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Citizenship through marriage to BC

Posted: Wed Dec 23, 2020 8:44 pm
by justaquery
Hi all

My wife and I are not married in the UK. We got married in our home country in 2018 whilst I was on a Tier 2 visa and we used the marriage certificate from my home country to get her a dependent visa. Since then, I obtained my ILR in 2019 (5 years tier 2) and British citizenship in 2020 (after 1 year on ILR).

Now that I am a British citizen, it is my understanding that after 5 years on a dependent visa, once my wife gets her ILR, she can apply immediately for British citizenship (rather than wait one year after getting ILR). As we are not legally married in the UK, do we need to get married here too so that when she can prove to the home office that she is married to a British citizen and can skip the one year wait once she has ILR? Or will my original marriage certificate from my home country be enough?

Many Thanks

Re: Citizenship through marriage to BC

Posted: Wed Dec 23, 2020 8:47 pm
by CR001
There is no requirement to register a marriage in the uk. If your marriage abroad was performed in line with the Laws of the country and legally recognised, that is sufficient.

Re: Citizenship through marriage to BC

Posted: Wed Dec 23, 2020 8:54 pm
by justaquery
That’s great, thanks