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my wife is Polish, she's been living in the UK for about 7 years now, she has had her residence card for 5 years. she would like to apply for a british passport but she does not know if she can as within those 7 years here she did not work for about 6 months about 4 years ago. first she was away from the country for 3 months and then she came back and it took her about two months and 3 weeks to find a job. is she still allowed to apply? please let me know.
also, is it possible for her to have a british passport and keep her polish nationality?
what is the first step to apply?

There is no particular requirement to be in employment (or to have been in employment) to apply for naturalisation. There is also no problem with short periods outside the UK during the qualifying period.

Are you a British citizen? In that case she can apply as the spouse of a British citizen, in which case it is only the most recent three years (not five) that are important.

The UKBA page on naturalisation is a good place to start to look at the specific requirements, and it also contains links to the naturalisation form.

As to retaining her Polish citizenship, it ought not to be a problem. There is certainly no problem as far as British law is concerned: she would not be required to renounce her existing citizenship(s). As I understand it, Poland would not remove her Polish citizenship if she naturalises as British, but it would continue to treat her as if she were solely Polish. So she ought to retain her Polish passport, renew it when it expires, enter and leave Poland using her Polish passport, and identify herself to Polish government employees and agencies as Polish. (This sort of thing is not unusual, and shouldn't pose any problems.) If in any doubt, she should make enquiries at the Polish Embassy in London and/or of a lawyer who is well-versed in Polish nationality law.

Christophe wrote:There is no particular requirement to be in employment (or to have been in employment) to apply for naturalisation. There is also no problem with short periods outside the UK during the qualifying period.

Are you a British citizen? In that case she can apply as the spouse of a British citizen, in which case it is only the most recent three years (not five) that are important.

The UKBA page on naturalisation is a good place to start to look at the specific requirements, and it also contains links to the naturalisation form.

As to retaining her Polish citizenship, it ought not to be a problem. There is certainly no problem as far as British law is concerned: she would not be required to renounce her existing citizenship(s). As I understand it, Poland would not remove her Polish citizenship if she naturalises as British, but it would continue to treat her as if she were solely Polish. So she ought to retain her Polish passport, renew it when it expires, enter and leave Poland using her Polish passport, and identify herself to Polish government employees and agencies as Polish. (This sort of thing is not unusual, and shouldn't pose any problems.) If in any doubt, she should make enquiries at the Polish Embassy in London and/or of a lawyer who is well-versed in Polish nationality law.

thanx for that information
im not english and also not eea and iam from africa

she has residence 5 years ago and invalid reidnece so she can live and work with it but we think it will be better to be uk citizen

mohamed82 wrote:my wife is Polish, she's been living in the UK for about 7 years now, she has had her residence card for 5 years. she would like to apply for a british passport but she does not know if she can as within those 7 years here she did not work for about 6 months about 4 years ago. first she was away from the country for 3 months and then she came back and it took her about two months and 3 weeks to find a job. is she still allowed to apply? please let me know.
also, is it possible for her to have a british passport and keep her polish nationality?
what is the first step to apply?

she cannot apply for British passport as she is not British
she first need to apply for British Citizenship
she will be able to keep her nationality but as said by Christophe, she will always remain Polish citizen for Polish government and on Polish soil
from what you said, she probably meets criteria to be able to apply for BC
so, please read general requirements (form AN1 and associated guide) and start with preparing herself to pass Life in the UK test - passing the test is vital requirement
the card you mention - from what you said about it being issued 5 years ago I guess it is a temporary residence card obtained after 1 year of working in the UK - if so this card means nothing for BC purposes

ukpl wrote:

mohamed82 wrote:my wife is Polish, she's been living in the UK for about 7 years now, she has had her residence card for 5 years. she would like to apply for a british passport but she does not know if she can as within those 7 years here she did not work for about 6 months about 4 years ago. first she was away from the country for 3 months and then she came back and it took her about two months and 3 weeks to find a job. is she still allowed to apply? please let me know.
also, is it possible for her to have a british passport and keep her polish nationality?
what is the first step to apply?

she cannot apply for British passport as she is not British
she first need to apply for British Citizenship
she will be able to keep her nationality but as said by Christophe, she will always remain Polish citizen for Polish government and on Polish soil
from what you said, she probably meets criteria to be able to apply for BC
so, please read general requirements (form AN1 and associated guide) and start with preparing herself to pass Life in the UK test - passing the test is vital requirement
the card you mention - from what you said about it being issued 5 years ago I guess it is a temporary residence card obtained after 1 year of working in the UK - if so this card means nothing for BC purposes

her RC is written ER reseidence permit for a national of member state of the EEC

date of issue: 26 july 2006
valid until : no date its empty

and she work an offciall job and she speaks english very well