When to apply for British Citizenship

[Manti24]

Hi,

I am confused of the requirement on when to apply for British citizen. If I have the ILR status and married to a British citizen, when can I apply? It says on the goverment website that I have to be in the UK physically for 5 years. What if within this 5 years, I've been in and out of the country for holidays, maybe 2x per year for like a week each holiday. Does it still count to my 5yr stay in the UK? TIA

[CR001]

If I have the ILR status and married to a British citizen, when can I apply?

As soon as you have ilr, provided you meet the requirements to apply for citizenship based on 3 years residence as a spouse of a British citizen.

It says on the goverment website that I have to be in the UK physically for 5 years. What if within this 5 years, I've been in and out of the country for holidays, maybe 2x per year for like a week each holiday. Does it still count to my 5yr stay in the UK?

For 5 years residence citizenship, you need ilr for 12 months. This is mostly the route for those who are NOT married to a British citizen. As the spouse of a British citizen, your naturalisation is based on 3 years residence and no need to wait 12 months ilr.

The 5 year route and the 3 year route have different absence limit requirements you need to meet. You are free to travel before you apply for citizenship. Ukvi does not hold you prisoner.

The other mandatory requirement for both the 5 year and 3 year route is that you were physically present in the UK at the start of the qualifying period 3 or 5 years before, on the same day that you apply for citizenship.

Note that for ilr, you need 5 years in FLR M visa before you can apply. Your previous post suggests you came on a 6 months fiance visa. The time on a fiance visa doesn't count for ilr.

[Manti24]

The other mandatory requirement for both the 5 year and 3 year route is that you were physically present in the UK at the start of the qualifying period 3 or 5 years before, on the same day that you apply for citizenship.

This is the part where I am confused. Let's say if the last travel I had was November 2019 (came back Nov 2019) and I have my ILR now, when does that 3year of qualifying period starts?

[secret.simon]

when does that 3year of qualifying period starts?

The 3 year requirement starts three years in the past from the date of application.

So, if you were to apply today, the three year requirement would apply from 17th February 2018 to 16th February 2021 (today).

If you were to apply on (hypothetically) 30th June 2022, the three years period would run from 1st July 2019 to 30th June 2022.

Simply put, the three year period is based not on an event that occurred in the past (like date of first arrival in the UK or date of grant of ILR, etc), but based on the date of naturalisation application and going backwards from that date. Essentially, date of naturalisation application - 3 years.

As CR001 has stated above, that event is still at least five years away (as the earliest that you can apply for ILR is five years after the grant of the FLR(M) following your marriage, with the fiance period not counting).

[Manti24]

I understand the below. This is the part where I am confused of. This was copied from the government website.

When to apply
You must have been physically present in the UK exactly 3 years before the Home Office receives your application. Your application may be rejected if you cannot prove this.

Example

If the Home Office receives your application on 20 June 2022, but you left the UK on 10 June 2019 and returned to the UK on 25 June 2019, you will not qualify. You’ll need to wait until 24 June 2022 to apply.

https://www.gov.uk/apply-citizenship-spouse


So for example I've been to holidays last year November, will the 3yrs counting start that time or still from the date I entered the UK originally (5yrs ago as spouse)?

when does that 3year of qualifying period starts?

The 3 year requirement starts three years in the past from the date of application.

So, if you were to apply today, the three year requirement would apply from 17th February 2018 to 16th February 2021 (today).

If you were to apply on (hypothetically) 30th June 2022, the three years period would run from 1st July 2019 to 30th June 2022.

Simply put, the three year period is based not on an event that occurred in the past (like date of first arrival in the UK or date of grant of ILR, etc), but based on the date of naturalisation application and going backwards from that date. Essentially, date of naturalisation application - 3 years.

As CR001 has stated above, that event is still at least five years away (as the earliest that you can apply for ILR is five years after the grant of the FLR(M) following your marriage, with the fiance period not counting).

[secret.simon]

So for example I've been to holidays last year November, will the 3yrs counting start that time or still from the date I entered the UK originally (5yrs ago as spouse)?

It means that you will not be able to apply for naturalisation in November 2023 (three years after your absence out of the UK). You can apply before or after that period, providing you meet the other requirements, but not in the period exactly three years after any absences from the UK.

[Manti24]

Thank you..got this now

So for example I've been to holidays last year November, will the 3yrs counting start that time or still from the date I entered the UK originally (5yrs ago as spouse)?

It means that you will not be able to apply for naturalisation in November 2023 (three years after your absence out of the UK). You can apply before or after that period, providing you meet the other requirements, but not in the period exactly three years after any absences from the UK.