank you very much for your reply,it means a lot to me.Does that means the csi only applies to EU citizen only, not their family members who acquire ilr through settled status.

No. I might be wrong, but as far as I'm aware, CSI applies to everyone who is resident in the UK via an EEA route, including partners and family members of EEA nationals, for time spent as students or self-sufficient.

What I meant is that your husband's circumstances regarding his CSI don't necessarily affect your own circumstances. As far as I'm aware, partners and family members of EEA nationals can either be included on a shared CSI policy with their sponsor (where possible) or they can be responsible for making their own CSI arrangements. This means that if you had your own CSI arrangements then you should be fine, irrespective of whether your husband did or not. Note that this also means that if your husband did have CSI, it doesn't necessarily mean that you did too. EHIC cards, for example, are personal and only cover the person named on the card - not their dependents. Unless the issuing country has separate arrangements (if that's even possible).

I'm not first-hand familiar with EEA family member requirements, so please don't take my views as a fact - just my personal view on the matter.

As you've been working since Nov 2014, as long as you can prove that, you shouldn't need to provide CSI for this period. This also falls into the 5y "lawful residence" requirement.

Now, this may be tricky regarding the good character requirement (GCR) which looks at your immigration history for the 10y prior to the application date. Since this 10y period covers some years before Nov 2014 when you started work, as an EEA family member resident, I suspect you too will have been required to have CSI for periods spent as self-sufficient or a student.

Unfortunately, as I shared in another post there doesn't appear to be any clear information as to whether HO will treat lack of CSI for EEA nationals (or their dependents) as breach of immigration law, or if they will exercise discretion in favour of the applicant, or if they will disregard the fact altogether when it comes to GCR. It also isn't clear when assessing the GCR if they will only consider CSI requirements for the 5y period prior to the application or the full 10y immigration history.

I'm afraid this is as far as I am able to understand the current situation of EEA nationals and their dependents. Perhaps somebody else can step in too, especially when it comes to the GCR.

Again, I might be wrong.

AnotherUUID wrote: ↑

Tue May 19, 2020 6:55 pm

Miss A wrote: ↑

Tue May 19, 2020 5:15 pm

Thank you very much for your reply,it means a lot to me.Does that means the csi only applies to EU citizen only, not their family members who acquire ilr through settled status.

No. I might be wrong, but as far as I'm aware, CSI applies to everyone who is resident in the UK via an EEA route, including partners and family members of EEA nationals, for time spent as students or self-sufficient.

What I meant is that your husband's circumstances regarding his CSI don't necessarily affect your own circumstances. As far as I'm aware, partners and family members of EEA nationals can either be included on a shared CSI policy with their sponsor (where possible) or they can be responsible for making their own CSI arrangements. This means that if you had your own CSI arrangements then you should be fine, irrespective of whether your husband did or not. Note that this also means that if your husband did have CSI, it doesn't necessarily mean that you did too. EHIC cards, for example, are personal and only cover the person named on the card - not their dependents. Unless the issuing country has separate arrangements (if that's even possible).

I'm not first-hand familiar with EEA family member requirements, so please don't take my views as a fact - just my personal view on the matter.

As you've been working since Nov 2014, as long as you can prove that, you shouldn't need to provide CSI for this period. This also falls into the 5y "lawful residence" requirement.

Now, this may be tricky regarding the good character requirement (GCR) which looks at your immigration history for the 10y prior to the application date. Since this 10y period covers some years before Nov 2014 when you started work, as an EEA family member resident, I suspect you too will have been required to have CSI for periods spent as self-sufficient or a student.

Unfortunately, as I shared in another post there doesn't appear to be any clear information as to whether HO will treat lack of CSI for EEA nationals (or their dependents) as breach of immigration law, or if they will exercise discretion in favour of the applicant, or if they will disregard the fact altogether when it comes to GCR. It also isn't clear when assessing the GCR if they will only consider CSI requirements for the 5y period prior to the application or the full 10y immigration history.

I'm afraid this is as far as I am able to understand the current situation of EEA nationals and their dependents. Perhaps somebody else can step in too, especially when it comes to the GCR.

Again, I might be wrong.

Thank you so much for taking your time to explain this to me, I came to UK with 6months visa from EEA country in August 2010, I am thinking maybe I should wait till September before I submit my application, and hope home office might consider my application through 10year rule. Please let me know what you think about it.
Furthermore, I had a baby in 2012, and in 2013 I started a course,which was 3years long,because I did NVQ 1 to 3. Immediately after this course I started another professional course which am still on the 4th level now.