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Hello,

my wife soon will receive British citizenship and she has an EEA Permanent Residence issue by UKBA. I am here on a EEA family permit and residence card.
Can I apply for a citizenship straight away after my wife receives it as the Citizenship guidance notes say that you can if you are married to British citizen, and you have to be in the country for 3 years before applying for a citizenship. I have been here for nearly 5 years now. Or do i have to get permanent Residence first. If i need to get PR first, then can I apply for Citizenship as soon as my Permanent Residence arrives from UKBA?

You need to have PR and a PR card before you apply. You should be aware that once your wife becomes a British citizen, she cannot be your EEA sponsor as the UK will no longer recognise her as an EEA citizen for immigration purposes, so it may be prudent to wait until you have acquired PR before she naturalises.

Once you have PR, and your wife is a British citizen, you can apply immediately.

chavybatman wrote:Hello,

my wife soon will receive British citizenship and she has an EEA Permanent Residence issue by UKBA. I am here on a EEA family permit and residence card.
Can I apply for a citizenship straight away after my wife receives it as the Citizenship guidance notes say that you can if you are married to British citizen, and you have to be in the country for 3 years before applying for a citizenship. I have been here for nearly 5 years now. Or do i have to get permanent Residence first. If i need to get PR first, then can I apply for Citizenship as soon as my Permanent Residence arrives from UKBA?

There's no UKBA anymore so that must be an old PR card your wife has.

Are you an EEA or non-EEA national?

If on EU migration route, you need to get a PR card before naturalising; you can't shorten the residency requirement to 3 years just because of marriage.

If your wife is sponsoring you don't let her naturalise until you have your PR card as BCs can't sponsor family members (except in special cases).