D4109125 wrote:sh1981 wrote:I'm married to a british citizen and came to UK on:
06/10/2010
According to
http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/briti ... ofcitizen/
- have been resident in the United Kingdom for at least three years (this is known as the residential qualifying period); and
- have been present in the United Kingdom three years before the date of your application;
I want to know what
resident means, and I also want to know what
present means.
Resident means the period you have been living in the UK - the residency test for naturalisation is 3 years in the UK for those who are the spouse or civil partner of a British Citizen.
Present - this means physically present in the UK 3 (or 5) years
prior to the HO receiving your application. You no longer need to be physically present in the UK at the time the HO receive your application but there are requirements for the amount of permitted absences.
This is a very good answer.
However just to be clear, if you could help me know what exactly do you mean by
Resident means the period you have been living in the UK
and
Present - this means physically present in the UK 3 (or 5) years
basically what i'm asking is, whats the difference? in order to live in the uk (being resident) you have to be physically present, thus if you are resident, you are automatically present as well.
My understanding so far is that
resident seems to mean you should have a proper visa during the past 3 years, i.e you should not be on a diplomatic visa or such that doesnt count as being resident.
My understanding so far about
present is that based on the start and end time of the 'proper' visa (i.e for our instance spouse visa), you would be considered 'resident', and hence in this time of 'residency', you should have at least spent 3 years physically present in the uk.
Would you also be able to
advise me as to when should I be eligible for citizenship?
My circumstances are:
Initial Visa Type: Spouse Visa
06/10/2010 Arrival in England
4 months, 17 days Spent outside of England
09/12/2012 Spouse Visa Expiry
ILR Approval Letter Received 05/03/2013
Biometric Card Received 06/03/2013
Current Visa Type: Settlement / ILR