Spouse of BC - AN Documentation

Hey guys,

Moving into this sub feels great

I got my ILR approved yesterday, waiting for the BRP so I can submit the AN form online.

My questions so far:

1. In the Documents section of the online form I noticed this:



It's basically asking for my marriage certificate (No problem there) but the note/comment mentioned I can send a full photocopy of my spouse's passport. I'm guessing this is optional? I found it odd that this is under the marriage certificate section.

2. In the same image, it's asking for the proof of British citizenship of my spouse. For all my previous applications, including ILR, I just submitted a scan of the Biodata page of the passport. I assume this is the same? Only reason I ask is because of the comment on the previous question.

3. My passport was never stamped coming into the UK after my initial entry. I did travel a lot and I submitted all dates in the application but I always used the e-gates as I'm from one of those trusted countries. Should I submit my last 3 P60s or council tax bills as evidence of living in the UK for the 3 year period ?

4. I got my referee declarations dated at the start of this month. I knew I was applying as soon as the ILR came through and I had 2 coworkers who work remotely actually come into town and we met to do this in person and catch up. I assume the date on the forms shouldn't be an issue, even if they were signed before I had ILR. Anybody had / heard about issues with this?

5. I have read the timeline thread to get an idea of what to expect and I noticed that the gap between online submission and biometric apps for most people is quite far apart for most cases reported here (very few have biometrics within a month after submission) is it the case that AN biometrics have different availability? I know I'll learn about this soon enough but maybe I missed something?

Hi all,

Quick update about my research on guidance documents and an interesting finding I discovered whilst reading the legislation (the rabbit hole was deep this time around)

About my original questions:

Regarding questions 1-2 about the passport of the BC spouse:

According to the Guide AN. Naturalisation Booklet. The Requirements Page 39 (July 2021). People applying on the basis of marriage or civil partnership to a BC need to supply:

• Your spouse’s or civil partner’s current passport or naturalisation/registration certificate showing that he/she is a British citizen. You should provide a complete and full copy of your spouse’s or civil partner’s current passport. Every page in the passport must be copied including the blank pages, and

• The marriage certificate or civil partnership certificate.

Source: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.u ... _final.pdf

I ended up submitting a full scan of my spouse passport. However, I've read reports and advice here that bio data should be enough.

Regarding the lack of entry/exit stamps from my own passport (non-EU e-gate country user):

The same document linked above (Page 38) mentions other cases where passports are not stamped and how they "must provide your passport and also provide alternative evidence of residence as above." The list of evidence mentions: "letters from employers (including start and finish dates), payslips, P60s, educational establishments or other government departments indicating the applicant’s presence in the United Kingdom during the relevant period"

I submitted the P60s covering my residence period (3 years) just to be safe. Again, most common advice is that this is not required for non-EU citizens.

I haven't been able to find an answer to my original point 4 but I did submit referee letters signed up to 3 weeks prior to my application and even before I had ILR (let's see how those go) and I found biometrics appointments really easy outside of London (and cheaper even including train tickets) so I submitted bios within a week of the application submission.

Finally, during my reading, I learned something I don't see a lot of mention about: the Schedule 1 from the British Nationality Act is the piece of legislation that explains the requirements for naturalisation under sections 6(1) and 6(2)

Section 6(1) covers people who are not married to BC and it includes paragraph 1(d) which is the requirement to have the intention to make the UK your principal home.

Section 6(2) covers people who are married /civil partners to a BC and it doesn't include the requirement to have the intention to make the UK the main home. Paragraph 3 of the Schedule.

Link to Schedule 1: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1981/61/schedule/1

It's just a simple finding that gave us some peace because we still have a property overseas which we haven't been able to sort and sell due to the travel restrictions of the last couple of years and we were afraid they may question our intention to stay here permanently because of it.

I do wonder if a person married to a BC then should be able to successfully apply in the UK and then move overseas immediately, or after answering "No" to the question: "Do you plan for your main home to be in the UK if your application is successful?" Provided they met all the other requirements.