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Hi guys,

To clarify, I did search the forums first although I could not find the exact information I am looking for.

I am a Polish national living in the UK since 2005. Since Brexit is actually happening I decided to apply for the citizenship in order to not wake up one day and be asked to get out... I left it for bit too long to be honest but here I am and I need some advice.

I do have a Registration Certificate issued in 2008. Do I need to apply for a Permanent Residence Certificate before I apply for British Citizenship? If so, after receiving the Permanent Residence Certificate - do I need to wait another 12 months before I can apply for Citizenship?

I have been in the country for the last 12 years, does the Permanent Residence Certificate just confirms those 12 years and allows me to apply for Citizenship immediately, or do I need to wait 12 months from the date the certificate is issued?

I Hope someone can help and clarify, thanks!

Do I need to apply for a Permanent Residence Certificate before I apply for British Citizenship?

Yes, a Document Certifying PR is mandatory for citizenship since November 2015.

If so, after receiving the Permanent Residence Certificate - do I need to wait another 12 months before I can apply for Citizenship?

No, not if you attained PR as a qualified person after 5 years of exercising treaty rights. PR card issue date is not relevant here.

MrBishment wrote:No, not if you attained PR as a qualified person after 5 years of exercising treaty rights. PR card issue date is not relevant here.

Which confirms to me that as soon as I receive PR, I can start the Citizenship application process ?

Also, will PR be enough proof of me living in the UK for the last 6 years or will I have to produce more documentation to prove it?

And one more thing... Having PR, is obtaining Citizenship pretty straightforward for an EU citizen? As in, is there more effort in obtaining PR or Citizenship after PR has been granted in terms of documentation, etc?

MrBishment wrote:Which confirms to me that as soon as I receive PR, I can start the Citizenship application process ?

Also, will PR be enough proof of me living in the UK for the last 6 years or will I have to produce more documentation to prove it?

And one more thing... Having PR, is obtaining Citizenship pretty straightforward for an EU citizen? As in, is there more effort in obtaining PR or Citizenship after PR has been granted in terms of documentation, etc?

You don't 'receive PR'; if you haven't already acquired it its pointless applying for the confirmation which is all that DCPR is.
'PR' doesn't prove you have lived in UK for past 6 years at all.

Different requirements under different legislation.
Start by looking at the AN form, Guide and Booklet.

noajthan wrote:You don't 'receive PR'; if you haven't already acquired it its pointless applying for the confirmation which is all that DCPR is.
'PR' doesn't prove you have lived in UK for past 6 years at all.

CR001 said something quite opposite:

CR001 wrote:Yes, a Document Certifying PR is mandatory for citizenship since November 2015.

Also, if PR is acquired automatically after 5 years of living in the UK, then how is the certificate not a proof of the fact that I lived in the UK for the last 5 years... Seems bit illogical to me. Could you clarify, please?

CR001 wrote:Yes, a Document Certifying PR is mandatory for citizenship since November 2015.

That's correct. Although you may automatically acquire PR after being a qualified person for at least 5 years, the Document Confirming Permanant Residence is manatory for people under the EEA regulations wishisng to naturalise.

noajthan wrote:Different requirements under different legislation.
Start by looking at the AN form, Guide and Booklet.

That's correct.

To acquire PR, you may normally be absent for no more than six months per year. To maintain PR, you may be absent for no more than two continuous years.

Naturalisation have different requirements.

MrBishment wrote:CR001 said something quite opposite:

CR001 wrote:Yes, a Document Certifying PR is mandatory for citizenship since November 2015.

Also, if PR is acquired automatically after 5 years of living in the UK, then how is the certificate not a proof of the fact that I lived in the UK for the last 5 years... Seems bit illogical to me. Could you clarify, please?

No, we have said the same thing.
You, perhaps through woolly thinking about free movement and/or due to misinformation, have completely misunderstood as you seem to think you are 'applying for PR'.

You cannot and do not 'apply for PR'.

There are two aspects to permanent residence:

• 1) PR (status) is acquired automatically by fulfilling certain conditions.
  2) What one can apply for is an optional EU document called DCPR/PRC.

DCPR/PRC merely confirms whether someone has PR status. It does not confer that status.

The UK HO (for reasons best known to itself) has recently made the optional EU document a mandatory prerequisite for those on EU route who apply to naturalise.

Naturalisation has different requirements for residence and absence compared to requirements for acquiring PR.

Did I mention different legal frameworks.
Why would you expect alignment and coordination between EU law and UK domestic law?
Or even joined-up thinking?
You are dealing with Kafkaesque bureaucracy that has taken decades to evolve.
And an application for privilege of citizenship is not an action replay of an application to confirm PR.

You can acquire PR status by living in UK for perhaps 50% of time (even less in special circumstances).
Proudly present your DCPR in such a scenario and you will be refused citizenship as you cannot be absent for 50% of time under requirements for the privilege of citizenship.
Furthermore, DCPR does not prove you were physically present in UK 5 (or 3) years previously - another mandatory requirement when naturalising.
Nor does it prove that you were absent less than 90 days in last 12 months.

Its another common misunderstanding that PR relates to activity in past 5 years. Not necessarily so.
However the naturalisation process does count backwards from date of application - and reaches back 5 or 10 years for various questions.

Clearly some people can and do acquire PR and DCPR way back in the day - so a DCPR does not necessarily date from the past 5 years.

Suggest you check the AN requirements very carefully - before you risk your coin.

And don't take DCPR for granted.
As an A8 national you probably needed to register for WRS if a worker.
Or, if a student, CSI will have been required.
Make sure you had those ducks in a row first.

In simple layman's terms,

Acquiring PR is automatic. It need not be documented for most other processes that operate under EU law.

Naturalisation is very specifically under national law, not EU law. Therefore it can and does lay out very different requirements.

The naturalisation process requires a DCPR/PR Card to evidence PR status for the naturalisation application to be considered. It also has very different rules as regards absences, requirements to be physically present in the UK at specific times in the past, etc.