Citizenship application discretion

[kefan777]

hi,

this is my first post, so apologies if I do anything in the wrong way

I'm a Slovak national and in Sept 2010 it's been 5 years since I came here.
I want to apply for the UK citizenship, however, my absences up till now are totalling 421 days.
My absences in the last year are totalling 121 days.
That is mainly due to 95-day absence in 2009 and 60-day this year.

My question here is: am I eligible to apply at the moment ?

I have seen the UKBA website and basically it would be decided at the discretion, as it is over the basic days out limits.

The problem I face is that no one can tell me for sure if the discretion will apply in my case,
before you send in the AN aplication form and pay 750GBP fee. Obviously , i don't want to lose that amount.

then the next question is: when you submit the application and they need to contact you, do they send out a letter or phone you/email you?

also , would it be ok to ask the landlord of the property, where I had been residing for the last more than 3 years to provide me a reference ?
He's UK citizen etc.

and in application form AN, in section 3, there are questions regarding current employment status.
At the moment I am a Masters student at a University and not in employment.
Would I still be eligible to apply? What would I need to fill in that section then?

thanks

[vinny]

I'm a Slovak national and in Sept 2010 it's been 5 years since I came here.

See also Can I be naturalised as a British citizen? If you are not a spouse or a civil partner of a British citizen, then you should also be free of Immigration time restrictions for at least one year.

[kefan777]

yes, I've seen that.

I meet all the criteria, except the 90 days within the last year.

I mean, I haven't passed the citizenship test yet, but that shouldn't be a problem.

so as said, my primary concern is , if I'm likely to get a discretion on spending 120 days out of UK in last year instead of 90, and whether it makes sense to apply now.

oh, and I am not in civil partnership / marriage with either Uk or non-UK citizen, so everything I do, I do on my own.

[vinny]

If it's been 5 years since you came here, then how can you be free from immigration restrictions for at least one year?

[kefan777]

If it's been 5 years since you came here, then how can you be free from immigration restrictions for at least one year?

I'm referring to this:

Residential requirements

To demonstrate the residential requirements for naturalisation, you must have:

not spent more than 90 days outside the UK in the last 12 months of the five-year period;


with everything else I'm ok.

[vinny]

Do you satisfy

Immigration time restrictions

You must be free from immigration time restrictions when you apply for naturalisation. Unless you are married to or the civil partner of a British citizen, you should have been free from immigration time restrictions during the last 12 months of the residential qualifying period.

[kefan777]

Now I got what you were talking about.

but I don't quite understand what it means to be " free from immigration time restrictions"

Slovakia is a EU/EEA member country and I came to UK after it accessed EU, so I could move to UK freely, without any sort of visas or immigration requirements etc.

[vinny]

You need to have the Permanent right of residence during the last 12 months of the residential qualifying period.

See also The documents we require for naturalisation applications and Naturalization after PR – Shocking Revelations from NCS.