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Hi all,

I am applying for the UK citizenship after having obtained the settled status more than 12 months ago. Does anyone know if I need to have a Permanent Residence Card? I initially thought I don't (it was not mentioned here), but now I found this website, which says: "You need a permanent residence document that proves your status before you can apply for British citizenship.".

Also, in the "3. Documents" section of my application, it says the following:

Mr John Doe's proof of Nationality

You must include your:
passport or EEA national identity card
UK permanent residence card
evidence of freedom from immigration time restrictions
You must have a permanent residence card before you can apply for citizenship Apply for a permanent residence card.

Can someone confirm that I really need this card? I would prefer to avoid cashing out another £65 in vain...
I apologise if this question was asked on this board before, but I was not able to find conclusive information.

PS I should add that I meant the EU settled status, which perhaps is not the OP's case... Apologies for the confusion.

Okay, I resolved it myself. I erroneously answered "Yes" to the question:

Are you either:
An EEA national who has been issued with a permanent residence document
A family member of an EEA national who has been issued with a permanent residence card

I should have said yes to the question about the Indefinite Leave to Remain which covers the EU settlement status.

Hi all,

I just filled in the online UK citizenship application. At the end of section 2., I was asked if I want to add additional applicant. One of the options is my partner. We are both in a very similar situation: we have the EU settled status and we are applying for the citizenship. Is there any benefit to making this application together? Will it reduce the fees? Will it substantially increase our chances of success with this application?

I would be grateful for anyone who can share their experiences.

Best wishes.

Is there any benefit to making this application together? Will it reduce the fees? Will it substantially increase our chances of success with this application?

No, no and no.

CR001 wrote: ↑

Fri Jan 17, 2020 9:19 pm

Is there any benefit to making this application together? Will it reduce the fees? Will it substantially increase our chances of success with this application?

No, no and no.

Thank you. That was my understanding as well, but it is good to get some confirmation.

Hi,
I am applying for the BC as an EU settled person: is comprehensive sickness insurance necessary for the last 5 years? I was a student till 2016 and I did not have it.

By the way, Q5 in the Naturalisation section of the FAQ seems outdated. It seems to me that the most common, or perhaps the easiest, route to the naturalisation for the EU citizens is via the settled status.

Hi, about your first question on the permanent residence card if you apply strictly through the EU Settled Status route. I also had the same issue. I did not get the option with 'ILR including through the EU Settlement Scheme' unless I ticked 'Yes' to the EU Permanent Residence Document question. The problem is it then asks you to submit the EU permanent residence card as part of the documents checklist. But I just submitted the EU passport, the EEA ID card and 'a document certifying permanent residence' which is the letter I got from the Home Office when my settled status was confirmed. I am aware the letter itself is not proof of settled status (the status itself can be checked online) but it confirms there are no restrictions on the length of stay. So I suppose that should be alright even though I don't have the EU permanent residence card. Maybe they just haven't updated the guidance in the 'Documents Checklist'?

Hi LoreleiB, thanks for your response. I answered no the question:
"Are you either:
An EEA national who has been issued with a permanent residence document
A family member of an EEA national who has been issued with a permanent residence card"

and then answered yes to the question:
"Have you been granted indefinite leave to enter, or remain, in the UK?"

When did you make your application? Perhaps it is something they changed?

I applied on 20 Jan this year. Maybe they changed the system since you applied? I checked again, going through the application form as though it were completely new, and the second question you mention '"Have you been granted indefinite leave to enter, or remain, in the UK?" does not come up at all.

Instead if you tick YES to the question: 'Are you either:
An EEA national who has been issued with a permanent residence document
A family member of an EEA national who has been issued with a permanent residence card"

Then a further question of 'What will you use to apply for British citizenship' appears and for that you have two options: 'Permanent residence card or document' and ' Indefinite leave to remain (ILR) ILR granted under the EU Settlement Scheme'. So I ticked yes to this second option.

If you tick NO to the question ''Are you either:
An EEA national who has been issued with a permanent residence document
A family member of an EEA national who has been issued with a permanent residence card"

Then the topic ends and there is no possibility to select Settled Status as an option. You can just click 'Next' and that takes you to the next section which is Nationality and Passports. As far as I can tell the Settled Status does not come up again later in the application.

So it seems that the only way to show you are applying through Settled Status is to confirm you have a permanent residence card. Now based on my n reading of the guidance form, a single one of these means is sufficient, you do not need to have both PR and Settled Status.

I just think the application form is routed weirdly and incorrectly. You should be able to tick 'NO' to EEA Citizen with PR Card and then still be able to give Settled Status details independently of this question.

But anyway, was this your experience too? Like I said, I really could not find that question 'Have you been granted idenfinite leave to enter or remain in the UK'.

Oops, seem like you are right! I submitted my application on Monday morning. Hopefully, they will not turn me away just because of that... Anyway thanks for the information, hopefully someone else will take the benefit of what you wrote!

The ILR question is immediately after the EEA residence question in the pdf copy of my application that the system generated at the end.

Hi all,

Does anyone know what is an acceptable form of evidence for proving residence as a PhD student? I have my offer letter from 2012 and my award letter (and certificate) from 2017. Will that suffice?

Yes. I got ILR by proving residence as a student five years, I submitted university letters of enrolment with dates as well as my degree certificates. All ok. Should be the same principle for you. A signed and stamped on headed paper university letter proving you were a student between x date and x date. It can be an old letter that’s fine. Plus your degree certificate. Good luck!

No need for insurance if you apply for BC with Settled Status under the EU settlement scheme.

The insurance is only required to obtain permanent residency under the rules prior to the introduction of the EU settlement scheme.

Once you have settled status under the new scheme or permanent residency from the older system you have Indefinite Leave to Remain ILR which is all you need to apply for BC (provided to satisfy the other requirements too.) They won’t ask you to justify sickness insurance when you apply for BC , it is presumed you had it since you obtained Permanent Residency or that the rule does not apply to you if you got Settled Status under the Scheme.

Thanks for all the responses everyone -- I got my (positive) decision this week! My error which I described earlier in this thread was not an issue in the end.

There was another (surprising to me) issue however: the day before I got the decision, I was asked for proof of residence from Oct 2018 till the day of my application. It was strange, because I was employed all this time and I would think that the Home Office would know this from the HMRC database? The only thing which would explain it was that one of my employment contracts expired in Oct 2018 and it might have been coded by the HMRC as my main employment somehow (via the tax code maybe?). In any case, I sent them my P60 forms by email for the requested period and I got my decision first thing next morning. P60 was one of the documents they mention as suitable, but I spent the previous evening agonising whether I should send them all the documents they enlisted. It was frustrating as there was little indication as to whether they require just one document to cover any given period, or a bunch of them (which would be time consuming). On top of this, the wording of that email was ambiguous: I was asked for original documents to be sent via email. Then, at the end of the message, I was asked "You must reply in writing to the above postal address by the date given." In the end, it turned out that an email was sufficient...

Anyway, it's all behind me now. Except that it isn't: time to wait for the end of the pandemic and a ceremony...