Can I apply for British Citizenship? 3 Years Residency

[sanky_001]

Dear All,

I am a spouse of British Citizen.

I came to the UK on a Family visa on 9th April, 2012 and departed on 22nd April, 2012 (13days).

I moved to the UK on a Spouse Visa on 7th August, 2012 and I am currently holding ILR.

To apply for British Citizenship, Chapter 18 Annex B 2.3 of Nationality Instructions says that 'Physical presence here is normally sufficient before the 3 years period and the applicant does not have to have been ordinarily resident or domiciled here'.

I understand that I could apply for my citizenship in April 2015 because by then I would not have been absent for more than 270 days during the 3 year period nor possibly 90 days in the final year.

However Chapter 18 Annex B 2.3 of Nationality Instructions 3.3 says:

'Where an applicant misses the requirement to have been in the United Kingdom on the date 5(3) years prior to the application date by 2 months or less either way, for whatever reason, we may consider offering re-declaration if:

(subject to the initial two months limit) the applicant could meet the unwaivable residence requirement now that the case is being looked at (there is no maximum time limit between application date and consideration of this point); or

(where the case is being considered within two months of the date of application) the requirement would be met within that two months (e.g. if the application date was 1.7.03, and we were looking at the case on 1.8.03, we would need to see whether the applicant was likely to meet the requirements by 1.9.03 to ensure that he/she was allowed a full two months from the date of application)'

I am not quite clear about these instructions. May I know what it means?

Does this is mean that I should have stayed in the UK when I came in April 2012 for minimum 2 months to be eligible to apply for citizenship in April 2015 based on physical presence?

Or I can only apply in August 2015 as I have not physically present long enough when I came in April 2012 based on Annex 3.3?

I am confused. Could someone clarify this for me please?

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/s ... 141209.pdf


I really appreciate your time and looking forward to hear from some experts.

Thanks and Best Regards,
Sanky

[milan69]

All I can say is if applying as a spouse of BC you need to have been resident in the UK for the last 3 years and have allowed number of absences. You also have to have been present in UK on the day of application three years ago.
The way I see it, if your application date is April 8th 2015 and you were present in UK on April 8th 2012 than you could have been absent from UK after that period providing that your absences were within the limits of 270 days in the last three years.

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[sanky_001]

Thanks for your reply Milan. I really appreciate it

Great, then i am all good. I am planning to apply on April 16th. Hope all goes well.