British Citizenship for an EU National

Hello all,

This might have been Answered but coulden't find the thread.
I'm a French National living here since August 2005, I have been working here since and have all the necessary document to show,
Married with a Non EU/UK Citizen and have my Resident Card here (Blue Card) and now wondering what is the best way to apply for a UK Citizenship.
I went through links on the web and saying that I can apply after three years residency here and some topics saying that I need to have a PR residency here.
Appreciate if you could make some light on this,

European Economic Area nationals and Swiss nationals
If you are a national of a country in the European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland, or you are the family member of such a person, you will automatically have permanent residence status if you have exercised EEA free-movement rights in the UK for a continuous five-year period ending on or after 30 April 2006. You do not need to apply for leave to remain. You should have held permanent residence status for 12 months before you apply for naturalisation.If you have been outside the UK for six months or more in any one of the five years of the residence period, you will have broken your residence. This does not apply if:

â– the absence was due to military service; or
â– all absences were for under 12 months and were for important reasons such as pregnancy, childcare, serious illness, study, vocational training or an overseas posting.
If you leave the UK for a continuous period of two years or more, you will lose your permanent residence status.

If you have indefinite leave to remain (ILR) in the UK, you will be considered to be settled here provided that you have not been away for two years or more since you received ILR.

As you can see from above it is not 3 years of residency but 5 years + 1 year after acquiring permanent residence status.

Hi and Thanks for getting back to me;
I guess I was not clear on my issue but my question is this.
because I'm a French national and have been living here since August 2005 with all the documents that can proof this, when can I apply for a British Citizenship?
Note that I have this residency Card (because I'm married with a Non EU national since May 2008)

Thanks again Camellia for your response,

August 2011

I'm from EU country, I applied after 6 years (5 years + 1 year PR)

voytek wrote:I'm from EU country, I applied after 6 years (5 years + 1 year PR)

Question, did you apply for a PR when you reached te 5th year and then the British Citizenship? curios to know

There is no need to apply for PR as you get it automatically after 5 years of exercising treaty rights. I did not apply for PR. The question for you is whether you exercised treaty rights continuosly for 5 years?

Camellia wrote:There is no need to apply for PR as you get it automatically after 5 years of exercising treaty rights. I did not apply for PR. The question for you is whether you exercised treaty rights continuosly for 5 years?

I did understand that Camilla, but how can the HO will know if I'm here for 5 years? I came in to the UK without any visa (I'm French) and the only proof of being here are just my paper work and NI papers that I have since August 2005.
Also as I said, I'm only registered at the HO in 2008 when my husband got his Family member of an EEU national papers,

Please get back to me.

Payslips ... p60s ... records of study ...

All would indicate you have been exercising your treaty rights.

Don't worry about that, if they want to find they will. You will provide them with all the details if they want to they can contact your past/current employer and check it. MPH80 already listed examples of the necessary documents, please also check page 15 of AN form (especially Section 4 as it is relevant for EU applicants) also pages 14 and 15 of Guide AN.

Camellia wrote:Don't worry about that, if they want to find they will. You will provide them with all the details if they want to they can contact your past/current employer and check it. MPH80 already listed examples of the necessary documents, please also check page 15 of AN form (especially Section 4 as it is relevant for EU applicants) also pages 14 and 15 of Guide AN.

Thaks for your comments chaps,
I have one more question,
when I've arrived here in August 2005, I've stayed with out work until Nov. 2005 from where I've started having my payslips and stuff.
the only paper that can proof that I was here on August 2005 is a tenancy agreement for a room I've rented with my boyfriend at that time showing both names.
Will they take this into consideration?
Unfortunately I don;t have any record about my flight from france or any other proof.

Well, that is sort of grey area when people do not allow themselves a little more breathing space and push to apply for BC on the 6th anniversary of their arrival to the UK.
You have to answer yourself the question: were you exercising treaty rights between August and November 2005?
As you started work in Nov 2005 it is quite obvious you didn't get the job in 1 day but looked for it for a while. But, unfortunately, onus is on you to prove that you were exercising treaty rights.
There is a common misconception that by merely living in the UK EEA nationals exercise treaty rights. This is not enough - you have to work, run a business, study, be retired, self-sufficient or actively looking for a job.
You have a clear case since Nov 2005. If you decide to apply earlier than that you probably be fine just as many others but you should be prepared that such sort of questions may be asked. You started work in November but if you for instance signed the contract in October then you have already one month sorted. Any interview letters, confirmation letters from potential employers, etc? Not that you will definitely need them, but just in case.
Good Luck

You have been already provided with a clear explanation by ukpl. Tenancy agreement will not be considered as a proof of exercising treaty rights. Please read part 3 "Treaty rights" of the guide below, as you will see you may fall under the category of jobseeker or self-sufficient person or both in the period between August 2005 and November 2005 if you have an evidence.
http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitec ... iew=Binary

ping26 wrote:Thaks for your comments chaps,
I have one more question,
when I've arrived here in August 2005, I've stayed with out work until Nov. 2005 from where I've started having my payslips and stuff.
the only paper that can proof that I was here on August 2005 is a tenancy agreement for a room I've rented with my boyfriend at that time showing both names.
Will they take this into consideration?
Unfortunately I don;t have any record about my flight from france or any other proof.

Although you may well have been exercising your treaty rights in the UK from the day you arrived by looking for work, it is difficult for you to prove that conclusively. You would probably be fine applying for naturalisation on the sixth anniversary of your arrival in the UK (i.e. August 2011), but given that the time difference would only be a matter of three or four months, you might prefer to wait until November 2011 to apply.

There is no requirement to be a qualified person in the first three months. To obtain PR a continuous residence of 5 years under those EEA regulations must be demonstrated. The initial right of residence is obviously part of the regulations. However, that is a rule under the 2006 regulations. The transitional provisions may help to understand how they interact with the older ones.

Applying for confirmation of PR may not be such a bad idea because except for the waiting time it doesn't cost anything. But be aware that the PR card will only have the issue date on it. Missing times for BC will have to be shown separately.

Thanks all for your reply’s;

Question regarding My family now.
My husband is on a Family member of an EEA national Visa and I wonder if his circumstance will change once I'm a British Citizen? will get get it too or he will also need to wait for his 6 years residency here?

with regards to my kid born three weeks ago, will he get a PR automatically as I've already have my 6 years here now or he will get a British Citizenship?
my boy was born here in UK.

appreciate your comments.

ping26 wrote:with regards to my kid born three weeks ago, will he get a PR automatically as I've already have my 6 years here now or he will get a British Citizenship?
my boy was born here in UK.

The requirements for PR are still as outlined above. Please re-read! Obviously a new-born can't fulfill the requirements.

Since you appear to be a permanent resident however I believe your child is automatically a British citizen (I hope others will comment on that).

86ti wrote:Since you appear to be a permanent resident however I believe your child is automatically a British citizen (I hope others will comment on that).

That is correct. I'd advise getting your child a British passport, since it is the only satisfactory way of demonstrating British citizenship in this circumstance and it will be much easier now to provide evidence of your PR status at the time of his birth than it will be some years down the track.

Hello all and thanks again for your replies;

I've called the HO and spoken to them about how we can get our child his British Citizenship and his passport. for the first, they say that because his mum is already here for a period of 5+ years, the kid is automatically British Citizen so thanks god we won’t have to go through the MN1 application which is "APPLICATION FOR REGISTRATION OF A CHILD UNDER 18 AS A BRITISH CITIZEN" and for the second "Passport" I'm about to send the application form and the fees in the same time. now my questions is do we need to supply all the P60s, Payslips and proofs that I was here since August 2005 until now or should I wait until they will call me for an interview?
in the Passport Application,
Section 5 Certificate of registration or Naturalisation
is it enough is I supply a Birth Certificate with the application or I'm back to square one MN1 Application and get the Certificate of Registration?
I should have asked these questions when I was on the phone but I'm just wondering if you can provide any info so that I can calm my self

Thanks again for all your comments.

You will need to provide all the P60 (or other forms proving of exercising treaty rights) as they have no way of knowing that you have gained automatic PR status.
For children there is no interview. I suggest you send the 5 years P60 + baby birth certificate + other documents required (it is all stated in the application) + a cover letter stating that you gained PR via EU rules.

You can ignore section 5 - it is not relevant in your baby case.

IPS are quite quick in issuing passports - takes about 2-3 weeks.