Just been granted a settlement - can i apply naturalization?

[jamil05]

Just been granted a settlement VISA.

The story is i have been here as an asylum seaker for 9 years and today home office has granted me a settlement VISA not as a refugee, but due to the length of time i have been in UK and also due to the fact that i have a family now here. On the visa there is this info:

type of permit = settlement
remarks = indefinite leave to remain

my question is can i apply for naturalization then citizenship without waiting for 1 year.

i have no travel restriction to any country. can i visit my original country without getting into trouble?

[Backer]

No. You need at least 12 months from date given indefinite leave to remain becuase you need to be free from immigration restrictions for at least that period

[beeba]

And also if you fullfill the other requirements at the time you apply.

[krimith]

Just been granted a settlement VISA.

The story is i have been here as an asylum seaker for 9 years and today home office has granted me a settlement VISA not as a refugee, but due to the length of time i have been in UK and also due to the fact that i have a family now here. On the visa there is this info:

type of permit = settlement
remarks = indefinite leave to remain

my question is can i apply for naturalization then citizenship without waiting for 1 year.

i have no travel restriction to any country. can i visit my original country without getting into trouble?

yes you can travel your own country no problem bec you they give ILR so anywhere in world you can go no worry, but you have wait for 1 yr then you can apply BC

[jamil05]

Thanks guys. CAn someone tell me the difference between settlement and indefinite leave to ramain? I have both of these stamped in my VISA.

My inlaw also just got his ILR. But his visa is only stamped Indefinite leave to remain, there is no settlement. He got his through 5yr work permit

[Backer]

I think it's the same

[jamil05]

one last question. CAn i apply for naturalisation on the 11 months, i.e less than 30 days before i get to 12 months?

Or it needs to be exactly 12 months and above?

[John]

Or it needs to be exactly 12 months and above?

It needs to be at least 12 months. There is no 28 day leeway for Naturalisation applications.

But in this topic we have not discussed whether you can apply for Naturalisation after 12 months, or whether you need to wait until you have had ILR for 5 years. In order to clarify that, can you say when you applied for asylum? Was it at the port of entry, immediately on arrival, or did you enter the country in the proverbial back of a lorry, and if that was the case, how long after arrival in the UK did you apply for asylum?

If neither of those cover what happened, please explain.

i have a family now here

Are you married to a British Citizen?

[jamil05]

i came to uk on august 3 2001 and claimed asylum straght away at Gatwick. that was 9 years ago. My asylum was turned down few months later but i couldnt be deported back to my country of origin because the UK was not forcing anyone back to zimbabwe.

Then on JUly 6 2010 I received ILR with settlement. Covering letter was saying it was outside immigration rules. It was because of the long period of time i spent in UK. They even mentioned about any children born in will qualify for registration. There wasnt any mention though of me qualifying for naturalisation after 12 months.

Im just assuming that this is the case since they acknowledge my long stay here of 9 years. Unless if experts here think i have to wait 5 years.

Im married traditionally. My wife is not british. We are from the same country. She is a dependent on her fathers work permit. I was thinking also what ways should i bring her under me?

Also on naturalisation, do one need also to do registration after that?

[John]

jamil05, that is good, given you claimed asylum on arrival you have been "legal" since arrival, and that means that you can indeed apply for Naturalisation as soon as you have had ILR for one year. Use form AN to apply.

Also on naturalisation, do one need also to do registration after that?

Well no, as soon as you are handed your Certificate of Naturalisation at your Citizenship Ceremony you are a British Citizen. The only thing you need to do after that, if you want to, is apply for a British Passport.

I presume you have not yet passed the Life in the UK Citizenship test. If that is the case you need to pass that before being able to apply for Naturalisation.

You mention children. You are talking about born-in-the-UK children? If so, when were those children born? Which year? And if 2006, also which month? And are you named as father on the children's birth certificates?

Your "wife"! I have put that word in inverted commas because it sounds like the two of you are not legally married. If that is the case she needs to apply for a CoA ... Certificate of Approval to Marry ... or wait until CoAs are abolished early in 2011. Unless the two of you happen to attend a Church of England Church, and want to get married in that Church, in which case no CoA needed, or no need to wait until they are abolished.

Are the two of you both at least 21 years of age? If so, following the marriage, she can apply for a spouse visa, because you now have "settled status".

Finally, benefits! Now that you have ILR, is Child Benefit being claimed in respect of the children, and also Tax Credits being claimed by you and your"wife"?

[jamil05]

Thanks John for the time and effort.

We have just submitted child benefit application last week. Child tax credit people said i cant apply until i get an NI number, of which im waiting an interview date.

Do i need life in the UK test? some people saying its only needed when one is applying for ILR. Is this the case?

[John]

Do i need life in the UK test? some people saying its only needed when one is applying for ILR. Is this the case?

The fact is that unless you passed the test in order to get ILR, and you didn't, you must pass it in order to be able to apply for Naturalisation.

NI number? Yes I understand that.