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What is the mandatory waiting period for naturalisation for a person in the following situation:

- Arrives in 1991 on student visa which is annually renewed until 1996.

- Applies for renewal in 1996 but after 8 month wait and providing extra documentation, passport returned in 1997 saying visa will not be renewed because of lack of adequate attendance at uni

- Remains in the country (illegally) and obtains ILR under 14-year rule in 2011.

Clean personal record with taxes paid throughout working career.

So the question:

Does the first 5 years of legal residence count towards the residence requirements for naturalisation? If not, why not?

Thanks

The qualifying residential period for naturalisation is the "5 year period" immediately preceding such application. And one of the mandatory requirements is that the stay in UK during the qualifying residential period must have been a "lawful" one.

Well by that definition, the individual qualifies as the first 5 years in the 90s was legal and so has the period since ILR was awarded since early 2011.

So am I right in concluding that the 5 year period preceding such an application has been met given that it was indeed legal?

sushdmehta wrote:The qualifying residential period for naturalisation is the "5 year period" immediately preceding such application. And one of the mandatory requirements is that the stay in UK during the qualifying residential period must have been a "lawful" one.

I have (now) underlined two words in my response above, which you seem to have missed noting.

The earliest you may be eligible to apply for naturalisation is 5 years from the date you were granted settlement.

Right - so that means 5 years fom the granting of the ILR. OK thanks.

sushdmehta wrote:I have underlined a word in my response above, which you seem to have missed noting.

Also, could you please provide the link to the UKBA page where this is stated?

Because the words "immediately preceding" or similar do not appear on documentation that appears on the UKBA's site. Hence the original questions

Thanks

sahara2011 wrote:Right - so that means 5 years fom the granting of the ILR. OK thanks.

sushdmehta wrote:I have underlined a word in my response above, which you seem to have missed noting.

See When does the residential qualifying period start?

The person concerned as well as I have already looked at this section (and all relevant sections we could find on UKBA's site.

I'm afraid it simply does not provide an answer - never mind a clear one - to the question I originally posed, since the individual has been present legally for more than 5 years in the UK in total.

Jambo wrote:See When does the residential qualifying period start?

sahara2011 wrote:What is the mandatory waiting period for naturalisation for a person in the following situation:

- Arrives in 1991 on student visa which is annually renewed until 1996.

- Applies for renewal in 1996 but after 8 month wait and providing extra documentation, passport returned in 1997 saying visa will not be renewed because of lack of adequate attendance at uni

- Remains in the country (illegally) and obtains ILR under 14-year rule in 2011.

Clean personal record with taxes paid throughout working career.

So the question:

Does the first 5 years of legal residence count towards the residence requirements for naturalisation? If not, why not?

Thanks

In my opinion its possible to apply naturalisation after 12 months of your ILR, because in granting you 14year basis ILR, home office did you the discretion, as they use in legacy/asylum cases when people apply for naturalisation after 12 months of their ILR,my advise is File your Naturalisation through expert solicitor,

sahara2011 wrote:The person concerned as well as I have already looked at this section (and all relevant sections we could find on UKBA's site.

I'm afraid it simply does not provide an answer - never mind a clear one - to the question I originally posed, since the individual has been present legally for more than 5 years in the UK in total.

When does the residential qualifying period start? wrote: When does the residential qualifying period start?

The residential qualifying period is calculated from the day when we receive your application. Most unsuccessful applications fail because the applicant was not present in the UK at the beginning of the residential qualifying period. You must make sure you meet this requirement before you make your application. For example, if we receive your application on 25 March 2010, you must show that you were in the UK on 26 March 2005.

It can't get simpler than that - the 5 years leading to the day the HO receives the application.