Applying for BC while employed in India - very confused

To all experts,

I am in a very confusing and apparently unique situation and would really appreciate if someone could help me with this. Here is my situation.

1. I obtained an ILR in August 2014 after working on Tier 2 for 5 years from 2009 - 2014.

2. I got married in 2010, and my wife being a dependent since 2010 also got ILR as my dependent in the same application

3. I have now been offered a job from a multinational company but for HR purposes I will be an employee of India. I will still be stationed in their UK office, but since the position had to be filled in Indian company, they worked it around like this. The offer letter says I am an employee of India office but will be working from the UK premises. It also says that I might be asked to move to India as per business requirements.

4. I have told them I cannot be outside the UK for more than 90 days, and they have agreed to it.

5. Someone told me that this will cause an issue when I apply for UK naturalisation because it might suggest that I might move back to India after the citizenship, and hence it might be declined - is that a reasonable argument?

6. If I decide to go ahead with the job offer, will my wife be still able to apply for UK naturalisation as she would have completed 5 years of stay in UK by 2015? I am not sure because she is my dependent - can she apply on her own?

7. I was thinking if she applies for the citizenship first and then I apply as her spouse - is that an option?

8. What else can I do to strengthen my application if I want to apply on my own - will purchasing a property help my application? Or setting up a company in my name?

I do intend to be in the UK in the long run but it was a very good job opportunity so I decided to go ahead with it. I have not signed on the contract yet, so still able to influence the wording of the contract if that helps my application later on.


Sorry about the long email, but I wanted to state all facts. I look forward to some expert responses.

Thanks

Kind regards

Agrawal

Your wife is no longer your 'dependent'. She has ILR now and is independent of you.

If she qualifies for naturalisation after 5 years (+1 year on ILR) she can apply on her own. There is no 'dependent' application for citizenship. Each person applying will have to meet the requirements on their own. Applying as spouse of BC still requires the same requirements to be met.

Thanks CR001 - that is helpful.

Please could you also comment on my individual application. I would ideally like to apply for my own citizenship. Will having a job letter from India affect my chances?

Thanks in advance.

I am not 100% sure but if you are based in the UK and get your salary paid in the UK with the relevant tax and NI deductions, it might be fine.

Perhaps a moderator can shed more light on this aspect for you.

Ok. Thanks.

I might be paid salary from India and subject to tax deductions in India only.

agrawal_c wrote:Ok. Thanks.

I might be paid salary from India and subject to tax deductions in India only.

Under UK Tax law you pay tax where you are resident, i.e. UK. You should speak to a tax accountant before accepting any such offer, otherwise you might find yourself in a very sorry mess.

for completeness, please post all questions in a single thread

agrawal_c wrote:Hi, I and my wife are going to get OCI card next year, and we plan to have our first child after moving to India. Will our child be eligible to apply for UK citizenship?

ban.s wrote:The child will be British citizen by birth.

2 Acquisition by descent.
1)A person born outside the United Kingdom [and the qualifying territories] after commencement shall be a British citizen if at the time of the birth his father or mother
a)is a British citizen otherwise than by descent; or

agrawal_c wrote:Thanks a lot for answering my query. I have few more queries in this regard, and would really appreciate your time:

1. As per my reading of the regulation this will be the case even if one of the parents is a British Citizen?

2. Would it work if our normal place of residence after OCI card is India, or this is immaterial?

3. Also do we need to come back to UK first on an Indian passport and then apply for a UK passport? Or can we apply for British citizenship from India?

I thank you in advance for answering my queries as this is a very big decision for us.

Kind regards

Thanks - I will be careful from next time. I am new to this forum, and thought I should post my questions on the correct forum.

Please can someone answer my query though?

You need to ensure your tax affairs are in order so please consult a tax expert before signing the contract. Both UK and India are signatories to double tax avoidance treaty. So you'll not be paying double tax but atleast for the purpose of naturalisation, you need to ensure that HMRC records are up to date.
also do ensure the contract doesn't mandatorily ask you to relocate to India. Signing such contract may be against the Future Intention requirement.

Re. your other topic on future child's nationality

1. Yes
2. Immaterial
3. If either of you or both are British citizen at the time of Child's birth then the child is british and can directly apply for british passport from India; if one of you is British and other parent retained indian citizenship and the child born in india, then there is a claim to Indian citizenship and you may choose to apply for Indian passport. However the child will still be British and for travel to UK will need a Certificate of Entitlement Right of Abode endorsement sticker on Indian passport.

Dear ban.s


Thanks a million for answering my queries and it will really help me make my decision. This forum rocks!

Thanks again!