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Hello Everyone,
My partner is on a work assignment overseas(India) due to last 6 months (approx). She make a quick visit however that has now extended for a mid-long term assignment and that has hampered our plans.
Can she make an application from India, if possible?
Currently we fit the 90/450 day rule. My only worry if if the assignment concludes in Nov/Dec we need to wait another year to make a successful application.

On a side note, if above stated does not fit naturalization requirement, i may ask her to fly in couple of times for NCS application submission and biometrics. Lets say if this gets done in a months time (aprrox) can she continue staying in India after, hopefully Case office is only looking for time served in UK at the time of application and not after.

Any other way i can justify this case, if case we apply in Nov/Dec 2017 in the worst case?

P.S. She is employed in UK if that is relevant and paid UK wages for this period.

Thanks you in advance.

-Sridhar

The residence requirement only covers the period of time before application, but there is also the future intentions requirement for those who are not the spouse/civil partner of a British citizen. Is this a 6 month assignment or is it intended to be long-term/indefinite?

HI Jay, Thanks for coming back. The max duration is 6 months.
There are other implications, company policies, tax structure etc.. if my partner stays greater than 6 months, so i am certain that we are not looking for an extension in this case.

What do you reckon is the best possible route for us.

Thanks
Sridhar

Guide AN states that naturalisation applications get sent to the same place unless someone is in a Crown Dependency or British Overseas Territory. So it doesn't make any difference if your wife is in India or the U.K. when the application is made. She will have to declare her travel etc. and the Home Office may (or it may not) question whether she meets the future intentions requirement. If she has an established home in the United Kingdom, is continuing to pay U.K. tax it helps her case- however, nothing is guaranteed and the only way to know for sure is to make an application.

Is the intention for her to use her United Kingdom address and be prepared to return to the United Kingdom for a citizenship ceremony?

Once she becomes a British citizen this cancels her Indian citizenship- is she planning to apply for Overseas Citizenship of India? Also- are you planning to become British at the same time?

HI JAJ ( apologies i earlier referred you as Jay)

To answer specific qns - Yes - She and I jointly own a home here, have been living here for last 7 yrs.
Been employed for the same amount of time and paying taxes/NI.

Is the intention for her to use her United Kingdom address and be prepared to return to the United Kingdom for a citizenship ceremony?
Yes - As stated this is just a short term assignment.

Once she becomes a British citizen this cancels her Indian citizenship- is she planning to apply for Overseas Citizenship of India? Also- are you planning to become British at the same time?
She will apply for OCI.
I did submit my application earlier this month. We just need to apply for her.
Our baby already holds British passport.

Thanks
Sridhar

A naturalisation application made from abroad, especially when the spouse is not a British citizen, is likely to be scrutinized in much more depth.

When talking of taking the oath, the Nationality Instructions mention

Section 6.11.22.6, Chapter 6 of the Nationality Instructions wrote:We should normally agree to extend the deadline where:
• the applicant is temporarily abroad (Nb. If this is a naturalisation case under s.6(1) of the BNA 1981, any absence of 6 months or longer may affect the applicants ability to meet the future intentions requirement and the case should be referred to a Senior Caseworker)
...
6.11.22.12 CCST will not transfer naturalisation claims under s.6(1) as this will cast doubts about whether their future intentions lie in the UK. If a s.6(1) applicant states that they will be abroad for more than 6 months, CCST will refer the case to the appropriate Senior Caseworker to check whether the applicant satisfies the future intentions requirement.

While the relevant section is about the oath, you can see what the Nationality Instructions suggest about an absence of six months or more during the naturalisation process.

secret.simon wrote: While the relevant section is about the oath, you can see what the Nationality Instructions suggest about an absence of six months or more during the naturalisation process.

Although note that if the wife is traveling back to the U.K. in this time period (to see family, etc.) then it's not a six month absence, but a series of 2-3 month absences. I think it's already clear they are not going to ask for an overseas ceremony so that removes an additional complication.

I merely mean to suggest that if the Home office do become aware that the applicant is going to be absent from the UK for six months during the decision of the naturalisation application, that the case is likely to be escalated internally to a Senior Case Worker.

Such awareness is likely to occur if the applicant is abroad at the time of application.

If the OP's wife is definitely returning in six months, better to do the application when she is back.

In the past, applications from persons outside the United Kingdom and its territories had to be submitted to a British diplomatic post, from which they were forwarded to the Home Office. This is no longer the case. In other words- there is no specific concept of "applying outside the United Kingdom".

Other than declaring travel outside the United Kingdom, I am not sure if there's anything to add to the application and it would not be recommended to over-complicate things.

Waiting until after the completion of the assignment is not necessarily a good idea as the final year residence requirement will likely no longer be met.

Realistically- it is unusual for an application to be refused solely because of the future intentions requirement and in this case, there is no indication that the requirement would not be met.