Naturalisation as EU citizen with non-EEA spouse

My wife and I have both lived in the UK since early 2010 (>5 years now) and have been married since 2009. She is Malaysian; I am Belgian, I have been exercising my treaty rights continuously as an employee since we first came to the UK. She was initially self-employed for 2 years or so, and since then has also worked as a regular employee.

For the first 12 months of our presence here, my wife used a EEA1 Family Permit (first one granted in May 2010 for 6 months, second one granted in Dec 2010 for 6 months). She subsequently obtained an EEA2 Residence Card in 2011, which was valid for 5 years and she continues to use this as proof of her legal status in the UK. That Residence Card expires somewhere around May 2016.

I believe she now qualifies for a Permanent Residence card with an EEA4 application, which would then provide a path to potential naturalisation after 12 months. I say potential as it is our understanding that Malaysia does not allow the acquisition of a second nationality, therefore my wife would need to carefully consider whether she actually wants to go down that route or just stick with Permanent Residence (even more so because as a Commonwealth citizen she gets the one thing that is denied to other permanent residents, i.e. the right to vote)

As for me, I am just exercising my treaty rights as a Belgian national so far. With the referendum coming up, I am now seriously considering UK naturalisation as Belgium allows dual nationality and I would quite like to get representation to go along with the taxation I am subject to here in the UK.

Having given this some thought and done my basic research, my questions to this forum are:

* could I apply for naturalisation now, having spent 5 years in the UK exercising treaty rights as an employee and therefore having obtained ' automatic permanent residence ' if I understand correctly. Or do I need to get proof of permanent residence first and then wait one year? This question has probably been answered many time before but I am still a bit confused on that point.

* assuming I can apply now, is it advisable to follow the naturalisation route now for myself and then apply for a change in my wife's status as the spouse of a British national (i.e. after I have been naturalised)? Or is it better to apply first for her permanent residence under the EEA4 route and then for me to go for naturalisation (and where does that leave her after my status changes)?

* if I become naturalised, does the British government then look at me as a British citizen only, or do I still have access to the EEA related immigration options by virtue of my Belgian citizenship (which I would retain for the avoidance of doubt)

* if anyone happens to have any thoughts on the pros/cons (risks/ benefits) of Malaysian citizens (with Bumiputera status) taking UK nationality, that would be appreciated as well even though I understand that's off-topic for this forum.

Thoughts welcome!

Best

Rob

robbie296 wrote:...

Having given this some thought and done my basic research, my questions to this forum are:

* could I apply for naturalisation now, having spent 5 years in the UK exercising treaty rights as an employee and therefore having obtained ' automatic permanent residence ' if I understand correctly. Or do I need to get proof of permanent residence first and then wait one year? This question has probably been answered many time before but I am still a bit confused on that point.

* assuming I can apply now, is it advisable to follow the naturalisation route now for myself and then apply for a change in my wife's status as the spouse of a British national (i.e. after I have been naturalised)? Or is it better to apply first for her permanent residence under the EEA4 route and then for me to go for naturalisation (and where does that leave her after my status changes)?

* if I become naturalised, does the British government then look at me as a British citizen only, or do I still have access to the EEA related immigration options by virtue of my Belgian citizenship (which I would retain for the avoidance of doubt)

* if anyone happens to have any thoughts on the pros/cons (risks/ benefits) of Malaysian citizens (with Bumiputera status) taking UK nationality, that would be appreciated as well even though I understand that's off-topic for this forum.

Thoughts welcome!

Best

Rob

1) No.
You have (probably) automatically acquired PR by now by exercising treaty rights as a qualified person for 5 years.
This gives you settled status in UK

It is optional whether you apply for a PR card.
However you may wish to consider it & the outlay is small (less than £100).

You have to hold PR status for 12 months before applying to naturalise (assuming you meet all other requirements)

2) I don't quite understand what you mean by considering changing wife's status to the spouse of a British national.

Your wife has (probably) attained PR already too; ie as the family member of an EEA national exercising treaty rights.
As a family member it is immaterial (in terms of complying with EU regulations) what she has been doing in UK for the 5 years period.
This give her settled status in UK too.

It is again optional whether she applies for a PR card.

Once you are naturalised your wife could apply to naturalise immediately, as she is settled; (again assuming all other requirements are met).

As the spouse of a BC she has no need to wait an additional 12 months after acquiring settled status (PR).
(Or she could naturalise in her own right after 12 months as you have to hold your PR for 12 months anyway).

Note: If your wife does not naturalise as a UK citizen when (or before) you do she would lose her right to remain in UK as the family member of an EEA national
See 3.

To remain in UK she would have to switch to a visa status under UK immigration rules instead of EU rules; perhaps that's what you actually meant by changing wife's status ( )

3) Yes, on receiving the privilege of UK citizenship, HMG will consider you as a BC only.
You would not be able to continue to sponsor a non-EEA national as a family member (unless any exemption was found to apply).

See pages 8-9 of guidance, ref:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/s ... _v12_0.pdf

4) I do not know about Malaysia's laws on dual nationality.

Hope it helps - best of luck.