Do I qualify for a UK citizenship application?

[iliant]

Hello there,

I am in an interesting situation and would appreciate any advice on it. I've been permanently in the UK since 1999 with the following history:

09/1999 - 12/2002 PhD - on a student visa
01/2003 - 12/2006 - on a WP
01/2007 - 12/2007 - on an HSMP WP.

Additionally,
01/2007 - I became an EU citizen
11/2007 - I passed the "Life in the UK" test.

I've been looking into the AN form and the guidance notes and am getting more and more puzzled whether I can directly apply for naturalisation as different conclusions can be drawn at different places in the guidance notes.

My interpretation is this: By 01/2008 I will have done five years in the UK on a WP in the UK, no matter I have had an extra three years of a PhD work beforehand, and being a EU citizen automatically qualifies me for ILR (PR). Therefore, I qualify for citizenship application without the need of obtaining an ILR first.

However, I may be wrong and would definitely appreciate any help in this matter.

Thanks

[vinny]

See also BN7 - Naturalisation as a British citizen

AFAIK, if you are not married to a UK citizen, then you would need to hold ILR or permanent residency for at least a year.

[iliant]

Hello,

Reading "BN7 - Naturalisation as a British citizen" and especially the first paragraph of Note 5:

"5. Since 30 April 2006, EEA nationals (or their family members) who have been exercising free movement rights in the UK for a continuous period of five years will, at the end of that 5 year period, be automatically entitled to permaent residence in the UK and will not need to obtain indefinite leave to remain in the United Kingdom before applying for naturalisation. EEA nationals (or their family members) who completed the "5 year" period before 30 April 2006 will have acquired permanent residence on 30 April 2006. EEA nationals who are not applying on the grounds of marriage to a British citizen should also have had permanent residence for 12 months before applying."

It is still not absolutely clear when this five year period of free movement in the EEA starts - at the day of accession of the country which I am a citizen of or retrospectively regardless of it. Therefore, the question in my case is still open for interpretation.

Regards

[JAJ]

It is still not absolutely clear when this five year period of free movement in the EEA starts - at the day of accession of the country which I am a citizen of or retrospectively regardless of it. Therefore, the question in my case is still open for interpretation.

And when exactly did you become a citizen of that country? Was it just confirmation that you had always been a citizen, or was it a formal grant of citizenship?

Also, what country is it?

You may be better off going for ILR through the normal route, if you are allowed to combine WP and HSMP time (others will advise).

[iliant]

Well, I'm citizen of Bulgaria by birth. WP and HSMP WP can combine as they have the same function. The differenece is that it is the employer applying for a WP on the employee-to-be behalf after a job offer, whereas a prospective job-seeker applies for a HSMP WP on his own behalf. The question is essentially whether I can bypass the ILR route and apply for citizenship directly.

[johnsienk]

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