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Hello everyone,

me and my wife are both EU Nationals and we would like to apply for British Citizenship (Naturalisation) after being resident in the Uk for more than 10 years. Our two daughters were born in the UK and we already proofed their British citizenship status a few years ago when applying for their British Passports.

My question is: is it really necessary for us to apply for the permanent residency card considering we have already proofed that we meet the residency requirements when we applied for our daughters' passports? Can we use their passports instead of obtaining the residency cards? This would have the advantage to save us time and money (130£). Also, in the Naturalisation application form there is a section where we are asked to provide the residency card number. Would it be acceptable to leave it blank and send our daughters' passports instead?

Regards,

Luke82

luke82 wrote:is it really necessary for us to apply for the permanent residency card considering we have already proofed that we meet the residency requirements when we applied for our daughters' passports?

Yes. It is a requirement for naturalisation.

luke82 wrote:Can we use their passports instead of obtaining the residency cards?

No. There are multiple possible routes to British citizenship. The Home Office is not going to check if your children acquired their British citizenships solely through your PR or by other means. Besides, if born in the UK, you would still need to prove PR for the other parent.

luke82 wrote:This would have the advantage to save us time and money (130£).

The equivalent documentation (ILR) for a non-EEA couple would be £3750 (£1875 x 2). Trust me, you are getting it dirt-cheap (a 96% discount).

luke82 wrote:Also, in the Naturalisation application form there is a section where we are asked to provide the residency card number. Would it be acceptable to leave it blank and send our daughters' passports instead?

No. The PR card is a requirement.

As you have been resident in the UK for the past 10 years, I suggest that you submit proof of the earliest five continuous years of exercising treaty rights. That way, you can apply directly for citizenship after getting the PR card. The law requires that you have held PR (not the PR Card, but PR status) for 1 year before applying for citizenship.

Also, if you have settled in the UK before 2000, check your old passports for an ILR stamp. If you have that and it has not expired (by living outside the UK for two years), you do not need PR.

thank you for your kind reply,

regards,

Luke

secret.simon wrote:

luke82 wrote:This would have the advantage to save us time and money (130£).

The equivalent documentation (ILR) for a non-EEA couple would be £3750 (£1875 x 2). Trust me, you are getting it dirt-cheap (a 96% discount).

This. I don't know why EU citizens complain about such a small fee in the grand scheme of things, when those non-EU citizens face monumentally higher costs to achieve the same thing.

ohara wrote:

secret.simon wrote:

luke82 wrote:This would have the advantage to save us time and money (130£).

The equivalent documentation (ILR) for a non-EEA couple would be £3750 (£1875 x 2). Trust me, you are getting it dirt-cheap (a 96% discount).

This. I don't know why EU citizens complain about such a small fee in the grand scheme of things, when those non-EU citizens face monumentally higher costs to achieve the same thing.

I have never complained about it. I am happy to pay for the required fee. Considering my specific case I was wondering whether I could have saved £130. Trust me, you would have done the same thing.