ILR after being on 3 different visa types

[europehelpme]

Hi all,

My situation is summarised below.

1.Entered the UK on a Tier 5 Youth Mobility Visa. I was on this for 2 years.
2. Just before the expiry I found a new job that sponsored me. I went back to my home country and reentered the UK again on a Tier 2 sponsored visa.
3. After 6 months I moved to a new job and transferred my tier 2 visa was transferred.
4. I have recently got married and have now entered the UK on an EEA Family permit.

So in total I have been in the UK for 4 years.

Will I be eligible to apply for ILR in 12 months time?

[Casa]

No, as each switch of visa category re-set your qualifying period to zero. You can only combine the time spent on different categories for ILR under 10 year long residence.

[europehelpme]

My wife is also a british permanent resident. She can apply for British citizenship now, which means I could apply for the UK spouse visa. We have put this off as I am in the UK now on an EEA family permit and will apply for a Residence card, hence why she is not applying for the passport now so that I can go down the european route to save fees.

However, if she was to apply for her uk passport and I applied for the UK spouse visa INSTEAD of the Residence permit, could I get my British passport faster or will I still have to wait the full 5 years? If this is the case, no point in paying the extra fees and will go down the EEA Residence card route.BUT if there is a way I can get to my british passport quicker it may be the better option/

If you are married to a british passport holder is the time to ILR 3 years?

[CR001]

could I get my British passport faster

No there is not.

or will I still have to wait the full 5 years?

Yes and you still require either PR or ILR.

If you are married to a british passport holder is the time to ILR 3 years?

Not for ILR no, it is still 5 years and has been since 9th July 2012 when the UK Immigration rules changed (not EEA route though). 3 years residence is applicable to apply for citizenship (3 years residence as spouse of BC) but to qualify for citizenship you need PR/ILR which is 5 years residence in a qualifying category.

[europehelpme]

"3 years residence is applicable to apply for citizenship (3 years residence as spouse of BC) but to qualify for citizenship you need PR/ILR which is 5 years residence in a qualifying category."

What is 3 years residence of a bc? what does the bc stand for?British citizen? I am confused, are you saying if you are married to a british citizen and you get the uk spouse visa, after 3 years you can apply for citizenship?

What is the difference between PR/ILR? I thought they were just interchangeable terms

I thought both were the same thing?

[CR001]

What is 3 years residence of a bc? what does the bc stand for?

3 years residence as spouse of British Citizen (BC).

What is the difference between PR/ILR?

PR is attained automatically after 5 years residence or from date of marriage if in the UK. Your EU spouse must be a qualified person exercising treaty rights throughout. Costs £65, postal only. No Life in the UK test or English B1 requirement.

ILR you have to qualify and apply for, varies depending on which route you use. Costs £2,297 for a postal application or £2,887 for in person same day decision. Life in the UK test and English B1 requirement (if from a country not exempt).

I thought both were the same thing?

They are both 'settled status' but under different rules/regulations and have different requirements.

[europehelpme]

3 years residence is applicable to apply for citizenship (3 years residence as spouse of BC) but to qualify for citizenship you need PR/ILR which is 5 years residence in a qualifying category.

I still don't understand the above? Are you saying if my wife become a british citizen then I apply for a UK spouse visa if I am in the uk for 3 years I can become a citizen?

The statement seems to contradict itself. You are saying 3 years residence is applicable to apply for citzenship but you need 5 years to qualify. I am not following

[CR001]

This is starting to feel like de ja vu as I am sure most of this was covered in your extremely long 'confusedandsad' username topic a few months ago.

I still don't understand the above? Are you saying if my wife become a british citizen then I apply for a UK spouse visa if I am in the uk for 3 years I can become a citizen?

No. You need 5 years residence (or 10 years long residence for ILR) to qualify for ILR or PR (depending on which route you are on), before you can apply for citizenship. The old rules, pre 9 July 2012, was a 2 year spouse visa and then 1 year ILR and then citizenship. The citizenship LAWS have not changed and a person married to a British citizen can apply for citizenship based on 3 years residence but you still require ILR/PR which takes 5 years due to the UK Immigration Rules changing the residence requirement from 2 years to 5 years in July 2012. You cannot apply for citizenship if you do not have ILR or PR. There is no 'quick/short cut' route simply because you are married to a British citizen. The only advantage you have is you do not have to wait the full 12 months on ILR/PR before you can apply.

Do not confuse (or assume they are all linked) the EEA rules / UK Immigration Rules and Citizenship LAWS. They are separate and independent of each other.

[europehelpme]

So the 3 years is mute then no? how can someone apply for citzenship after 3 years if they need PR, which means they need to have lived in the uk for 5 years.

When could someone every actually meet the three year requirement?

Am I missing something or is this the most illogical thing every created?

[CMOSUK]

So the 3 years is mute then no? how can someone apply for citzenship after 3 years if they need PR, which means they need to have lived in the uk for 5 years.

When could someone every actually meet the three year requirement?

Am I missing something or is this the most illogical thing every created?

You need to have indefinite leave to remain before you can apply for British citizenship.

Once you have indefinite-leave-to-remain, and want to apply for British citizenship, one of the rules required is you must have been resident in the UK for 3 years as a spouse of a British citizen.

If my understanding is correct, once you have attained indefinite-leave-to-remain, whether it be the 5 year route or 10 year route as a spouse of a British citizen you could apply straight away for British citizenship as you will have met that criteria once being granted indefinite-leave-to-remain.

If CR001 could co firm this, otherwiae she might as well has shoot us both (joking of course)

[CR001]

So the 3 years is mute then no? how can someone apply for citzenship after 3 years if they need PR, which means they need to have lived in the uk for 5 years.

No it is not 'mute'. I am also not going to keep repeating myself as you don't appear to be reading what I have written.

When could someone every actually meet the three year requirement?

For citizenship, once they have ILR and can apply immediately for citizenship based on the last 3 years residence under Section 6(2) of the British Nationality Act.

Am I missing something or is this the most illogical thing every created?

Yes, appearing not to be reading what I have written. You are confusing PR/ILR requirements/rules with the LAWS that govern the granting of the privilege of British Citizenship.

[CR001]

This is starting to feel like de ja vu as I am sure most of this was covered in your extremely long 'confusedandsad' username topic a few months ago.

As I thought, page 5, 17th July, where this was already explained (ad nauseum) under your other username topic.

eea-route-applications/eea-spouse-visa- ... l#p1508683

[europehelpme]

Thansk so in short,

there is no point in me getting my wife to get her british passport and then me applying under UK route as I will have to still wait 5 years before I can get PR

Well, no point in dropping thousands of pounds then - ill stick to the cheap eea route

[Casa]

You're also confusing obtaining a British passport with British citizenship. They are two separate processes; the granting of BC followed by an application for a British passport.

Once your wife becomes a British citizen, she can no longer sponsor you under the EEA route to settlement (PR)) whether she subsequently applies for a British passport or not.

[europehelpme]

This is starting to feel like de ja vu as I am sure most of this was covered in your extremely long 'confusedandsad' username topic a few months ago.

I still don't understand the above? Are you saying if my wife become a british citizen then I apply for a UK spouse visa if I am in the uk for 3 years I can become a citizen?

No. You need 5 years residence (or 10 years long residence for ILR) to qualify for ILR or PR (depending on which route you are on), before you can apply for citizenship. The old rules, pre 9 July 2012, was a 2 year spouse visa and then 1 year ILR and then citizenship. The citizenship LAWS have not changed and a person married to a British citizen can apply for citizenship based on 3 years residence but you still require ILR/PR which takes 5 years due to the UK Immigration Rules changing the residence requirement from 2 years to 5 years in July 2012. You cannot apply for citizenship if you do not have ILR or PR. There is no 'quick/short cut' route simply because you are married to a British citizen. The only advantage you have is you do not have to wait the full 12 months on ILR/PR before you can apply.

Do not confuse (or assume they are all linked) the EEA rules / UK Immigration Rules and Citizenship LAWS. They are separate and independent of each other.

Thanks! very helpful. Another 5 years of waiting for me then.

[europehelpme]

You're also confusing obtaining a British passport with British citizenship. They are two separate processes; the granting of BC followed by an application for a British passport.

Once your wife becomes a British citizen, she can no longer sponsor you under the EEA route to settlement (PR)) whether she subsequently applies for a British passport or not.

Thanks. Very helpful.

I have decided it is best to go down the EEA route.

I am in the UK now on the EEA family permit and I have sent off my application for the the Residence Permit.

Once my Residence Card has been approved and all documents returned including my passport, my wife was planning on then applying for her British Citizenship.

My Residence Card would be valid fo 5 years. As she would apply for her british citizenship post me receiving my Residence Card, could this jeopardise her application for BC?

Would they look at my Residence Card retrospectively and cancel it?

Our ideal situation would be, I apply for the Residence Permit, receive it, she applies for her british citizenship and receives it. Then I continue to reside in the uK on my Residence Permit and then after 10 years I apply for my british citizenship.

Is this allowed? Has anyone had experiences of the home office cancelling the eea Residence Permit post naturalisation of a spouse?

[europehelpme]

As a married partner of an eea national, I don't need the residence card to actually be able to reside in the UK. My understanding is that all this does is help me gain employment by evidencing my right to be allowed to work in the uK. Effectively, being married to an EEA national and being able to present my marriage certificate is all I need to reside in the UK.

Do the same rule apply to the UK route? If a non british person marries a British citizen do they need to be on the UK spouse visa to be in the uK? Or again, is this just something they need to be able to show employers of their right to be able to work in the uk?

[vinny]

Once your wife becomes a British citizen, she can no longer sponsor you under the EEA route to settlement (PR)) whether she subsequently applies for a British passport or not.

Once my Residence Card has been approved and all documents returned including my passport, my wife was planning on then applying for her British Citizenship.

My Residence Card would be valid fo 5 years. As she would apply for her british citizenship post me receiving my Residence Card, could this jeopardise her application for BC?

Would they look at my Residence Card retrospectively and cancel it?

Our ideal situation would be, I apply for the Residence Permit, receive it, she applies for her british citizenship and receives it. Then I continue to reside in the uK on my Residence Permit and then after 10 years I apply for my british citizenship.

Is this allowed? Has anyone had experiences of the home office cancelling the eea Residence Permit post naturalisation of a spouse?

Depends on how the UKVI interprets the recent Judgment.

[europehelpme]

will track that thread now