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Is my wife and children eligible for Naturalisation
Posted: Wed Jan 06, 2016 6:06 am
by tier1_to_ilr
Hi,
I am applying for naturalisation this month. I am eligible but not sure if my wife and 2 kids are eligible. They were born abroad. They were in UK until Nov 2009 (except my daughter who is born in March 2011) and came back in March 2012 as Tier 1 dependent. And in Nov 2013 we all got ILR. They have independent ILR, I believe.
Are they eligible for Naturalisation with me based on 3 years co-habitation rule? Since they were not in UK 5 years ago, will that stop them from applying?
Any other suggestion while applying?
Please help.
Re: Is my wife and children eligible for Naturalisation
Posted: Wed Jan 06, 2016 6:53 am
by vinny
Children,
yes.
Wife,
after you are British.
Re: Is my wife and children eligible for Naturalisation
Posted: Wed Jan 06, 2016 6:59 am
by tier1_to_ilr
vinny wrote:Children,
yes.
Wife,
after you are British.
Hi Vinny,
Thanks for your reply. But can my wife apply with me. And they can process both applications together. If mine is successful then they can consider her.
Re: Is my wife and children eligible for Naturalisation
Posted: Wed Jan 06, 2016 7:26 am
by ScopeD
tier1_to_ilr wrote:vinny wrote:Children,
yes.
Wife,
after you are British.
Hi Vinny,
Thanks for your reply. But can my wife apply with me. And they can process both applications together. If mine is successful then they can consider her.
No, your wife cannot apply with you because she does not currently fulfill the requirements. Once your application has been approved, she can then apply as a wife of a British citizen.
Re: Is my wife and children eligible for Naturalisation
Posted: Wed Jan 06, 2016 9:24 am
by tier1_to_ilr
ScopeD wrote:tier1_to_ilr wrote:vinny wrote:Children,
yes.
Wife,
after you are British.
Hi Vinny,
Thanks for your reply. But can my wife apply with me. And they can process both applications together. If mine is successful then they can consider her.
No, your wife cannot apply with you because she does not currently fulfill the requirements. Once your application has been approved, she can then apply as a wife of a British citizen.
Thanks a lot. That is quite helpful information.
Re: Is my wife and children eligible for Naturalisation
Posted: Thu Jan 14, 2016 4:57 pm
by tier1_to_ilr
Can I ask one more question. If my wife is not yet eligible for naturalisation, how come my children who are born abroad and came with her in 2012 can apply registration. I tried to read
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/s ... r_2015.pdf But too complex.
Re: Is my wife and children eligible for Naturalisation
Posted: Thu Jan 14, 2016 5:10 pm
by noajthan
tier1_to_ilr wrote:Can I ask one more question. If my wife is not yet eligible for naturalisation, how come my children who are born abroad and came with her in 2012 can apply registration. I tried to read
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/s ... r_2015.pdf But too complex.
Wife needs to be BC or have ILR & naturalising.
Then you can apply to register minors with her, in a joint
'family' application;
or else naturalise wife first then register minors in a follow up application.
Minors born abroad, as in your case, register at Home Secretary's discretion under Section 3(1) of BNA; use form MN1.
Re: Is my wife and children eligible for Naturalisation
Posted: Fri Jan 15, 2016 3:01 am
by tier1_to_ilr
Hi,
Can someone with similar experience as mine, tell what was result of registration application for children.
Just to summarise - only father eligible for naturalisation, kids born abroad and living in UK with ILR for last more than 2 years and 4 years with tier1+ILR.
Re: Is my wife and children eligible for Naturalisation
Posted: Fri Jan 15, 2016 8:36 am
by noajthan
tier1_to_ilr wrote:Hi,
Can someone with similar experience as mine, tell what was result of registration application for children.
Just to summarise - only father eligible for naturalisation, kids born abroad and living in UK with ILR for last more than 2 years and 4 years with tier1+ILR.
I just advised you: wait for wife to have ILR & to be applying to naturalise.
(It doesn't matter by what route ILR is obtained).
That gives minors (born abroad before parents were settled in UK) the
best chance of registration because their registration is at
Home Secretary's discretion.
Discretion means discretion! Apart from death, taxes (& annual Home Office fee increases) there are no guarantees or certainties in life.
It is same type of case for my family; I aligned with the guidance, understood & ensured full compliance with the rules - & citizenship was granted by the
Home Secretary's discretion.
Re: Is my wife and children eligible for Naturalisation
Posted: Wed Mar 09, 2016 2:06 pm
by tier1_to_ilr
Hi,
I received my approval letter today. Can I apply for my wife and kids now? I am yet to do the ceremony.
Re: Is my wife and children eligible for Naturalisation
Posted: Wed Mar 09, 2016 2:28 pm
by ohara
No, you are not British until you have taken the ceremony

Re: Is my wife and children eligible for Naturalisation
Posted: Sun Mar 13, 2016 2:28 pm
by tier1_to_ilr
Thanks for replies. I am going for a private ceremony tomorrow to speed things up. My wife and children are fillling the form. Under section 3 of MN1 for children which subsection is applicable for children abroad to parents born abroad but recently acquired citizenship by naturalisation.
Re: Is my wife and children eligible for Naturalisation
Posted: Sun Mar 13, 2016 2:55 pm
by CR001
tier1_to_ilr wrote:Thanks for replies. I am going for a private ceremony tomorrow to speed things up. My wife and children are fillling the form. Under section 3 of MN1 for children which subsection is applicable for children abroad to parents born abroad but recently acquired citizenship by naturalisation.
Section 3 is not relevant to your circumstances. It does not say what you have said it says.
Re: Is my wife and children eligible for Naturalisation
Posted: Sun Mar 13, 2016 4:05 pm
by tier1_to_ilr
CR001 wrote:tier1_to_ilr wrote:Thanks for replies. I am going for a private ceremony tomorrow to speed things up. My wife and children are fillling the form. Under section 3 of MN1 for children which subsection is applicable for children abroad to parents born abroad but recently acquired citizenship by naturalisation.
Section 3 is not relevant to your circumstances. It does not say what you have said it says.
Thanks CR001. Another small query - what should I be writing answer for below question?
Section 1 - Personal Information
1.1 Please indicate the section of the British Nationality Act 1981 under which you would like the application considered. See Chapter 2 of the guide for details.
Re: Is my wife and children eligible for Naturalisation
Posted: Sun Mar 13, 2016 4:41 pm
by CR001
If your children were born abroad, then it is a Section 3(1) application (they need ILR for this).
If your children were born in the UK then it is a Section 1(3) application (they do not need ILR for this).