suggested timeline

[hienanh]

Hi,
I came to the UK with a student visa in Aug 2002; got married in Sept 2005 and obtained limited leave to remain in March 2006 (I'm due to apply for ILR at the end of February or beginning of March 2008 time)
I just have a few questions:
1) the date on my limited leave to remain stamp is 21st March 2008 so does it mean I can ring up the HO to apply from 21st February 2008 (28 days before?) (I also would like to mention that I want to apply in person)
2) After obtaining the ILR how long would I have to wait before I can apply for naturalisation and if so, how much would it cost? In March 2008 I will have been residing in the country for 5 years and 6 months so is there any possibility that I can apply for it without having to wait for 1 year based on ILR status?

Your help would be really appreciated. Thanks.

[vinny]

1. You may apply for ILR before your FLR(M) expires, but no sooner than 28 days (4 weeks) prior to the FLR(M)'s expiry date. I don't know how far in advance you may ring to schedule your appointment, but I would have expected that you may ring before you are eligible to apply.

2. If you are married to a UK citizen, then see also Can I be naturalised as a British citizen? > Spouse or civil partner of a British citizen; else see also > Standard requirements.

See also Cost of applying

[hienanh]

first of all thanks for your reply.
According to the Standard Requirements page (residential requirements part):

" * have been resident in the United Kingdom for at least five years (this is known as the residential qualifying period); and
* have been present in the United Kingdom five years before the date of your application; and
* have not spent more than 450 days outside the United Kingdom during the five year period; and
* have not spend more than 90 days outside the United Kingdom in the last 12 months of the five-year period; and
* have not been in breach of the immigration rules at any stage during the five-year period."

According to the above requirements I am sure I have ILR and I can provide visa stamps and proof that I have been residing in the UK for 5 consecutive years. However, if I apply as a spouse of a UK citizen, the requirements are different (as below)
"# have been resident in the United Kingdom for at least three years (this is known as the residential qualifying period); and
# have been present in the United Kingdom three years before the date of your application; and"

So I am just a bit confused. I have always thought that I have to have ILR for a year before I can apply for naturalisation but I am now under the impression that I can apply for naturalisation as long as I have ILR and can prove EITHER that I have been here for 5 years (standard requirements) or 3 years ('spouse' requirements).

Can anyone please explain this? Many thanks.

[John]

the date on my limited leave to remain stamp is 21st March 2008 so does it mean I can ring up the HO to apply from 21st February 2008 (28 days before?)

You are overlooking that this year is a leap year! So 28 days before 21.03.08 is actually 22.02.08.

As regards the Naturalisation, if you are married to a British Citizen, then yes you can choose either to take account of that marriage, or not. But if not, then a side effect would be that you would need to have held the ILR for at least a year before applying.

If you are married to a BC, why would you want to ignore that when making the application?

[hienanh]

If you are married to a BC, why would you want to ignore that when making the application?

I didn't mean that I wanted to ignore the fact I'm married to a BC. I was only looking at different options to see which one is the best really. To be honest I didn't expect it to be so costly (£670 if my memory is right).
Anyway thanks a lot for your replies. The information really helps.
Happy new year to you all