Citizenship Application from Outside UK

Hi,

I have this situation where I really need some insights about applying Naturalisation from outside the UK.

My wife and I have been granted ILR on April2007 which means by April2008, we should technically be eligible for Naturalisation.

My wife is now living in the US since June2008 while decided to stay here in the UK. Reason is she just wanted to see and experience how it is like living in the US cause her parents and sisters have been living there as well. We've lived and worked here in the UK for the past 6years and have already invested in a property of our own.

My question is the possiblity for her to lodge an application for Naturailsation while she's in the US. She wasnt able to apply before she left for the US simply because everything's gone so quickly that she fail to consider applying before she left. That was a bad decision on our part, I admit, so we are just thinking if it's possible for her to apply while in the US without her needing to go back here in the UK just to make an application.

I read somewhere that it should be possible as long as she can prove that she still has links here in the UK such as family or properties. But I am not totally sure if this is true.

I hope some forumers can give me some insights about this issue.

Many Thanks.

Think u have to be physically present in UK on the date you actually qualify. Or something like that! John or JAJ will know!

Wanderer wrote:Think u have to be physically present in UK on the date you actually qualify. Or something like that! John or JAJ will know!

I appreciate the prompt response.

But do you have to be phisically present in the UK on the date you QUALIFY or the date you APPLY??? I think they are two different things.

She also needs to have passed the Life in UK test, which u can only do in UK.

Dunno if she had to do that for ILR, law changed recently - u do now!

Just read this too:

Section 2 - residence requirements

You should complete this section as fully as possible. Parts 2.1 and 2.2 are very important to your application. In order to meet the residence requirements, you must have been in the United Kingdom for at least five years (three years if you are married to or the civil partner of a British citizen).

http://www.bia.homeoffice.gov.uk/britis ... ngtheform/

Wanderer wrote:She also needs to have passed the Life in UK test, which u can only do in UK.

Dunno if she had to do that for ILR, law changed recently - u do now!

All requirements are okay as I have sent my own application a month ago. The only problem really is that she's not in the UK at the moment though she was still in the UK at the time (April2008) when we are already eligible to apply. She only left on June2008.

I suggest she gets back to the UK quickly! There are a number of tests here but the one that seems most relevant is that in the last year prior to applying for Naturalisation the applicant must be outside the UK no more than 90 days. OK, a bit of leeway on the 90 day number, but not a lot.

No way can she think of staying outside the UK to say next March, and then apply in April.

John wrote:I suggest she gets back to the UK quickly! There are a number of tests here but the one that seems most relevant is that in the last year prior to applying for Naturalisation the applicant must be outside the UK no more than 90 days. OK, a bit of leeway on the 90 day number, but not a lot.

No way can she think of staying outside the UK to say next March, and then apply in April.

90 days?? she's over 90 days already..so does it mean her 6 years have been wasted?? and she's no longer eligible for naturalisation?

If you have ILR already ,the maximum time to be outside the UK before it becomes invalid is 2 years.

parvus1202 wrote:If you have ILR already ,the maximum time to be outside the UK before it becomes invalid is 2 years.

okay..so as long as she doesnt exceed 2 years then she can come back here and submit an application. Do I undestant that correctly?

jbinuk wrote:

parvus1202 wrote:If you have ILR already ,the maximum time to be outside the UK before it becomes invalid is 2 years.

okay..so as long as she doesnt exceed 2 years then she can come back here and submit an application. Do I undestant that correctly?

I think I read it as when she comes back she has to spend a year in UK. less 90 days allowance. I'm confused as hell tho!

jbinuk wrote:

parvus1202 wrote:If you have ILR already ,the maximum time to be outside the UK before it becomes invalid is 2 years.

okay..so as long as she doesnt exceed 2 years then she can come back here and submit an application. Do I undestant that correctly?

The requirements are clearly on the website:

UKBA wrote:Residential requirements

To demonstrate the residential requirements for naturalisation you need to:

have been resident in the United Kingdom for at least five years (this is known as the residential qualifying period); and
have been present in the United Kingdom five years before the date of your application; and
have not spent more than 450 days outside the United Kingdom during the five year period; and
have not spend more than 90 days outside the United Kingdom in the last 12 months of the five-year period; and
have not been in breach of the immigration rules at any stage during the five-year period.

As she has been outside the UK for more than 90 days now, unless she has compelling reasons (travelling for work, giving birth, crown service, etc) I cannot see how she qualifies now. If she is just literally over the 90 day limit, she can possibly return to the UK and apply asap, although it might look odd that she has only just returned to the UK and then submits an application (and then leaves the UK again??).

Otherwise, she'll have to complete another 12 months on ILR, to meet the requirement I have highlighted in bold.


(I am confused about something...I thought you needed to have six years' residency for naturalisation? Why does it still say five??)

sakura wrote:(I am confused about something...I thought you needed to have six years' residency for naturalisation? Why does it still say five??)

Five years' residency for naturalisation is right. But in order to be given ILR or permanent residency, most people have to have been in the UK for five years. And then they have to have have their settled status for one year before they can apply to naturalise. So five plus one equals six years, in effect, although only five are required for naturalisation. So, for example, if you have the right of abode or are an Irish citizen, and are therefore deemed settled on arrival, you could apply for naturalisation after five years.

Basically, the changes that the government has made to the immigration rules has put immigration and naturalisation "out of sync", as it were.

Christophe wrote:

sakura wrote:(I am confused about something...I thought you needed to have six years' residency for naturalisation? Why does it still say five??)

Five years' residency for naturalisation is right. But in order to be given ILR or permanent residency, most people have to have been in the UK for five years. And then they have to have have their settled status for one year before they can apply to naturalise. So five plus one equals six years, in effect, although only five are required for naturalisation. So, for example, if you have the right of abode or are an Irish citizen, and are therefore deemed settled on arrival, you could apply for naturalisation after five years.

Basically, the changes that the government has made to the immigration rules has put immigration and naturalisation "out of sync", as it were.

Yep I agree..immigration and naturalisation are now technically "out of sync" in a sense.

Very very good explanation.

Wanderer wrote:

jbinuk wrote:

parvus1202 wrote:If you have ILR already ,the maximum time to be outside the UK before it becomes invalid is 2 years.

okay..so as long as she doesnt exceed 2 years then she can come back here and submit an application. Do I undestant that correctly?

I think I read it as when she comes back she has to spend a year in UK. less 90 days allowance. I'm confused as hell tho!

The quote by Parvus is irrelevant, as the 2-year absence period relates to disqualification from ILR, not British citizenship.

The guidance notes refer to applications from abroad, but only in relation to the anomaly that persons living abroad are not subject to UK immigration control, thus applications which haven't fulfilled the residence requirements are technically possible but likely to be refused.
But they don't say that you can't apply from abroad, and in this case the applicant had fulfilled the residence requirement before she left, also she has her family and property here.
I think she possibly could apply within the US, and it would be worth enquiring with the British Consulate there. Probably best to see if you can get to speak to someone first with a brief resume of the situation, followed by a letter to him/her if required.
If that doesn't work then I would go with Wanderer's interpretation.

jbinuk wrote:

Wanderer wrote:Think u have to be physically present in UK on the date you actually qualify. Or something like that! John or JAJ will know!

I appreciate the prompt response.

But do you have to be phisically present in the UK on the date you QUALIFY or the date you APPLY??? I think they are two different things.

You guys are confusing yourselves. Plus your info is incomplete/unclear so make sure she has her Life in the UK test for one thing. It doesn't matter she wasn't in the country in April when she reached the 5 years of residence. What is relevant is whenever she submits the application which is how the qualifying period is calculated. It is irrelevant that she was eligible earlier in the year. Sakura hit it the closest. She needs to return to the UK to apply so that she has not been out of the UK too much beyond 90 days in the last 12 month period.
And what application did you just submit a month ago. ILR or Citizenship?
She can not apply outside the UK, she must be physically present to apply and in fact she must be still in the country until the HO receives the application so don't think she can fly in, Make the application with NCS and fly out. Until the HO receives the application, she must be physically present in the UK when that happens as well as 5 years from their receipt.

Mr Rusty wrote:

Wanderer wrote:

jbinuk wrote:

parvus1202 wrote:If you have ILR already ,the maximum time to be outside the UK before it becomes invalid is 2 years.

okay..so as long as she doesnt exceed 2 years then she can come back here and submit an application. Do I undestant that correctly?

I think I read it as when she comes back she has to spend a year in UK. less 90 days allowance. I'm confused as hell tho!

The quote by Parvus is irrelevant, as the 2-year absence period relates to disqualification from ILR, not British citizenship.

The guidance notes refer to applications from abroad, but only in relation to the anomaly that persons living abroad are not subject to UK immigration control, thus applications which haven't fulfilled the residence requirements are technically possible but likely to be refused.
But they don't say that you can't apply from abroad, and in this case the applicant had fulfilled the residence requirement before she left, also she has her family and property here.
I think she possibly could apply within the US, and it would be worth enquiring with the British Consulate there. Probably best to see if you can get to speak to someone first with a brief resume of the situation, followed by a letter to him/her if required.
If that doesn't work then I would go with Wanderer's interpretation.

Thnks for the response.

This is exatly what I was thinking before but I am so sure wether this is possible or not and this is the reason why I posted this case.

jbinuk wrote:

Mr Rusty wrote:

Wanderer wrote:

jbinuk wrote:
okay..so as long as she doesnt exceed 2 years then she can come back here and submit an application. Do I undestant that correctly?

I think I read it as when she comes back she has to spend a year in UK. less 90 days allowance. I'm confused as hell tho!

The quote by Parvus is irrelevant, as the 2-year absence period relates to disqualification from ILR, not British citizenship.

The guidance notes refer to applications from abroad, but only in relation to the anomaly that persons living abroad are not subject to UK immigration control, thus applications which haven't fulfilled the residence requirements are technically possible but likely to be refused.
But they don't say that you can't apply from abroad, and in this case the applicant had fulfilled the residence requirement before she left, also she has her family and property here.
I think she possibly could apply within the US, and it would be worth enquiring with the British Consulate there. Probably best to see if you can get to speak to someone first with a brief resume of the situation, followed by a letter to him/her if required.
If that doesn't work then I would go with Wanderer's interpretation.

Thnks for the response.

This is exatly what I was thinking before but I am so sure wether this is possible or not and this is the reason why I posted this case.

All requirements have been met except that she's not currently in the UK nd since she left last july, she technically have exceeded 90 days.

Regading the 2 year absence, what if she comes back next month..when can she file an application?? noting that she already exeeded 90days at that time.. or let's put it this way..what if she comes back any time prior to the end of 2year period..when should she be eligible to apply for citizenship?

Maybe I'm missing something but...

http://www.bia.homeoffice.gov.uk/britis ... cesfromuk/

This suggests it is possible to have absences in the final year over 100 days and up to 180 days if the residence requirements over the qualifying period are met and you have demonstrated a link with the United Kingdom by establishing your home, family and a large part of your estate here.[/list]

djb123 wrote:Maybe I'm missing something but...

http://www.bia.homeoffice.gov.uk/britis ... cesfromuk/

This suggests it is possible to have absences in the final year over 100 days and up to 180 days if the residence requirements over the qualifying period are met and you have demonstrated a link with the United Kingdom by establishing your home, family and a large part of your estate here.[/list]

Now I am more confused than before... 90days? 100days? 180days?

jbinuk, exactly when did your wife leave the UK - how many days in total has she been outside the country?

[quote="sakura"]jbinuk, exactly when did your wife leave the UK - how many days in total has she been outside the country?[/quote]

She's been out since 9th of June this year. But prior to that day, she's already eligible to apply.

jbinuk wrote: She's been out since 9th of June this year. But prior to that day, she's already eligible to apply.

So in that case, in the last year she has been outside the U.K. for around 107 days.

90 days is the legal limit, subject to discretion. The Home Office will not worry about anything under 100 days.

Now she has 107+ days, you need to look at the policy for exercise of discretion on this rule.

Why on earth did she not apply before she left?

its 90 days but they have a descression upto 180 in the final year, depending on which caseworker u get (if they are feeling good on that day) they can streach the abesences to up 180 out of the country.

btw, where would her future intentions be, in other words where does she want to live USA or UK permantly??

SillyB00 wrote:its 90 days but they have a descression upto 180 in the final year, depending on which caseworker u get (if they are feeling good on that day) they can streach the abesences to up 180 out of the country.

There are specific policies on this. Not the whim of a caseworker.