British citizenship eligibility for Spouse on ILR

[mk1216]

Hi,

I am living in the uk from 2008 and my wife from 2010. Me and my wife both have ILRs from March 2013, however my wife hasn't completed 5 years yet. At that time when we applied ILR, tier 2 dependent visa holders only had to stay 2 years to get ILR on the basis of Dependent visa.

Now we are planning to apply for citizenship, I know one of the eligibility criteria is continuous stay of 5 years. But since we both already have ILRs individually can we both apply for citizenship at the same time ?

In any case, by Sept 2015 my wife will also complete 5 years stay. Just wanted to know if she is eligible currently so that we could apply a little bit earlier.

Please advise.

Thanks,
Mahendra

[Casa]

There is no longer a financial advantage in applying together. If you apply first, as soon as you are granted BC your wife will be able to submit her application immediately as the wife of a British Citizen, with no need to complete the 5 year residence.

[mk1216]

That was a really quick response, thanks.

[Casa]

You're welcome. Don't forget to ensure you both meet the B1 level English requirement. I'm assuming you already passed the Life in the UK test for your ILR.