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Hi all, firstly I'm pleased to see helpful people on this forum, as its seems impossible to get basic immigration advice from anywhere.

My issue - my partner was born in the UK and lived here all his life, never left UK but at the time of his birth his parents status was not settled.

In 2011 (at the age of 23) my partner used Form T to apply for registration as a British citizen on the basis he has lived here first 10 years of his life. However about 3 months before sending his application he got a speeding conviction SP30 - offence was caught by police and fine of £275 and 6 points on license passed by the courts. Due to this offence his application was refused.

2 years later, at 26 years of age (turning 27 in June) inevitably my partner has matured, has responsibilities and requires settled status more than ever, primarily because after being with him for 9 years we wish to get married now but can't due to his unsettled status. We are also expecting our first child next month. As such Im desperate to put a compelling application in and for it to be approved.

My question is, bearing in mind he has an SP30 conviction, which application is more likely to be approved, if any, out of the Form T or Form Set O application for ILR???

I'm really stressed out, just want him to be settled, he made one speeding mistake and it seems as though its preventing everything despite compelling and compassionate circumstances with the baby due etc.

Note I am a British citizen, born here. Me and my partner live together, I plan to be a full time mum so we will be relying on his income to support our child for the foreseeable future, he has a good job, he has never taken welfare benefits so not a financial burden on society. Many plus points opposed to one speeding mistake.

Can anyone shed light on likelihood of a successful application? If so using which application? Form T or ILR (Set O)?

Apologies for long text.

Thank you

Is this situation too complicated? Many views but no replies

He is entitled to register for British citizenship under section 1(4), subject to the Good character requirement (41A).

If he was convicted, but was given a non-custodial sentence, then he may apply again after 3 years.

For ILR applications, see also General grounds for refusing – 322(1C).

See also Spent SP30 and 10 year Long Residency Application.

Dear Vinny,

Appreciate your clear response.

Based on what u said, I think there is more chance his application will be approved using the ILR route rather than the Form T, because using the ILR route his conviction will be over 24 months.

So do u think the ILR application should be my final decision, or is it worth risking a Form T application (his conviction is under 3 years).

Also for ILR, under the tick boxes on Form Set O which category should he apply under? We can't tick 10 year residency as that is for 10 LEGAL years of residency, but I don't know if he's classed as legal - so I was thinking of ticking 'other' and in the explanation box was going to write 'born in the UK and resident since birth but at the time of birth parents status was not settled'.

Does that make sense and could I write that on form or would it be invalid reason for application?

Thanks again

If he has never applied for any leave, then he is legally in the UK (with no conditions).

He should try and find out how the UKBA classify SP30 for the purpose of ILR and naturalisation. Will they treat it differently or not?

I think SP30 is classed as non custodial offence for ILR application?

Spoke to immigration enquiries today - I explained the situation and she replied:

'Form T requires 3 years to have lapsed in order to overlook a non custodial offence, where as ILR requires 2 years to have lapsed - in ur matter 2 years has lapsed, I can't advice u any further'

Soooo, what conclusion would u make from that? I think she hinted its better to use the ILR route!

However I spoke to a solicitor straight after, and the solicitor is strongly for the direct application for British citizen (Form T). She says the good in the application outweighs the speeding offence.

What do u all think?

diamonds wrote:2 years later, at 26 years of age (turning 27 in June) inevitably my partner has matured, has responsibilities and requires settled status more than ever, primarily because after being with him for 9 years we wish to get married now but can't due to his unsettled status. We are also expecting our first child next month. As such Im desperate to put a compelling application in and for it to be approved.

vinny wrote:If he has never applied for any leave, then he is legally in the UK (with no conditions).

If he is not travelling out of the UK, then I'm just wondering why does he need to apply for settlement? He is legally in the UK without any conditions, if he had never applied for leave. Marriage does not require settled status.

How did he get his driving license?

Well there must be a flaw in the system as he has lived his life like a British citizen he even has an ni number

He needs settled status because we wish to travel, we've never been on holiday together

Also, every time we speak to different councils abt having a civil ceremony they say its not possible because he needs to be settled first. So that's y we can't even get married

Consider holidays in the UK for now.

Ask these councils to give you a reference to the legislation stating that marriages requires settlement status. I don't think that they will be able to do so.

What nationality does he hold?

I don't know what nationality he holds, as he doesn't have a passport, he was bork here and uses his birth certificate and NI card for proof

vinny wrote:Consider holidays in the UK for now.

Ask these councils to give you a reference to the legislation stating that marriages requires settlement status. I don't think that they will be able to do so.

Just want to add on this piece that settlement is required for marriage. I think that information is rubbish. You can get marriage in this country without being settled. You only need to be here legally. Moreover, I got information from my local council that all they require from you is your proof of ID, among other stuff like proof of address et al. They don't even need your International passport so how would they know whether you are settled or not?

diamonds wrote:I don't know what nationality he holds, as he doesn't have a passport, he was bork here and uses his birth certificate and NI card for proof

Don't see how his nationality changes anything. Am sure what Vinny probably meant was "what are/were his parents nationality? However, he doesn't need a passport to have a nationality, as they are only travel documents. If you don't hope to travel outside a country, then you don't need a passport.

Being born stateless may make a difference.