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Dear Friends,

Me and my wife are now married for more than a year. I was on ILR when I got married in 2015. She was granted a dependent visa for 3 year (till 2018) and she is with me in UK from November 2015. I got naturalised as a British citizen in October 2016.
I want to know what will be the best path to follow for my wife to become a British citizen also ??
I am trying to find if she can become a British citizen before 2018 so there is no need to renew her visa.
We have a baby who is also a British Citizen by birth.

It would be of great help if you share your experience and guide in the right direction.

Thanks
Tripas

Unfortunately, she requires ILR prior to her citizenship application. Didn't they grant her a 33-month spouse visa?

Yes she has a 33 months spouse visa.
Since I am British citizen now isn't there any way she becomes a British citizen without applying for ILR ?

thanks

No, wife will need 5 years on spouse visa before she can apply for ILR. Once she has ILR she can apply for citizenship. The only advantage she has by being married to a British citizen is that she doesn't need to hold ILR for 12 months before being eligible to apply for citizenship.

Hmm..That's disappointing
So basically she would need a 2 year extension visa and then a ILR visa.

Can you tell me if we decide to return back to India for couple of years and if her 33 months visa expires in India , what she needs to do if she wants to come back to UK and settle here ?

Thanks,

tripas33 wrote:Hmm..That's disappointing
So basically she would need a 2 year extension visa and then a ILR visa.

Can you tell me if we decide to return back to India for couple of years and if her 33 months visa expires in India , what she needs to do if she wants to come back to UK and settle here ?

Thanks,

Her FLR(M) extension will be for 2.5 years.

If you are absent from the UK for a considerable amount of time and her FLR(M) visa expires, your wife's immigration clock will be reset to zero and she will have to apply for a new spouse settlement visa.

Even ILR is lost if the absence is more than 2 years.

tripas33 wrote:Hmm..That's disappointing
So basically she would need a 2 year extension visa and then a ILR visa. It is a 2.5 year visa extension. You have to pay whatever the visa fee is at that time PLUS the £500 immigration health surcharge.

Can you tell me if we decide to return back to India for couple of years and if her 33 months visa expires in India , what she needs to do if she wants to come back to UK and settle here ? Apply for a spouse visa again and start again from scratch with a new 5 year residence period before qualifying for ILR.

Thanks,

Edit : Beaten by @ Casa

Thanks Guys for replying to my queries

Regards,