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wifes british nationality qualifying period

Posted: Tue Jun 04, 2013 6:42 pm
by zeevirgo
Hi

My wife and i got ILR in may 2012....I completed 5 years on tier one and my wife complated 2 years as dependant for ILR and now I called harrow council for nationality checking service for nationality application.

she said you both must completed 5 years to quality for british registration
as far as i know after one year of ILR you can apply for british nationality.

but she is saying your wife is not eligible....

please advice what is rule...

thanks

Posted: Tue Jun 04, 2013 6:57 pm
by CR001
NCS is correct.

Your wife will only qualify with 3 years residence once you become a British Citizen, otherwise she needs 5 years residence.

The best way is for you to apply and once you have attended the ceremony and received your certificate, submit an application for your wife.

If you submit the application together, her application will only be decided once you are British, so UKBA will just hang onto her application until then.

Re: wifes british nationality qualifying period

Posted: Tue Jun 04, 2013 6:59 pm
by Amber
zeevirgo wrote:Hi

My wife and i got ILR in may 2012....I completed 5 years on tier one and my wife complated 2 years as dependant for ILR and now I called harrow council for nationality checking service for nationality application.

she said you both must completed 5 years to quality for british registration
as far as i know after one year of ILR you can apply for british nationality.

but she is saying your wife is not eligible....

please advice what is rule...

thanks
The NCS are pretty much right. As your spouse is not the spouse of a British Citizen at the time she applies she has to be resident in the the UK for at least 5 years. However, as you will be British (providing you meet the requirements) and are applying together there is some discretion to allow both of you to naturalize together (if she meets the requirements of a spouse/civil p of a British Citizen - 3 years resident, settled etc...) though, this is not guaranteed. Once you are naturalized she should be able to apply as the spouse of a British Citizen without requiring discretion.

Posted: Tue Jun 04, 2013 8:03 pm
by Jambo
Have you read the FAQ before posting?

See Q1 & Q2 in Citizenship FAQs - Common Questions - Read before posting.