Naturalization question. Please help

[shajacksha]

Hi
I am a permanent resident and have been living in the UK for the last 10 years. I am an Indian now planning to apply for my british citizenship. I would be grateful if the forum can help me out with the following query. I have searched the forum and cannot find out the answer for this particular situation.

My wife is also a permanent resident who has been living with me in the UK for the past 10 years, but she has gaps in the last five years. She has been away from the UK for more than 450 days in the last five years and she has been away for more than 90 days in the last year. Since, I do not have these gaps and I am eligible to apply, can she also apply for naturalisation at the same time as me?. We have a child aged 17 months born in India. Can I also include the child in my application?. Please help me take this decision. Thank you.
Jack

[Christophe]

You can apply, and your child can apply on the basis of your application, but your application will not, I think, help your wife if she does not qualify in her own right. However, once you are a British citizen she can apply, as your wife, on a 3-year basis rather than a 5-year basis.

[shajacksha]

Hi thanks for the reply. Does this mean that my wife can apply 3 years after I become a citizen or can she apply immidiately after I naturalize?. Can I include my child's application along with hers?. Thanks again. Jack

[Christophe]

Hi thanks for the reply. Does this mean that my wife can apply 3 years after I become a citizen or can she apply immidiately after I naturalize?. Can I include my child's application along with hers?. Thanks again. Jack

Without knowing all your circumstances, I would say that your child's application could be included with yours (if the child is yours and fulfils the criteria - the child's application doesn't have to go with the mother's application particularly).

Once you are a British citizen, your wife can apply as the spouse of a British citizen. This means two main things: she needs to fulfil the residence criteria for 3 years, not 5 years (i.e. normally the applicant should not have been absent for more than 270 days during the past 3 years, of which no more than 90 days should have been taken in the past 12 months), and she does not have to declare an intention to continue living in the UK after naturalisation.

Details can be found in the BIA gude, here. There is scope for discretion regarding absences from the UK, and section 2 of this guide describes how this discretion might be exercised. But remember that some of these discretionary decisions are described as relating to spouses of British citizens, which your wife would not be if she applies with you.

Note that one matter over which discretion cannot really be exercised by the BIA is that you must have been physically present in the UK on the day precisely 5 years (3 years if marrried to a British citizen) before the application is received in the Home Office (as oppposed to the day that you put the application in the post).

[shajacksha]

Hi. Thanks for the information. The child is mine and was born in India. My wife had to be in India for a lengthy period due to family circumstances. That is the reason I raised this question. Thanks again for explaining. Regards

[shajacksha]

Hi. Thanks for the information. The child is mine and was born in India. My wife had to be in India for a lengthy period due to family circumstances. That is the reason I raised this question. Thanks again for explaining. Regards