Naturalisation by Marriage to BC or Permanent Residence

Hi guys

We used McCathy case/rule, while it was still possible (prior to July 2012) so in 2016 I became Permanent Resident.
Missus is both British and EEA National.

Now I qualify on both, Permanent Residence and Marriage to British Citizen grounds and I was wondering if I should go for one or another.

Also, when filling up the application form should I only fill in sections for one route and not the other?

Any help would be much appreciated.

Thanks
Lespa

What do you mean by two routes ?? You must be a permanent resident to apply for British citizenship when married to a BC

Zimba wrote: ↑

Thu Oct 17, 2019 1:06 pm

What do you mean by two routes ?? You must be a permanent resident to apply for British citizenship when married to a BC

One "route" being Permanent Resident (as a EEA Family member, in my case since 2016) and another being married to a British Citizen.
The application is the same for both, but I presume I need to choose one which I will relay upon.
For instance, residency requirements are different for each one.

Hope that makes sense

Zimba wrote: ↑

Thu Oct 17, 2019 1:06 pm

What do you mean by two routes ?? You must be a permanent resident to apply for British citizenship when married to a BC

One "route" being Permanent Resident plus 12 months (as an EEA Family member) and another being married to a British Citizen.

The application is the same for both, but I presume I need to choose one which I will relay upon.
For instance, residency requirements are different for each one.

Hope that makes sense

Just to clarify - being married to BC in itself isn't enough, you need (in your case) PR which you already hold (presumably with a card/document). If you are married to BC you could have applied for BC straight away after you obtained PR document, if you comply with all the requirements.

alterhase58 wrote: ↑

Sat Oct 19, 2019 7:50 pm

Just to clarify - being married to BC in itself isn't enough, you need (in your case) PR which you already hold (presumably with a card/document). If you are married to BC you could have applied for BC straight away after you obtained PR document, if you comply with all the requirements.

Thanks for your reply.

I understand the residency requirements.

It seems that I am not expressing my question properly.

What is puzzling me is this for example (taken from AN application form):

2.4 If you are an EEA or Swiss national or the family member of an EEA or Swiss national and wish to use a permanent residence card to support your application, please complete the following section.

So, in the case that I would rely on my own merits, I would supply evidence that I have Permanent Residence Card and that I was free from immigration restrictions for the period of 12 months prior to application.

However, if I rely on marriage to British Citizen, amongst other things I would have to supply my wife's passport copy:

SECTION 6 Evidence of marriage for applications made on the basis of marriage or civil partnership to a British citizen, both:
• your spouse’s or civil partner’s current passport or naturalisation/registration certificate showing that he/she is a British citizen - if you are making your application by post, you can send a complete and full copy of your spouse’s or civil partner’s current passport (every page of the passport must be copied including any blank pages)
• the marriage certificate or civil partnership certificate

It seems that you either provide one or the other.
If I supply both, wouldn't that confuse things?

Just wondering if anyone was in the same position and how they went about it.
Or if anyone has advice how to fill in the form.

Thank you

Your PR document is required as proof that you are "free from immigration restrictions" - in all cases.
Your marriage document is required if you wish to rely on that - and needs only evidence of three years residence.
These applications are common and UKVI will know what they are processing.

alterhase58 wrote: ↑

Sat Oct 19, 2019 9:13 pm

Your PR document is required as proof that you are "free from immigration restrictions" - in all cases.
Your marriage document is required if you wish to rely on that - and needs only evidence of three years residence.
These applications are common and UKVI will know what they are processing.

I see what you mean.
So when they say: "If you are an EEA or Swiss national or the family member of an EEA or Swiss national and wish to use a permanent residence card to support your application", I will be using the card as proof of residency "to support my application".
I was under impression that if you choose to apply under 5+1 year EEA rule, you would include it. If not, leave it blank.

That makes sense.

Thanks again