Regarding Early British Citizenship Application

rcpdmrts · Post by **rcpdmrts** » Wed Jul 23, 2025 7:35 am

Would applying for British citizenship a few days or up to a month before completing 12 months on ILR lead to an automatic refusal, or is there any discretion in such cases?

I was granted ILR on 11 December 2024, so I will be eligible to apply on or after 11 or 12 December 2025. I would like to know if applying slightly earlier would be considered or automatically rejected.

Post by **CR001** » Wed Jul 23, 2025 7:40 am

Unless you are married to a British citizen, you must wait until you have 12 months on ilr.

Why do you want to apply early??

rcpdmrts · Post by **rcpdmrts** » Wed Jul 23, 2025 7:47 am

⸻

Thank you for your response. I’ve read the guidance, and I understand that normally an applicant must wait 12 months after being granted ILR, unless married to a British citizen.

I was just wondering if there have been any cases where an application was submitted a little early — for example, a few days or a couple of weeks before completing the 12 months — and discretion was applied if all other requirements were fully met.

I appreciate that this isn’t standard practice, but I’m curious if it’s ever been considered or accepted in practice.

Post by **contorted_svy** » Wed Jul 23, 2025 1:34 pm

Yes it would be considered but you would need to ask for discretion. Not worth doing unless you have extraordinary circumstances that require you to apply earlier.

From the guidance https://www.gov.uk/government/publicati ... accessible

Applicants under section 6(1) who have not been free from immigration time restrictions for 12 months
There is also discretion to waive this requirement in certain circumstances.

Discretion to disregard immigration time restrictions in the 12 months prior to application can be exercised if one of more of the following is met:

the applicant had less than 12 months free from time restrictions when they applied, but meets the requirement by the time you consider the application, and all the other requirements are met

the applicant had been put on conditions when returning to the UK, but has since established that they were a returning resident or exempt from control

the period of limited leave was less than 10 days at the beginning of the 12- month period

the period of limited leave was between 10 and 90 days at the beginning of the 12-month period, and the applicant:

meets all the other requirements

has strong links with the UK through having established their home, property and family here

the period of limited leave was more than 90 days at the beginning of the 12- month period, and:

the applicant meets all the other requirements

the applicant has strong links with the UK through having established their home, property and family here

there are compelling business or compassionate reasons to justify granting now

the period of limited leave was more than 10 days at the beginning of the 12- month period, and:

the applicant does not meet all the other requirements

has strong links with the UK through having established their home, property and family here

there are compelling business or compassionate reasons to justify granting now

there are exceptionally compelling circumstances.

the applicant made an application for ILR at least 15 months before the citizenship application, and was granted following a delay which was not their fault

an application for leave or asylum was refused in error and, if it had been granted correctly, the applicant could have applied for ILR and met the requirements on the date of application

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