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Arrived in UK on 15 Aug 2003 (Student Visa)
Married EU National on 22 Aug 2007
Divorced in Nov 2010
Dicree Absolute issued in Dec 2010
Applied for retention of rights in Jan 2011
PR granted in April 2011 (10 years renewal date one) remarks no restrictions on any activites etc etc
When can i apply for Citizenship? (mixed answer from solicitors and homeoffice) some say you have to do your 5 years and some say 12 months after PR issued.

Please advice.....

omithebos wrote:Arrived in UK on 15 Aug 2003 (Student Visa)
Married EU National on 22 Aug 2007
Divorced in Nov 2010
Dicree Absolute issued in Dec 2010
Applied for retention of rights in Jan 2011
PR granted in April 2011 (10 years renewal date one) remarks no restrictions on any activites etc etc
When can i apply for Citizenship? (mixed answer from solicitors and homeoffice) some say you have to do your 5 years and some say 12 months after PR issued.

Please advice.....

in your case, 5 years from marriage (Aug 2012) or to be safer and quicker processing- April 2012.

Just a query, how on earth did you get PR in April 2011? You only married in 2007, what application did you use and how did you satisfy Regulation 15 which says you had to have lived for 5 years in accordance with EU law? Did you use EEA4 in January 2011 or EEA2? Did they request any additional info or what documents did you provide that they processed it within 2 months?

Thanks

Thanks for your reply, i know it is very shocking and wierd, as i applied with EEA2 for retention of rights, no more documents were requested, but i actually submitted everything they could have asked for already,i was in good terms with my xwife so all the p60s, proof of address were there for both of us. But getting a PR within 2 months of applying looks like a miracle to me as from what i am reading on this forum, i actually followed the same process as everyone else did on this forum after reading from here as well.

But now the confusing bit is when to apply for citizenship and also wanted to know if anyone else on this forum has gone through a similar situation as mine?

well, it seems they made a mistake if you only got married to an EU national in 2007 and never applied (presumably) for an EEA residence card prior to that on the basis of being an extended family member.

My personal advice is to apply a year after the PR issue date (April 2012) as otherwise your 5 years would have been August 2012! Others may disagree here, but you only have 6 months of waiting left and you won't need any other documents but your PR card, passport, life in the UK test. Whereas if you wanted to apply on the basis of your marriage and so on, you would need to submit the same documents as you submitted when applying to retain the right to reside to prove that you acquired PR before the issue date of the PR.

But as I said above, since it seems they made a mistake by issuing you with the PR in April 2011, instead of August 2012 (when you were really entitled to it) I would just wait until April! They should not have counted your time as a student in the UK towards the 5 years' residence, as that student visa was issued under the national law.

omithebos wrote:Thanks for your reply, i know it is very shocking and wierd, as i applied with EEA2 for retention of rights, no more documents were requested, but i actually submitted everything they could have asked for already,i was in good terms with my xwife so all the p60s, proof of address were there for both of us. But getting a PR within 2 months of applying looks like a miracle to me as from what i am reading on this forum, i actually followed the same process as everyone else did on this forum after reading from here as well.

But now the confusing bit is when to apply for citizenship and also wanted to know if anyone else on this forum has gone through a similar situation as mine?

congratulations at last good news although from mistake but still good news because we always hear about mistakes that lead to sad news..

anyway mate..
if i were u i would wait 2 years, until u complete 5 years + 1 year free from immigration control jst to be safe..

because if u send ur documents for citizenship next year it might make them recognise their error..

so be safe and apply in 2013..

anyway PR is reallly good and enjoy happy days..

omithebos wrote:Arrived in UK on 15 Aug 2003 (Student Visa)
Married EU National on 22 Aug 2007
Divorced in Nov 2010
Dicree Absolute issued in Dec 2010
Applied for retention of rights in Jan 2011
PR granted in April 2011 (10 years renewal date one) remarks no restrictions on any activites etc etc
When can i apply for Citizenship? (mixed answer from solicitors and homeoffice) some say you have to do your 5 years and some say 12 months after PR issued.

Please advice.....

may be is not a mistake!
may be they count time you were with you ex before marriage,did you send them any prove of cohabitation before marriage?.

you are right, it might not be a mistake, as me and ex have been togather since 2006 so i sent them all the documents i had, the thing is i cant remember what documents i sent.
Now the problem is if they have either considered my student time or time spent with ex before marriage then if i apply in April 2012 for BC then can they cancel by saying they have made a mistake ? or will they just asked me to wait another year

omithebos wrote:you are right, it might not be a mistake, as me and ex have been togather since 2006 so i sent them all the documents i had, the thing is i cant remember what documents i sent.
Now the problem is if they have either considered my student time or time spent with ex before marriage then if i apply in April 2012 for BC then can they cancel by saying they have made a mistake ? or will they just asked me to wait another year

it's your call,but if i were you i won't take risk and wait for one year after my PR sticker date.

ya but i have waited for 1 year after my PR sticker, so didnt really understand what u meant?

PR granted in April 2011
Looking to apply on the 8th April 2012

omithebos wrote:ya but i have waited for 1 year after my PR sticker, so didnt really understand what u meant?
in April 2011
Looking to apply on the 8th April 2012

go for it, as long as your PR sticker old one year you won't need to show how long you have been married or cohabited with you ex,all what you need is
passport with the PR sticker old one year.
proof of your residence for 5 years(could be p60's).
life in UK test.