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Hi! I need help as the guidance notes are really confusing on this one!

I am originally from Poland. I have come to UK in May 2004 (just after Poland joined EEA) and lived and worked here since. I was registered under WRS scheme and then had a Residence Permit that expired in November 2010.
In 2014 I married British Citizen and now I am trying to apply for naturalisation based on that marriage.
BUT in the guidance it says that if I am an EEA citizen I need to prove that I have a right to be in UK which means applying for yet another costly piece of paper - permanent residence permit.
QUESTION: Is it necessary to apply for that permit if I am applying for naturalisation based on marriage? Can I just ignore that part of the form?

Can someone please advice?

Thanks

Aleks

No, I'm afraid you can't. The steps you need to follow are:

1.) Apply for a Document Certifying Permanent Residence (EEA PR) (£65)
2.) Once you have received the document, you can apply straight for naturalisation (Form AN)

If you apply without the PR document your application will be rejected and you will loose the application fee of more than £1000.
The only difference that being married to a British Citizen makes is that you do not have to hold PR status for 12 months and that you can apply straight for citizenship once you have received the document confirming your PR.

AleksL wrote:Hi! I need help as the guidance notes are really confusing on this one!

I am originally from Poland. I have come to UK in May 2004 (just after Poland joined EEA) and lived and worked here since. I was registered under WRS scheme and then had a Residence Permit that expired in November 2010.
In 2014 I married British Citizen and now I am trying to apply for naturalisation based on that marriage.
BUT in the guidance it says that if I am an EEA citizen I need to prove that I have a right to be in UK which means applying for yet another costly piece of paper - permanent residence permit.
QUESTION: Is it necessary to apply for that permit if I am applying for naturalisation based on marriage? Can I just ignore that part of the form?

Can someone please advice?

Thanks

Aleks

It is a new requirement, since end of last year/beginning of this year, whereby an EEA applicant for the privilege of citizenship has to submit a mandatory 'confirmation of PR' card.

Yes a PR card is necessary.

There is little or no benefit in being married to a BC (in immigration terms).
In fact the EU migration route is far less expensive than the UK immigration route that Brits with non-EEA families have to follow.

You cannot ignore the requirement just because of your marriage to a BC.

The document certifying permanent residence is neither a permit nor costly

There is no "naturalisation based on marriage" - the only benefit of marriage to a British citizen is that you can get there in 5 years instead of 6.

ohara wrote:The document certifying permanent residence is neither a permit nor costly

There is no "naturalisation based on marriage" - the only benefit of marriage to a British citizen is that you can get there in 5 years instead of 6.

Naturalisation as the spouse of British Citizenship is a section 6(2) application.

A normal (6 year non BC spouse) route naturalisation application is a section 6(1) application.

So yes, they are granted under different sections of the Act.

CR001 wrote:Naturalisation as the spouse of British Citizenship is a section 6(2) application.

A normal (6 year non BC spouse) route naturalisation application is a section 6(1) application.

So yes, they are granted under different sections of the Act.

+1

As is often the case the one form & set of guidance notes/booklet have to cover a multitude of scenarios under, in this case, the BNA.

ohara wrote:The document certifying permanent residence is neither a permit nor costly

There is no "naturalisation based on marriage" - the only benefit of marriage to a British citizen is that you can get there in 5 years instead of 6.

On top of everything else it is costly! I don't have a spare £65 at the end of the month to pay for something that proves that I have the right that I automatically gained 7 years ago anyway! I think it's utterly ridiculous and serves no purpose apart from making money and making life difficult!

Yes it it permanent residence card not a permit apologies for using the wrong word. And I am applying as a spouse of the British citizen hence my "based on marriage" expression.

Anyway thank you all for your help. I better get on with the application before they change the rules again! Lol

I understand it's a frustration, however in the grand scheme of things it is worth it for the privilege of British citizenship.

All in all the cost of applying for an EEA national is around £1500 and that's assuming you need to do a B1 English test and you use NCS.

For non-EEA nationals they are looking at more like £5000 minimum and a wait of 10 years+ depending on which visa/route etc they are on. So I think we should consider ourselves lucky that the EU makes it much cheaper and easier for us

Yes I do appreciate it but I just think that having to prove that I'm entitled to something that I was granted by the government already 7 years ago is a bit ridiculous. All the rest of the things you need are fair enough (although I probably know more about life in UK than 90% of Brits! Lol).

The new requirement for PR card/document is an effort by the Home Office to shift EEA applications to a different office. Previously, you would send all of the evidence with the naturalisation form, and the caseworker would have to work everything out.

Now you apply for a PR card/document separately, which is dealt by a team specialising in EEA regulations, and then you simply send the PR card/doc with the naturalisation form. Makes things much simpler for them.

AleksL wrote:On top of everything else it is costly! I don't have a spare £65 at the end of the month to pay for something that proves that I have the right that I automatically gained 7 years ago anyway!

Tough luck, love!!! My immigration journey, as a single person, cost about £6000 over 6 years in Home Office fees alone. And that does not factor in all the taxes et al that I paid as a normal resident or the additional costs such as getting paperwork translated, English tests, etc.
A family of four (two adults and two children) applying for ILR would be stumping up about £5000 for a single family application. You are getting immigration dirt cheap at £65. Appreciate it.

AleksL wrote:I probably know more about life in UK than 90% of Brits

Join the club. I am often appalled at how little people born in these isles (including children of immigrants) know of their own country. It would also help if the English brush up on their English.