British citizenship immediately after ILR with British spouse

[kamoe]

I understand it is possible to apply for British citizenship immediately after obtaining ILR if you are the spouse or civil partner of a British citizen and you have lived in the UK for at least 3 years before the date of application.

Question is: Do the 3 years need to have been spent as the spouse of the British citizen? Or can one have obtained ILR by other means, e.g. long residence, then marry a British citizen, then apply for citizenship shortly after that? (Just to illustrate the edge case).

Has anyone here obtained British citizenship, or know of someone who has, via the spouse/partner route, with less than 3 years as spouse/partner of British citizen?

Thanks. Really curious to know.

[CR001]

Do the 3 years need to have been spent as the spouse of the British citizen?

No.

Or can one have obtained ILR by other means, e.g. long residence, then marry a British citizen, then apply for citizenship shortly after that? (Just to illustrate the edge case).

The requirment is to simply be married to a British citizen, regardless if visa or ilr route.

Has anyone here obtained British citizenship, or know of someone who has, via the spouse/partner route, with less than 3 years as spouse/partner of British citizen?

Me!! And many others.

[kamoe]

Has anyone here obtained British citizenship, or know of someone who has, via the spouse/partner route, with less than 3 years as spouse/partner of British citizen?

Me!! And many others.

Awesome, wonderful to know! Thanks.

[secret.simon]

No, you don't need to be married for at least three years to a British citizen to be able to apply under Section 6(2), you just need to be married to a British citizen on the date of application.

So if you get ILR and get married to a British citizen on that date, you can apply on the same date (assuming that you meet the other requirements).

[kamoe]

No, you don't need to be married for at least three years to a British citizen to be able to apply under Section 6(2), you just need to be married to a British citizen on the date of application.

So if you get ILR and get married to a British citizen on that date, you can apply on the same date (assuming that you meet the other requirements).

Thanks, again, great to know!

Interesting to see how this contrasts with EEA regulations, where time spent on other immigration routes, e.g. not as family member of EEA citizen, does not count towards the required residence period for PR/Settled Status.

[secret.simon]

Remember, Immigration Rules (under the Immigration Act 1971) ≠ EEA Regulations (Under the European Communities Act 1972) ≠ the British Nationality Act 1981.

They were all passed at different times, with different intents and work differently and generally do not interact with each other, except in certain limited circumstances.

[kamoe]

Actually, additional question: If the British spouse is a naturalised British citizen, does it matter if the applicant married them before they became a British Citizen?

So for example, assuming person A and person B both have ILR, but only person B has had ILR for more than a year.
Can the following happen in this order:

1. Person A marries person B
2. Person B becomes a British citizen
3. Person A applies for British citizenship before completing 1 year on ILR on the basis of currently being the spouse of a British citizen

(note they married person B before they were a British citizen)

I haven't seen any specifics, and the way things are worded in the present tense makes me assume the above is valid, and the order in which 1. and 2. occur does not matter?

[CR001]

If the British spouse is a naturalised British citizen, does it matter if the applicant married them before they became a British Citizen?

No.

The requirment is ONLY to be married at the time you get ilr to enable you to apply without waiting 12 months. It makes no difference how the person become British or when they became British. They could have, for example, attended their ceremony the day before you got ilr and it still counts as being married to a British citizen.

[kamoe]

Thanks both. This is really helpful, not only for me but hopefully for other people pondering their options.

[kamoe]

The requirment is ONLY to be married at the time you get ilr to enable you to apply without waiting 12 months.

Hang on a second, this means the scenario I described above is not valid, since Person A would have acquired ILR before getting married.

It makes no difference how the person become British or when they became British.

But what makes a difference is when Person A got ILR.

They could have, for example, attended their ceremony the day before you got ilr and it still counts as being married to a British citizen.

So the requirement is to already be married to a British citizen when the ILR is acquired?

In that sense, are the below scenarios assessed correctly:

NOT valid:
1. Person A acquires ILR
2. Person A marries person B
3. Person B becomes British citizen
4. Person A applies for British Citizenship before completing 12 months on ILR on the basis of being spouse of British citizen
Does not succeed as ILR was acquired before getting married; applicant needs to wait 12 months.

NOT valid:
1. Person A marries person B
2. Person A acquires ILR
3. Person B becomes British citizen
4. Person A applies for British Citizenship before completing 12 months on ILR on the basis of being spouse of British citizen
Does not succeed as ILR was acquired after getting married but before Person B became British citizen; applicant needs to wait 12 months.

Valid:
1. Person A marries person B
2. Person B becomes British citizen
3. Person A acquires ILR
4. Person A applies for British Citizenship before completing 12 months on ILR on the basis of being spouse of British citizen
Succeeds as ILR was acquired after getting married and after Person B became British citizen.

?

[CR001]

The requirment is ONLY to be married at the time you get ilr to enable you to apply without waiting 12 months.

Hang on a second, this means the scenario I described above is not valid, since Person A would have acquired ILR before getting married.

It makes NO difference. The requirement to apply for citizenship without waiting 12 months simply requires you to be married (at any point, even after ILR is granted) at the time you apply for citizenship.

It makes no difference how the person become British or when they became British.

But what makes a difference is when Person A got ILR.

No!

They could have, for example, attended their ceremony the day before you got ilr and it still counts as being married to a British citizen.

So the requirement is to already be married to a British citizen when the ILR is acquired?

To avoid waiting 12 month on ILR, you simply need to be married to a British citizen on the date you APPLY for citizenship. When a person got ILR or got married is irrelevant.

In that sense, are the below scenarios assessed correctly:

NOT valid:
1. Person A acquires ILR
2. Person A marries person B
3. Person B becomes British citizen
4. Person A applies for British Citizenship before completing 12 months on ILR on the basis of being spouse of British citizen
Does not succeed as ILR was acquired before getting married; applicant needs to wait 12 months.

Irrelevant. It is about being married to a citizen at the time you apply for citizenship, regardless of when or how you got ILR or how or when the other spouse became British.

NOT valid:
1. Person A marries person B
2. Person A acquires ILR
3. Person B becomes British citizen
4. Person A applies for British Citizenship before completing 12 months on ILR on the basis of being spouse of British citizen
Does not succeed as ILR was acquired after getting married but before Person B became British citizen; applicant needs to wait 12 months.

Irrelevant. It is about being married to a citizen at the time you apply for citizenship, regardless of when or how you got ILR or how or when the other spouse became British.

Valid:
1. Person A marries person B
2. Person B becomes British citizen
3. Person A acquires ILR
4. Person A applies for British Citizenship before completing 12 months on ILR on the basis of being spouse of British citizen
Succeeds as ILR was acquired after getting married and after Person B became British citizen.

You are overthinking this completely.

[kamoe]

You are overthinking this completely.

It tends to happen

So all scenarios above are valid and conductive to a successful application without the need to wait 12 months after ILR.
Phew, just double checking, thanks a lot for clarifying.

[CR001]

You are overthinking this completely.

It tends to happen

So all scenarios above are valid and conductive to a successful application without the need to wait 12 months after ILR.
Phew, just double checking, thanks a lot for clarifying.

Yes, the requirement is ONLY to be married to a British citizen on the date you apply, to avoid the 12 month wait on ILR.

[vinny]

Yes. Section 6(2)

3(c) that on the date of the application he was not subject under the immigration laws to any restriction on the period for which he might remain in the United Kingdom; and

is satisfiable when the ILR/settled status holder is the spouse or civil partner of a British citizen on the date of the application.

[Cocobana]

I am married to a British citizen. Got my ILR in June applied for naturalisation in July with approval issued on 1 September.

It was very straightforward so try not to confused yourself or create issues were there is none.

[kamoe]

try not to confused yourself or create issues were there is none.