British Citizenship for Wife and Daughter Away for 2 years

[singhsss]

Hi - In 2020, during pandamic my wife (Indian passport) went to India due to fathers health and then later she had to stay there for a extended period as we were expecting our daughter.
At the time my daughter was born I was holding Indian passport and we both were on ILR.
Fast forward - they returned to UK just before 2 years, to ensure she doesn't fall out of citizenship waiting time lines of (if you away for more than 2 years then you need to wait for 5 years to get citizen ship)

My daughter 2 years old is on ILR as well.
I got my citizenship about 17 months ago.

Question - Can i apply for my wife's and daughter's citizenship / naturalization or do I need to wait for 2 years before I can do that.

Apprecaite any help / pointers on this.

Thanks

[meself2]

Where was your daughter born, UK or abroad?

Naturalization has separate requirements from immigration; what you mentioned (2 years' absence) is applicable for ILR (which lapses after 2 years' absence). Your wife would have to fulfil the absence requirements as a spouse of British citizen - https://www.gov.uk/apply-citizenship-spouse

To be eligible, you should not have:

spent more than 270 days outside the UK during the 3 years before your application
spent more than 90 days outside the UK in the last 12 months

According to what you said, she would have to stay inside UK for 3 years to fulfil this, as she also has to be in the UK 3 years before the day you apply for citizenship.

[singhsss]

Thanks- My daughter was born in India and as now she is in UK on ILE. She is 2 years old

For my wife

Eligibility and fees
You can apply for citizenship if you’ve lived in the UK for 5 years and have had one of the following for 12 months:

indefinite leave to remain in the UK
‘settled status’ (also known as ‘indefinite leave to remain under the EU Settlement Scheme’)
indefinite leave to enter the UK (permission to move to the UK permanently from abroad)
You do not need to wait 12 months to apply if you’re married to a British citizen.

You must also:

be over 18
prove you were in the UK exactly 5 years before the day the Home Office receives your application
prove your knowledge of English, Welsh or Scottish Gaelic
have passed the life in the UK test
intend to continue living in the UK
be of good character - read the naturalisation guidance
https://www.gov.uk/apply-citizenship-in ... -to-remain

Since I'm british and we naturalized via ILR route won't she qualify for citizenship?

[meself2]

Thanks- My daughter was born in India and as now she is in UK on ILE. She is 2 years old

Then she can apply when your wife applies - see https://www.gov.uk/government/publicati ... gistration , section "Children applying in line with parents"

Since I'm british and we naturalized via ILR route won't she qualify for citizenship?

No.

On the usual pathway for citizenship, a person has to wait for a year after they were granted ILR before they can apply for citizenship. Spouses of BC are exempt from this, which is what you highlighted. Once again, from your quote it refers to this:

You can apply for citizenship if you’ve lived in the UK for 5 years and have had one of the following for 12 months:

indefinite leave to remain in the UK
‘settled status’ (also known as ‘indefinite leave to remain under the EU Settlement Scheme’)
indefinite leave to enter the UK (permission to move to the UK permanently from abroad)
You do not need to wait 12 months to apply if you’re married to a British citizen.

But for your case it doesn't matter, as more than a year passed since your wife was granted ILR anyway. It in no way removes absence requirements for naturalization.

To be eligible, you should not have:

spent more than 270 days outside the UK during the 3 years before your application
spent more than 90 days outside the UK in the last 12 months

[secret.simon]

Since I'm british and we naturalized via ILR route won't she qualify for citizenship?

Your wife will qualify for citizenship when she meets all the requirements for naturalisation in her own right.

The requirements, apart from LITUK and English language tests, which she likely met when she applied for ILR, are

(a) If married to a British citizen,

• absences of no more than 270 days in the three years immediately preceding the date of application,

• absences of no more than 90 days in the year immediately preceding the date of application,

• physical presence in the UK at the start of the three year period immediately preceding the date of application

or
(b) whether married to a British citizen or not,

• absences of no more than 450 days in the five years immediately preceding the date of application,

• absences of no more than 90 days in the year immediately preceding the date of application,

• physical presence in the UK at the start of the five year period immediately preceding the date of application

She needs to meet all the requirements of either set of requirements.

Because of her long absence recently, she will be ineligible to apply for about nine months after her return to the UK, assuming no further absences, to meet "no more than the 90 days in the year immediately preceding the date of application", which is a requirement of both sets of requirements.

[singhsss]

Thanks Both - for the detailed response.

My take aways- since she reentered in uk in Feb- 2023 so she is eligible by Dec 2023 to apply.
Daughter is also not eligible ( age 2) since she was born in India.

Both are eligible in Dec 2023


Side note - about 1 years delay was because of ILE processing ... she couldn't comeback due to Covid-19 outbreak... I don't know if these reasons can be considered or its safe to wait until Dec-2023

Thanks

[secret.simon]

since she reentered in uk in Feb- 2023 so she is eligible by Dec 2023 to apply.

(a) That is assuming no further absences. Any other absences from the UK will obviously push back the date of naturalisation application.

(b) Was your wife physically present in the UK either 5 or 3 years before any proposed date of naturalisation application? Keep in mind that that is a separate requirement.

about 1 years delay was because of ILE processing

Not sure how that would be seen. British passport applications for British citizen children born on the Subcontinent routinely take six months to a year. And ILE status could be seen as being sufficiently similar to British citizenship to warrant the same levels of checks.

[singhsss]

b) Was your wife physically present in the UK either 5 or 3 years before any proposed date of naturalisation application? Keep in mind that that is a separate requirement.

Response - yes she was present for continous 6 Years but covid came and things changed drastically...

Appreicate your time and efforts on this. Thanks.

[meself2]

b) Was your wife physically present in the UK either 5 or 3 years before any proposed date of naturalisation application? Keep in mind that that is a separate requirement.

Response - yes she was present for continous 6 Years but covid came and things changed drastically...

Appreicate your time and efforts on this. Thanks.

That's not exactly what was asked.

The requirement is as follows: if you go back 3 years from the date you wish to apply for citizenship, was your wife physically present in the UK on that day? If no, she doesn't fulfil the requirement.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publicati ... accessible

If you are applying under section 6(1), you must have been in the UK exactly 5 years before your application was received. For example, if your application is received on 05/01/2022 you should have been physically present in the UK on 06/01/2017.

If you are applying under section 6(2), as the spouse or civil partner of a British citizen, you must have been in the UK exactly 3 years before your application was received. For example, if your application is received on 05/05/2021, you should have been physically present in the UK on 06/05/2018.