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Hi mates, Sorry if this topic had been discussed before, the question goes this way after 3years wit EEA2 RC and wife became BC when can one apply for BC?

After you have attained PR.

vinny wrote:After you have attained PR.

Does EEA route of PR still apllies when your spouse became BC?

Yes, if spouse retains original EEA nationality. Else, it will be complicated.

vinny wrote:Yes, if spouse retains original EEA nationality. Else, it will be complicated.

No, she gave up her original EEA Nationality as Austrian does not allow dual.

zubby007 wrote: No, she gave up her original EEA Nationality as Austrian does not allow dual.

Then this is complicated.

In essence you may have lost your rights of residence in the UK under EU law as your spouse is now solely British. Is there any way she can regain her Austrian nationality? If not then you may be looking at having to start all over by applying for UK entry clearance via the spousal route. Do you both have any children?

Plum70 wrote:

zubby007 wrote: No, she gave up her original EEA Nationality as Austrian does not allow dual.

Then this is complicated.

In essence you may have lost your rights of residence in the UK under EU law as your spouse is now solely British. Is there any way she can regain her Austrian nationality? If not then you may be looking at having to start all over by applying for UK entry clearance via the spousal route. Do you both have any children?

No, She gave up her Austrian nationality,Yes we have a child, born in UK.

zubby007 wrote:

Plum70 wrote:

zubby007 wrote: No, she gave up her original EEA Nationality as Austrian does not allow dual.

Then this is complicated.

In essence you may have lost your rights of residence in the UK under EU law as your spouse is now solely British. Is there any way she can regain her Austrian nationality? If not then you may be looking at having to start all over by applying for UK entry clearance via the spousal route. Do you both have any children?

No, She gave up her Austrian nationality,Yes we have a child, born in UK.

I just found this very interesting ( If one applicant meets the 5 years residence requirement but the spouse doesn’t, then once the applicant is granted BC (after the citizenship ceremony), the spouse becomes a spouse of BC and can apply for naturalisation under the 3 years residence requirements ) or does it mean the LAW has changed?

zubby007 wrote: .




I just found this very interesting ( If one applicant meets the 5 years residence requirement but the spouse doesn’t, then once the applicant is granted BC (after the citizenship ceremony), the spouse becomes a spouse of BC and can apply for naturalisation under the 3 years residence requirements ) or does it mean the LAW has changed?

It is interesting but does't apply to you. How would you qualify for ILR or PR? You need it to apply for naturalization

boloney wrote:

zubby007 wrote: .




I just found this very interesting ( If one applicant meets the 5 years residence requirement but the spouse doesn’t, then once the applicant is granted BC (after the citizenship ceremony), the spouse becomes a spouse of BC and can apply for naturalisation under the 3 years residence requirements ) or does it mean the LAW has changed?

It is interesting but does't apply to you. How would you qualify for ILR or PR? You need it to apply for naturalization

I guess I am missing up something here, I thought I will qualify as spouse of BC and 3years residence required.

zubby007, you can't apply for BC until you have PR, regardless of whether you qualify as the spouse of a BC or not.

Kitty wrote:zubby007, you can't apply for BC until you have PR, regardless of whether you qualify as the spouse of a BC or not.

I thought PR is optional in accord with EEA regulations?

zubby007 wrote:

Kitty wrote:zubby007, you can't apply for BC until you have PR, regardless of whether you qualify as the spouse of a BC or not.

I thought PR is optional in accord with EEA regulations?

Yes a PR card is optional but not PR itself.

In order to naturalise as a British Citizen you must be settled (have ILR or PR) the residency requirement of 3 years for the spouse/civil p of a British Citizen is a separate requirement to that of being settled.

zubby007 wrote:

Plum70 wrote:

zubby007 wrote: No, she gave up her original EEA Nationality as Austrian does not allow dual.

Then this is complicated.

In essence you may have lost your rights of residence in the UK under EU law as your spouse is now solely British. Is there any way she can regain her Austrian nationality? If not then you may be looking at having to start all over by applying for UK entry clearance via the spousal route. Do you both have any children?

No, She gave up her Austrian nationality,Yes we have a child, born in UK.

This being the case then your rights of residence under EU law may no longer exist. However, as you both have a child together there maybe a way to apply in country for a UK spouse visa.

I am not well versed with UK immigration law so will leave it to the moderators or other experienced posters to propose legal options available to you.

Good luck!

I have a different view.

The partner has not lost his PR status by becoming British (and losing his Austrian citizenship). The only way to lose a PR is by being absent from the UK for more than 2 years. He is a PR holder and a EEA national (although British).
It is an odd case but I don't think he lost the rights under the directive.

Having said that, the spouse would need to complete 5 years of residence to obtain PR which is a requirement for BC.

Plum70 wrote:

zubby007 wrote:

Plum70 wrote:

zubby007 wrote: No, she gave up her original EEA Nationality as Austrian does not allow dual.

Then this is complicated.

In essence you may have lost your rights of residence in the UK under EU law as your spouse is now solely British. Is there any way she can regain her Austrian nationality? If not then you may be looking at having to start all over by applying for UK entry clearance via the spousal route. Do you both have any children?

No, She gave up her Austrian nationality,Yes we have a child, born in UK.

This being the case then your rights of residence under EU law may no longer exist. However, as you both have a child together there maybe a way to apply in country for a UK spouse visa.

I am not well versed with UK immigration law so will leave it to the moderators or other experienced posters to propose legal options available to you.

Good luck!

Thanks so much for your kind input I appreciate, hope to get some more input from some gurus and moderators.

Jambo wrote:I have a different view.

The partner has not lost his PR status by becoming British (and losing his Austrian citizenship). The only way to lose a PR is by being absent from the UK for more than 2 years. He is a PR holder and a EEA national (although British).
It is an odd case but I don't think he lost the rights under the directive.

Having said that, the spouse would need to complete 5 years of residence to obtain PR which is a requirement for BC.

So in your own view I have to complete 5years and obtain PR before I could apply for BC.

Irrespective of the separate question on loss of Austrian citizenship on attainment of British citizenship, you will require PR first. This requires, in general, 5 years' residence.

With regards to the other question, did your spouse attain PR as an Austrian citizen living in the UK or did they attain it by some other method?

This is a very interesting thread! It makes a lovely start to my Sunday!

EUsmileWEallsmile wrote:Irrespective of the separate question on loss of Austrian citizenship on attainment of British citizenship, you will require PR first. This requires, in general, 5 years' residence.

With regards to the other question, did your spouse attain PR as an Austrian citizen living in the UK or did they attain it by some other method?

Yes She obtained her PR after 5years residence in the UK and BC after 1yr of PR.

zubby007 wrote: Yes She obtained her PR after 5years residence in the UK and BC after 1yr of PR.

That's helpful. It could be argued that she still has permanent residence under the regulations (provided she has not been absent from the UK for more than two years).

Directive/2004/38/EC wrote:This is a very interesting thread! It makes a lovely start to my Sunday!

I couldn't find anything relating to my question on the thread.

EUsmileWEallsmile wrote:

zubby007 wrote: Yes She obtained her PR after 5years residence in the UK and BC after 1yr of PR.

That's helpful. It could be argued that she still has permanent residence under the regulations (provided she has not been absent from the UK for more than two years).

No, she has not been absent from the UK for more than 3months, So in that regard my EEA residence is still up and running?

Jambo wrote:I have a different view.

The partner has not lost his PR status by becoming British (and losing his Austrian citizenship). The only way to lose a PR is by being absent from the UK for more than 2 years. He is a PR holder and a EEA national (although British).
It is an odd case but I don't think he lost the rights under the directive.

Having said that, the spouse would need to complete 5 years of residence to obtain PR which is a requirement for BC.

Possible pitfalls that come to (my mind) with this viewpoint are:

Say, the OP carries on under the EU route up to the 5 year mark and decides to apply for confirmation of PR - which in this case would be wise - he would need to:

1. Show that he is (not was) the spouse of a EEA/EU national who has either attained PR or has resided in the UK for such a time in accordance with the regulations. The EU national's PR card covers this bit, but..

2. The OP would also need to provide the EU national's ID, but as they renounced their Austrian citizenship, there may be none to show. Now, one can argue that the HO should have a copy on file to refer to but would this copy still be deemed legitimate in light of the circumstances aforementioned?

3. The EEA4 form asks if the EU national is also a British citizen. The OP will have to answer 'yes' to this which may lead the UKBA to check if the EU national has retained their original nationality. Another potential road block.

I am not confident (without the backing of EU (case) law) that this will succeed. The cogent point is that the OP will be looking to obtain PR based on the past activities of his EU spouse who can now only lay claim to British citizenship. I do not know if there is the capacity to 'freeze frame' and disregard material changes which, if taken into account, seemingly disqualify the OP from the benefits of EU law.

Just to reassure - I am not the harbinger of ill-fated news but consider this a positive exercise in highlighting possible hurdles which can then be discussed and clarified.

Plum70 wrote:

Jambo wrote:I have a different view.

The partner has not lost his PR status by becoming British (and losing his Austrian citizenship). The only way to lose a PR is by being absent from the UK for more than 2 years. He is a PR holder and a EEA national (although British).
It is an odd case but I don't think he lost the rights under the directive.

Having said that, the spouse would need to complete 5 years of residence to obtain PR which is a requirement for BC.

Possible pitfalls that come to (my mind) with this viewpoint are:

Say, the OP carries on under the EU route up to the 5 year mark and decides to apply for confirmation of PR - which in this case would be wise - he would need to:

1. Show that he is (not was) the spouse of a EEA/EU national who has either attained PR or has resided in the UK for such a time in accordance with the regulations. The EU national's PR card covers this bit, but..

2. The OP would also need to provide the EU national's ID, but as they renounced their Austrian citizenship, there may be none to show. Now, one can argue that the HO should have a copy on file to refer to but would this copy still be deemed legitimate in light of the circumstances aforementioned?

3. The EEA4 form asks if the EU national is also a British citizen. The OP will have to answer 'yes' to this which may lead the UKBA to check if the EU national has retained their original nationality. Another potential road block.

I am not confident (without the backing of EU (case) law) that this will succeed. The cogent point is that the OP will be looking to obtain PR based on the past activities of his EU spouse who can now only lay claim to British citizenship. I do not know if there is the capacity to 'freeze frame' and disregard material changes which, if taken into account, seemingly disqualify the OP from the benefits of EU law.

Just to reassure - I am not the harbinger of ill-fated news but consider this a positive exercise in highlighting possible hurdles which can then be discussed and clarified.

It's really getting tight on me, I can understand your view points Considering this into account it's wise to switch to UK national LAW as Spouse of BC or should I wait to complete my 5years under EU law?