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Hello all,

Forgive me if this was asked before, I looked but couldn't find it.

I'm British and got married in 2014 in the UK. My husband is Palestinian. He received his 30 months FLR in February 2014.
So my question is, can he apply for citizenship after 3 years living in the UK with me, or do we have to wait for 5 years for him to obtain the ILR first and then apply for citizenship.

Any input will be appreciated.

Thank you

He needs to have ILR before he can apply for BC. So once the 5 years have been completed, assuming he meets all the standard conditions he can apply for BC straight after as a spouse of a British Citizen.
Bear in mind that for ILR he'll need to pass both the Life in the UK test and B1 English.

Thank you for your reply. That's bad news for us...I have read the gov.uk's relevant page and I found it confusing.

It states;

If you’re married to, or the civil partner of, a British citizen, you can apply for citizenship if:

* you’re 18 or over
* you’re of sound mind
* you’re of good character
* you have met the knowledge of English and life in the UK requirements
* you have no immigration time restrictions

Unless your spouse or civil partner works abroad either for the UK government or for an organisation closely linked to government, you must usually also have:

* lived in the UK for at least the 3 years before your application is received
* spent no more than 270 days outside the UK in those 3 years
* spent no more than 90 days outside the UK in the last 12 months
* not broken any immigration laws while in the UK

This made me think 3 years is enough as it doesn't clarify whether or not the partner must have ILR before.

It's confusing. ILR is mandatory before qualifying for BC. In the 'Requirements guide' you'll find this:
4. You must be free of immigration time restrictions on the date of application
(see the section on Immigration Time Restrictions).

Thanks Casa. I'll check the guidance.

Thanks for posting this. Can I just add one question please?

CASA- This means that after completing 2 years Probationary period, the spouse can apply for an ILR. After 12 months from the ILR grant date, the spouse can apply for British Citizenship (since that means completion of 3 years in the UK? Am I correct?

send2archan wrote:Thanks for posting this. Can I just add one question please?

CASA- This means that after completing 2 years Probationary period, the spouse can apply for an ILR. After 12 months from the ILR grant date, the spouse can apply for British Citizenship (since that means completion of 3 years in the UK? Am I correct?

If old Rules yes (pre Jul 2012). If new rules it's 2.5 years FLR, another 2.5 years FLR, then ILR....

Wanderer is right. As your husband is under the 'new' rules he won't qualify for ILR until he has completed 5 years - 2.5 + 2.5. (i.e free of Immigration restrictions). He can then apply immediately for BC.