Immigrationboards.com

Hi members,

I'm very confused as I always thought that you have to have obtained your Indefinite Leave to Remain in the UK for 12 months before you apply for the British Citizenship. But reading the UKBA website, the requirements don't mention the 12 months period.

So my question is:
I have been in the UK legally for 9 years now. The last 2 years were on a Spouse Visa and last month I was granted Indefinite Leave to Remain. I'm still married and wonder if I'm already eligible to apply for the Citizenship, or do I need to wait for 12 months?

Thank you very much and I look forward to your replies!

Kind regards
Vivienne

you can apply right away. the 1 yr after ILR does not apply to you (as a spouse of BC).

Vivienne15 wrote:Hi members,

I'm very confused as I always thought that you have to have obtained your Indefinite Leave to Remain in the UK for 12 months before you apply for the British Citizenship. But reading the UKBA website, the requirements don't mention the 12 months period.

So my question is:
I have been in the UK legally for 9 years now. The last 2 years were on a Spouse Visa and last month I was granted Indefinite Leave to Remain. I'm still married and wonder if I'm already eligible to apply for the Citizenship, or do I need to wait for 12 months?

Thank you very much and I look forward to your replies!

Kind regards
Vivienne

hi,can u read this please...:u need 3 years residency,so if u just got your ILR,U HAVE to wait 12 months then u can apply for citizenship...

this is the link below:

http://www.immigrationboards.com/viewtopic.php?t=95747


PS:guys,if anyone is not sure or doesn't know the rules,please don't advise..if anyone apply and get refused based on the last advise given,no one is going to pay back the fees..!!!so please,if not sure don't mislead people..!!!

Bigbozz wrote:you can apply right away. the 1 yr after ILR does not apply to you (as a spouse of BC).

as a spouse of a BC u need to be resident for 2 years(spouse visa)+1 year ILR...so 3 years all together ..so,please if not sure don't advise people or mislead them by mistake.

You can apply right away if you are married to a BC and if you lived here for three years or more, in no breach of immigration laws

Note: "ukforever" take ur own advice and don't mislead people, I've got my citizenship the other week and I have applied three weeks after getting my ILR because I'm married to a BC and I lived here for three years
Good luck guys

If you have been legally resident in the UK for 3 years, you can apply immediately after you get ILR for naturalisation as spouse of BC. Any valid visa status counts towards teh qualifying 3 years residential requirement.

Myb wrote:You can apply right away if you are married to a BC and if you lived here for three years or more, in no breach of immigration laws

Note: "ukforever" take ur own advice and don't mislead people, I've got my citizenship the other week and I have applied three weeks after getting my ILR because I'm married to a BC and I lived here for three years
Good luck guys

NOTE:**MYB** yeah thanks for the advice,i know that,thanks a lot,but i was referring the OP case,she did not live as a spouse of BC for more than 3 years,so doesn't apply to her and its not your case,so please...don't start,i know what i'm talking about,and if u noticed i posted a link suggesting that and i would never mislead anybody..ok..i gave my advise from what the OP said about her case,i don't know her immigration past and i'm not a lawyer nor an adviser,so mind your business and try to understand posts before accusing people..thanks for your wrong input anyway...every case is complex and different and not like your case.

hi,can u read this please...:u need 3 years residency,so if u just got your ILR,U HAVE to wait 12 months then u can apply for citizenship...

@ukforever - the advice you gave above is incorrect as the OP has been legally resident for 9 years and therfore able to apply immediately after ILR for BC and it is not a requirement to be married to a BC for the 3 year residence requirement, ANY legal status counts. I applied with a combination of ancestry and spouse visa/ILR after 3 years with no problems.

CR001 wrote:

hi,can u read this please...:u need 3 years residency,so if u just got your ILR,U HAVE to wait 12 months then u can apply for citizenship...

@ukforever - the advice you gave above is incorrect as the OP has been legally resident for 9 years and therfore able to apply immediately after ILR for BC and it is not a requirement to be married to a BC for the 3 year residence requirement, ANY legal status counts. I applied with a combination of ancestry and spouse visa/ILR after 3 years with no problems.

hi,just to make sure i'm not getting it wrong,look at this link from the ukba:

http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/briti ... ofcitizen/

and this is on the new immigration rules,the OP case is regarding the old rules,nevertheless,u are right in your input,but i'm not sure the OP can use her 9 years residency,sure for the 7years+2 years spouse visa,she could have gained settled status( ILR )after 5 years residency then she could have applied for BC,but i'm not sure how she can combine or if even possible if no one knows what kind of visa she had or why she did not get ILR after legally living in the uk for 5 years ..!!then after 7 years living legally here she got a spouse visa and she had to get her ILR witch she did get,so ..!!i don't know..can u explain..?

maybe she need to go to the CAB and ask,just to make sure,we are not lawyers nor advisers so unless someone is sure 100% we are just talking then,immigration rules are complex and difficult to understand and they keep changing them all the time,and everyone has a special case,no case is like other and anybody can misinterpret the laws,best for her is to get advice from citizen advice bureau..this is the best advice i would give to the OP..and she should do that rather than listening to us,and we may be all wrong..because if she apply and she get refused she will loose the fees,and there is no going back.

guys,i'm not here to mislead anybody,what i was referring in my messages id what i knew,not trying to mislead,i was just asking people if they give an advice that they make sure they know what they are talking about and if they are,they need to copy past the link from the ukba to support their advice and make sure that anyone who take that advice is sure that he is not going to be refused.
that's all,i may be wrong in my first post ,but i gave an honest answer,i posted a link to support it,but i did not intend to mislead and it was not based on my personal case or circumstances..i hope i'm clear enough.

based on what the OP has stated, if legal for 9 years and ILR, BC as spouse of BCcan be applied for and advice has been given accordingly. it is not for us to judge why ILR has not been applied for as that is a personal choice.

Hi guys, sorry I didn't specify the situation:

I was on student visas and then post graduate visa altogether for 7 years, and then i was on spouse visa for a further 2 years, so in total in the UK 9 years, before I got my ILR.

So, am I entitled to the citizenship immediately after I havet my ILR? Or do I need to wait for a further 12 months?

I hope this has clarified my situation and would like to hear from you guys the advice.

Thanks you

Vivienne15 wrote:So, am I entitled to the citizenship immediately after I havet my ILR?

Yes. No need to wait.

Vivienne15 wrote:Hi guys, sorry I didn't specify the situation:

I was on student visas and then post graduate visa altogether for 7 years, and then i was on spouse visa for a further 2 years, so in total in the UK 9 years, before I got my ILR.

So, am I entitled to the citizenship immediately after I havet my ILR? Or do I need to wait for a further 12 months?

I hope this has clarified my situation and would like to hear from you guys the advice.

Thanks you

hi,i asked the same question above on another immigration website and i had a response from a guru who's very knowledgeable on immigration issues and this is the response i've got:

As you have been in UK longer than 3 years, and as spouse of a British citizen (you don't have to be married for all of the three years) and now on ILR, you can apply now for naturalisation. Just make sure that exactly three years before your application date, you were actually in UK (e.g. if you are applying for naturalisation on 1st April 2013, you were in UK on 1st April 2010) and not out of UK on holiday, visits or business trip. If you were (you have to detail all your trips out of UK), your application will be denied and all your fees are lost. It may sound petty, but it's the rule which they adhere to.

i hope this helps.

ukforever wrote:

Myb wrote:You can apply right away if you are married to a BC and if you lived here for three years or more, in no breach of immigration laws

Note: "ukforever" take ur own advice and don't mislead people, I've got my citizenship the other week and I have applied three weeks after getting my ILR because I'm married to a BC and I lived here for three years
Good luck guys

NOTE:**MYB** yeah thanks for the advice,i know that,thanks a lot,but i was referring the OP case,she did not live as a spouse of BC for more than 3 years,so doesn't apply to her and its not your case,so please...don't start,i know what i'm talking about,and if u noticed i posted a link suggesting that and i would never mislead anybody..ok..i gave my advise from what the OP said about her case,i don't know her immigration past and i'm not a lawyer nor an adviser,so mind your business and try to understand posts before accusing people..thanks for your wrong input anyway...every case is complex and different and not like your case.

We r not here to mind our business if we know we can help, and I've seen that information you have provided is wrong, and I'm speaking from personal experience, read your posts again and you ll see how misleading they are. I know it's not intentionally but wears hereto help and provide the right and best advice

Thanks you guys

Good to go and apply.

It is an open board forum where everyone is trying to help. So lets not start a Cold War and lets keep things in harmony

thank you guys!!

One more question, I noticed that there is a time limit on my Indefinite Leave to Remain card, it has a 10 years mark. Is this normal?

It says: "Settlement" and also "Indefinite Leave to Remain", but it also says valid until xx/xx/2023


does it still give me the right to apply for naturalisation in my case?

thank you again!!

Vivienne15 wrote:thank you guys!!

One more question, I noticed that there is a time limit on my Indefinite Leave to Remain card, it has a 10 years mark. Is this normal?

It says: "Settlement" and also "Indefinite Leave to Remain", but it also says valid until xx/xx/2023


does it still give me the right to apply for naturalisation in my case?

thank you again!!

Correct that's normal.

It's just like we have a validity on our passport, driving licence, bank cards etc. BRP card for ILR comes with a validity of 10 years and after 10 years you just send it for renewal.

Vivienne15 wrote:thank you guys!!

One more question, I noticed that there is a time limit on my Indefinite Leave to Remain card, it has a 10 years mark. Is this normal?

It says: "Settlement" and also "Indefinite Leave to Remain", but it also says valid until xx/xx/2023


does it still give me the right to apply for naturalisation in my case?

thank you again!!

Yes.
The limit is just for the card, not the right for ILR (the same way your passport or driving licence have an expiry date).

<3 You guys! thank you so much

Hi

Just wondering if anyone can advise me on nuturalisation application
My question is when can I apply for nuturalisation
I am spouse of British citizen
I came to UK on spouse of British citizen on 06/07/2012
I got ILR on the 10/06/2014
I have applied for my ILR 29 days befor the 2 years anniversary
I noticed that I can apply for nuturalisation 12 months after my ILR but it say you must lived in UK for 3 years does it mean I can't apply 12 month after my ILR and have to wait till I complete 3 years exact witch it will be the 06/07/2015 or I can apply 12 month after my ILR witch it. Will be the 10/06/2015?

Many Thanks
Khaled

Hi Vinny

Thank you for your reply
So I can't apply after 12 month of my ILR I must wait till 3 years

Hi every one,

Since the posts are in year 2013, its now been more than 4 years, does want to know is there any change in law or requirements in between ???
Shall my wife still apply naturalization right after getting the ILR ??

Thanks for your support