Applying for Naturalisation - Please advice

[veritasen]

Hello all,

I have completed my 5.4 years of stay in this country. I got my PR in June,2004. I got married in October-2002 and my wife started living with me from that time here in UK ( three years completed now)

Now the question is, one of my friend told me even though I am eligible to apply for my naturalisation, my wife will not be able to get her naturalisation done as she have just completed three years.

Can you please advice me how many years my Wife should live here (and married too) in UK with me to apply together for naturalisation.

many thanks
Veritasen

[veritasen]

Hi,

Please advice


regards
Veritasen

[John]

Veritasen, based upon what you say, the following will apply :-

• you can obviously apply for naturalisation now, and indeed should do so this month, October, if you want to avoid the new Citizenship test or course that comes in as from 1st November
• your wife is not yet eligible to apply given, as you rightly realise, she has not yet been the UK for five years
• however, after you have got your naturalisation you will appreciate that your wife will be married to a British Citizen ... you! Accordingly she will then be able to apply for her naturalisation given that the requirement for someone married to a British Citizen is merely three years rather than the usual five years.

Do appreciate that it will inevitably be the case that your wife will be applying for her naturalisation after the Citizenship Test/course requirement is introduced. She might therefore want to give some thought as to how she is going to meet that requirement.

[veritasen]

Dear John,

Many thanks for the advice. My wife has a Degree in MicroBiology (taught in English) and can do the English Test if needed.

So as you said my Wife has only two options to apply for naturalisation

1. Wait for another two years (till Oct-07)

or

2. Once I get the British citizenship then she can apply immedieatly.

[John]

Well, in a sense, no! As soon as she is married to a British Citizen she can apply, given that she will then have been in the UK for at least three years.

Being eligible to apply do not mean she has to. She could apply, assuming she has passed the Citizenship Test, as soon as you get your Certificate of Naturalisation, or one month later, or one year later, or two years later, or whenever ... totally up to her.

Having that Degree Certificate will not stop your wife needing to pass the Citizenship Test. Clearly her English ability is well above the minimum required in order to make any sense of that test.

[veritasen]

Hi John,

Thank you very much for the advice. Will post my experience after applying for my naturalisation.