Applying for citizenship after ILR via Tier 2 General Route

[gezik]

Hi,

I am currently on a tier 2 visa I'll apply for my ILR end of 2021. My partner (who is an EU citizen) got his ILR end of 2020 and he will get his citizenship end of 2021. We're planning to get married summer 2021. My question is by the time I get my ILR in early 2022, I'll be married to a British citizen in this case can I apply for a British citizenship as soon as I receive my ILR as a spouse of a British person (even though I'll get my ILR through tier 2 route)?

Thanks

[CR001]

Unlikely your partner will get through the whole citizenship process and ceremony by the end of 2021. Totally unrealistic expectation.

The rule about marriage to a BC and not waiting 12 months in ilr applies to all, regardless of your visa route

[gezik]

You might be right about my partner's citizenship timeline taking long but he will still become a british citizen way before I'll be eligible if I wait 12 months after receiving my ILR. But thanks for confirming that I can apply for citizenship quicker rather than waiting 12 months

[gezik]

I actually have one more question, would it make sense for my partner to wait until I get my ILR to make his citizenship application so that we can submit citizenship application together or do I have to wait for him to get his citizenship first before I can apply for mine?

[secret.simon]

I actually have one more question, would it make sense for my partner to wait until I get my ILR to make his citizenship application so that we can submit citizenship application together or do I have to wait for him to get his citizenship first before I can apply for mine?

The "not waiting for 12 months of ILR" only apply if the spouse is already a British citizen (i.e.has not only been approved, but has also attended the citizenship ceremony and got the naturalisation certificate) on the date of your application.

If your spouse is only on ILR on the date of your application and applying simultaneously with you, your application will likely fail, as your spouse has not become a British citizen on the date of your naturalisation application.

There is also no benefit to a joint application as each application will be treated separately anyway and may even be assigned to different teams/locations.

[gezik]

thanks a lot for your response. So it looks like I will have to wait for him to complete his process before I can apply. The reason why I'd like to get it completed asap is because we want to go travel for a couple of months.
If I apply as a BC spouse I will still be allowed to have only 90 days of absence from the UK in the past year is that correct? So assuming I get my ILR in February 2022, and he gets his citizenship in June 2022, if I want to make my citizenship application in July 2022, I should have only spent 90 days outside the uk between July 2021 and July 2022? And also prove that I've spent 3 years in the UK which should be easy as I'm currenly on Tier 2 since January 2017

[secret.simon]

if I want to make my citizenship application in July 2022, I should have only spent 90 days outside the uk between July 2021 and July 2022?

Correct.

And also prove that I've spent 3 years in the UK which should be easy as I'm currenly on Tier 2 since January 2017

Correct and also that you were physically present in the UK at the start of the three year period (so, July 2019).

[gezik]

thank you and will I be able to make my application from abroad or is it better to make it in UK?

[secret.simon]

thank you and will I be able to make my application from abroad or is it better to make it in UK?

You need to make your application from within the UK, attend the citizenship ceremony within the UK and ideally apply for your first British passport from within the UK.