uk ancestral visa / marriage?

Any advice on this one?
1) I am British
2) She is South African, 2.5 years in UK on Ancestral Visa
3) She wants to do a university course here but cannot without having achieved ILR in UK.
4) We are prepared to get married if necessary but not sure if beneficial?

As I see it, she has another 2.5 years to go, then apply for ILR. OR,
we get married and then what??

Does the 2.5 years already here for count towards the 3 years before she can apply for ILR? So just 1/2 a year to go? OR

Will it take 3 years from being married to be able to apply for ILR?

Hope you can help, the overall aim is for her to be able to take a nursing degree!

Thanks
Jamie

jimblob_1978 wrote:Any advice on this one?
1) I am British
2) She is South African, 2.5 years in UK on Ancestral Visa
3) She wants to do a university course here but cannot without having achieved ILR in UK.
4) We are prepared to get married if necessary but not sure if beneficial?

As I see it, she has another 2.5 years to go, then apply for ILR. OR,
we get married and then what??

Does the 2.5 years already here for count towards the 3 years before she can apply for ILR? So just 1/2 a year to go? OR

Will it take 3 years from being married to be able to apply for ILR?

Her options are, if you get married:

1. Wait for another 2.5 years to get ILR from her existing visa, she can then immediately apply for naturalisation. (as she will have 3+ years legal residence)

2. Switch to a spouse visa, but she would still need to wait 2 years to get ILR. She could study on a spouse visa but would probably have to pay overseas fees, so not much benefit here compared to option 1.

3. Once you are legally married, and she has 3 years legal residence in the U.K., she can use the "ppron method" to apply for naturalisation without needing ILR. Do a search on this forum but don't think about this option without understanding it 100% (unless you want to waste a lot of time and money).

Does she want to keep her South African citizenship? If so, she will need to get permission from the South African authorities before she applies for British citizenship.