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Hello Guys,

Do we have to wait for exactly 12 months on ILR (after the 5 years residency period) to apply for citizenship?
Or can it be a little bit earlier? 9 months for example on ILR - free of immigration restriction.

As per document: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/s ... 141212.pdf

7.5 Discretion to disregard immigration time restrictions in the final 12
months may normally be exercised if:

d- the period of limited leave was between 10 and 90 days at the
beginning of the 12 month period, if other statutory
requirements, including the other residence requirements, are
met and the applicant has demonstrated established links
through the presence here of home, family and a substantial part
of estate;

Any thoughts about that?

Thanks.

minaminou wrote: 7.5 Discretion to disregard immigration time restrictions in the final 12 months may normally be exercised if:

d- the period of limited leave was between 10 and 90 days at the beginning of the 12 month period, if other statutory
requirements, including the other residence requirements, are met and the applicant has demonstrated established links through the presence here of home, family and a substantial part of estate;

Any thoughts about that?

Thanks.

What was your period of limited leave before ILR?

Also. If you could show the bold part then sure, apply and ask for discretion, but still it will be upon discretion by Caseworker.

Personally I'd not risk it and wait for 12 months of ILR to be completed (if not married to British Citizen). But then again, if you own a substantial part of an estate, then you wouldn't worry about spending £1005 twice.

Reading that, there do appear instances where discretion is allowed, on the 12 month requirement to be free from immigration time restrictions. I'd personally be vary of going down this road of discretion with statements such as that below, which you would need to demonstrate with evidence.

and the applicant has demonstrated established links through the presence here of home, family and a substantial part of estate.

Note however, the key point here is that discretion would need to be applied. Unlike if you applied after the 12 month period where no discretion is required. Is there any particular reason why you need/want to apply early?

As far as my understanding is "a substantial part of estate" means basically owning a house or a property.

So, I thought I can cut short the waiting time by 3 months, it would be nice

Also another point to mention would be:

a. at the date of application, the applicant has had less than 12 months free of conditions but has been free of conditions for more than 12 months by the time the application is considered, provided the other requirements are met; or


by looking at the waiting time and when the applications are being considered, I think I might even fall into the above as well...

Anyway, if it's risky..then I would surely wait.
Let me know your thoughts

Thanks.

One house for me isn't substantial, as anyone can own by paying least amount and rest on Mortgage, unless its in millions, lol.

For me discretion is always a risk. Depends upon Caseworker's view and judgement of your application etc. You can take the risk like I said, if you aren't worried about fees etc.

Having said that, I took this risk when I applied for my born-abroad daughter's MN1, which was with my own AN last year. But she is less than four years old so we both got approved. But for my own application, I made sure I was 12 months and few weeks over, after ILR. Good luck.

minaminou wrote:As far as my understanding is "a substantial part of estate" means basically owning a house or a property.

So, I thought I can cut short the waiting time by 3 months, it would be nice

Also another point to mention would be:

a. at the date of application, the applicant has had less than 12 months free of conditions but has been free of conditions for more than 12 months by the time the application is considered, provided the other requirements are met; or


by looking at the waiting time and when the applications are being considered, I think I might even fall into the above as well...

Anyway, if it's risky..then I would surely wait.
Let me know your thoughts

Thanks.

Applying for anything on the basis of discretion will always have an element of risk associated as you are then requesting for an exception to be considered; the level of risk will vary on individual circumstances. As you say the second scenario you have highlighted above is also another instance where discretion may be applied. Whether you decide to go down this path, is ultimately a personal choice. My stance personally is to go down the simplest route where possible. Least amount of supporting documentation that's required the better in my view. The more straightforward an application is the less work involved for both applicant & caseworker (& also less likely for additional delays to occur as a result of requests for more evidence). So unless there is an absolute need to request discretion I personally would not. I have seen such instances on this forum, but the one here to apply a couple of months early in my personal view isn't worth it. But again, it is only my personal view.

Thanks guys for your feedback.

Appreciated as ever.