Immigrationboards.com

Hi,
Need an advice to apply for British citizenship for my wife and kids.

Here is the status of myself and my family:

I received my ILR in Nov 2020 (through 10 years route)
I received my British passport in April 2023
My wife entered UK in 2011 but had a break for 1 year in 2016
So her status has reset and my wife came back to UK in Jun 2017 as my dependant
I have switched her status as ILR dependant in Dec 2020
Both my kids are under 18

Now I need your kindly suggestion on when we can apply for my family British citizenship.

- I assume that I can apply for my wife’s ILR this Dec 2025 as she is completing 5 years as ILR dependant.
- I assume, As she lived in UK for last 3 years without break, after ILR she can apply for British passport immediately. Is this correct ?
- My kids also need ILR for applying for British passport ?? (Both my kids are born outside UK and I don’t have British passport when they were born)

Request to please provide your responses based on above situation.

Appreciate your help.

Your family need to apply for British citizenship first, once they all have ILR, before they can apply for a British passport. Two separate processes.

Children born abroad, if born before you became British, need ILR first as well.

Thanks for the response. But I read that we can apply for British citizenship through MN1 process if the kids are under 18 and born outside UK meeting below criteria.
- parent received the British after they were born.
- show proofs of kids in UK for longer duration (say about 6 years plus)

This will go through Discretionary approval of Home Secretary. But mostly this case will be approved as kids are below 18 and continue as dependants on British parent.

Please let me know if the assumption is correct.

Your children need ILR. There is no special route for them to British citizenship.

There have been a few MN1 refusals in the last few months posted on the forum because the children didn't have ILR.

nr123 wrote: ↑

Thu Nov 13, 2025 2:20 pm

- show proofs of kids in UK for longer duration (say about 6 years plus)

Children born abroad need either ILR themselves or at least 10 years legal residence in the UK to register as British citizens.

Six years isn't enough.

And yes, these are the rules for registration of children as British citizens at discretion. Discretion doesn't mean lack of rules. It means the rules are those that the Secretary of State thinks fit to impose, without parliamentary supervision.

Thank you all. We go through the ILR route as my family is eligible to apply for ILR by end of December this year.

I am planning to apply for ILR for my family first and then British passport. Request for your advice for below please.

My current position:
- Received the ILR in 2010
- British passport received Apr 2023
- My family is on ILR dependant visa from 2010 and eligible for ILR on 30th Dec 2025

Need advice on the below please.
- What should be the application to use for my family ILR application (Is it SET(M) or SET(O) ??)
- My wife got the NARIC English Language certificate in 2010. Is it still valid ?? (This is already used for ILR dependant visa earlier)
- Can I apply for British passport for my family immediately next day once ILR is approved? Or do I need to wait until April 2026 to complete 3 years of my British citizenship.

Request to please share your responses to use the right application and process for my family ILR application.

Thank you in advance.

nr123 wrote: ↑

Sun Dec 28, 2025 1:45 pm

I am planning to apply for ILR for my family first and then British passport. Request for your advice for below please.

My current position:
- Received the ILR in 2010
- British passport received Apr 2023
- My family is on ILR dependant visa from 2010 and eligible for ILR on 30th Dec 2025

Need advice on the below please.
- What should be the application to use for my family ILR application (Is it SET(M) or SET(O) ??)
- My wife got the NARIC English Language certificate in 2010. Is it still valid ?? (This is already used for ILR dependant visa earlier)
- Can I apply for British passport for my family immediately next day once ILR is approved? Or do I need to wait until April 2026 to complete 3 years of my British citizenship.

Request to please share your responses to use the right application and process for my family ILR application.

Thank you in advance.

Your queries about ILR should be asked in the relevant forum.
Your wife will be able to reuse the same English language certificate.
What are ages and countries of birth of your children?

My son is 9 years old and my daughter is 17 years old.
Please help with what Application to use for ILR application.

You need to ask that question in the relevant subforum. Here we only answer queries on British citizenship/passports.