citizenship via EEA PR route after dec 2020

Dear all
First of all thank you for all the info and advice available in this forum!

I am finding myself in particular circumstances regarding my BC application and would like to understand if anyone else is in the same situation and what they are planning to do

I applied for BC via EEA PR route on June 2020, got approval via email at end of July 2020 and I am worried that, because of COVID, I won’t be able to attend the ceremony before Dec 2020, when my EEA PR card will be invalid

Does anyone know if pending application via EEA PR will still be valid in 2021?
Or should I withdraw my BC application (will I lose my money?), get settled status then re-apply in one year?

Thanks

You don't have a pending citizenship application if you have already received approval. Nothing to withdraw.

You can apply for settled status of you wish, this has no effect on your already approved citizenship application or your PR.

Hi CR001
Thank you for the quick reply, on a side note I really appreciate your work (I’ve been peeking the website for a while

Am I reading it correctly that given my citizenship has been approved (via email), the expiry of EEA PR card will be irrelevant to my case?

On the settled status, I thought that too (that I could do it in parallel), but a solicitor told me that I cannot have two immigration proceedings open (BC and Settled status) so if I started settled status it would “confuse my situation” / “one of the two will not be processed”

I'm not sure that a British citizen can hold settled status. Settled Status is essentially ILR, a status under the Immigration Act 1971, which a British citizen can't hold.

EEABC wrote: ↑

Sat Sep 26, 2020 3:54 pm

a solicitor told me that I cannot have two immigration proceedings open

British citizenship is not an immigration proceeding. It is a separate proceeding, under different laws and has different requirements.

I think you can apply for Settled Status, but be aware that, as per my understanding of the law, it will be extinguished automatically when you attend a citizenship ceremony and become a British citizen.

It is not impossible that the Home Office caseworker may get a bit confused why you are applying for Settled Status when you have already been approved for British citizenship and are merely awaiting the ceremony. So it may help if you explain within the Settled Status application or in a cover letter that you are applying for Settled Status merely to bridge the gap between the end of your PR in December and the citizenship ceremony.

Oh didn’t think about the cover letter, that’s a great idea!

Tbh,
1) under the current Brexit rules where deadline for settled status is Jun21
2) if my BC application doesn’t get “invalidated” by PR expiry
Could I wait directly for the ceremony, without settled status (hoping it will happen before jun21) using the ongoing BC application as RTW proof?

I was scenario-planning for a no deal Brexit that brings the settled status deadline to dec20 and a BC application that “expires” on dec20

I assume there is no official communication from home office on either points yet at this stage?

Why would you think that your application could be 'invalidated' because 'the regulations' will cease to apply?

I know that you're yet to have the ceremony, but following that logic, people who applied using PR route would have their citizenship 'invalided' as well?

Hi Dogcat,
Yes my thought process is: given my process for BC has not been completed, maybe when PR expires it will invalidate my application?

Of course, I’m be very glad if this is not the case

It won't be the case!

The deadline to apply for settled status is June 30 2021.
In your shoes I would just wait for the ceremony, and only IF it is stilL not done by early next June then I would apply for settled status.

Could the Jun21 be overturned into a Dec20 deadline if UK leaves without a deal in the end?

EEABC wrote: ↑

Sun Sep 27, 2020 8:05 pm

Could the Jun21 be overturned into a Dec20 deadline if UK leaves without a deal in the end?

The June 2021 deadline is not a date agreed with the EU - 31.12.2020 is! - it's a UK set deadline to allow for the inevitable late-comers, forgetful, and people needing special assistance. The Home Office is tweaking Settled Status conditions however putting 10s of thousand of EU citizens and their families in limbo overnight is not something I would expect even from the current government.