Early Application for Neutralisation - Qualifying Activities

[Applicant1995]

Hello everyone,

I hope you are all well!

I am reaching out to gain some support and insight into a somewhat complex and confusing situation with my application. I’ve searched the forum prior to posting; however, I couldn’t find anything similar.

Firstly, I would like to share some background about myself. I am a Polish citizen, 28 years old, and male. I permanently moved to the UK in October 2019 and was granted pre-settled status under EUSS in January 2020. I was then granted settled status under EUSS in October 2024. I would like to apply for British citizenship, and I am aware of the 12-month waiting period after receiving settled status under EUSS. I’ve been living in the UK continuously since I moved here. I was working and have a full record of my activities since I arrived in the UK. I am a registered healthcare professional.

While studying the Home Office guidance regarding the naturalisation process, I came across the following information:

‘Free from immigration time restrictions for 12 months:

Applicants under section 6(1) should be free from immigration time restrictions not only on the date of application, but also for 12 months prior.

You may encounter applications from EEA or Swiss applicants (or their family member) who hold LTE/R (pre-settled status) under the EUSS, or who have been granted ILR (settled status) under the EUSS but have not held it for 12 months at the date of their naturalisation application.

In these instances, checks should be conducted to see whether the applicant had acquired a Withdrawal Agreement right to reside permanently on the basis of qualifying activity for the relevant period.

If they held this status for 12 months before being granted ILR (settled status) under the EUSS, they will have met the requirement of being free from immigration time restrictions for 12 months.’

I understand that I haven’t held my settled status for 12 months yet; however, I believe that I would be eligible to apply without the 12-month waiting period due to my pre-settled status and qualifying activities

I also received the following advice online:

‘Based on the guidance you've mentioned, there is a specific rule for applicants who have been granted settled status (ILR) under the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS). In your case, you were granted settled status in October 2024 so ordinarily, you would need to wait until October 2025 before applying for British citizenship, to meet the requirement of being free from immigration time restrictions for 12 months.

However, the guidance also provides a provision for applicants who may have had a Withdrawal Agreement right to reside permanently based on qualifying activity prior to being granted settled status. If you were exercising a qualifying activity (e.g., working, studying, being self-sufficient) in the UK before you were granted settled status and were essentially living in the UK under EU law, this may have counted as the 12-month period during which you were free from immigration restrictions.

To determine whether this applies to you, you need to consider the following:

-Qualifying Period Before Settled Status: If you had the right to reside in the UK under EU law (pre-settled status or other EU-based residence rights) before you received settled status and you can demonstrate you were living in the UK continuously, you may have already fulfilled the "12 months free from immigration restrictions" requirement.
-Evidence of Continuity: You would need to show that you were exercising a qualifying activity or were otherwise resident in the UK under EU law, which could be through documents or evidence of your life in the UK before your settled status.

Steps You Can Take:
-Review Your Residence History: You should check if there is any evidence that shows you had the right to reside in the UK for the 12 months before your settled status was granted. This could include payslips, rental agreements, or anything that proves continuous residence.
-Consider Seeking Legal Advice: Given the complexity of immigration law and the specifics of your case, it may be advisable to consult an immigration solicitor who can help confirm whether the 12-month rule is already met based on your specific circumstances.

In summary, based on the information you’ve provided, it may be possible for you to apply for British citizenship now if you can demonstrate that you had a qualifying right to reside under EU law for the 12 months prior to receiving your settled status. However, this will depend on your specific situation and you may want to seek further professional guidance to confirm.’

- - -

I believe that, based on my circumstances, I may be eligible to apply for British citizenship now, without waiting for the 12 months after my settled status was granted. This is because my continuous residence and work in the UK under pre-settled status likely count toward the '12 months free from immigration restrictions' requirement.

Could someone please advise me whether I can apply for citizenship now? I would be extremely grateful if you could share your knowledge or experiences. I greatly appreciate any input you can provide!

Thank you!

Regards,

[alterhase58]

It would be useful to quote the links to the guidance documents you refer to.
Out of interest, do you have a pressing need to acquire British citizenship, for job reasons perhaps?

[contorted_svy]

Hello everyone,

I hope you are all well!

I am reaching out to gain some support and insight into a somewhat complex and confusing situation with my application. I’ve searched the forum prior to posting; however, I couldn’t find anything similar.

Firstly, I would like to share some background about myself. I am a Polish citizen, 28 years old, and male. I permanently moved to the UK in October 2019 and was granted pre-settled status under EUSS in January 2020. I was then granted settled status under EUSS in October 2024. I would like to apply for British citizenship, and I am aware of the 12-month waiting period after receiving settled status under EUSS. I’ve been living in the UK continuously since I moved here. I was working and have a full record of my activities since I arrived in the UK. I am a registered healthcare professional.

While studying the Home Office guidance regarding the naturalisation process, I came across the following information:

‘Free from immigration time restrictions for 12 months:

Applicants under section 6(1) should be free from immigration time restrictions not only on the date of application, but also for 12 months prior.

You may encounter applications from EEA or Swiss applicants (or their family member) who hold LTE/R (pre-settled status) under the EUSS, or who have been granted ILR (settled status) under the EUSS but have not held it for 12 months at the date of their naturalisation application.

In these instances, checks should be conducted to see whether the applicant had acquired a Withdrawal Agreement right to reside permanently on the basis of qualifying activity for the relevant period.

If they held this status for 12 months before being granted ILR (settled status) under the EUSS, they will have met the requirement of being free from immigration time restrictions for 12 months.’

I understand that I haven’t held my settled status for 12 months yet; however, I believe that I would be eligible to apply without the 12-month waiting period due to my pre-settled status and qualifying activities

I also received the following advice online:

‘Based on the guidance you've mentioned, there is a specific rule for applicants who have been granted settled status (ILR) under the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS). In your case, you were granted settled status in October 2024 so ordinarily, you would need to wait until October 2025 before applying for British citizenship, to meet the requirement of being free from immigration time restrictions for 12 months.

However, the guidance also provides a provision for applicants who may have had a Withdrawal Agreement right to reside permanently based on qualifying activity prior to being granted settled status. If you were exercising a qualifying activity (e.g., working, studying, being self-sufficient) in the UK before you were granted settled status and were essentially living in the UK under EU law, this may have counted as the 12-month period during which you were free from immigration restrictions.

To determine whether this applies to you, you need to consider the following:

-Qualifying Period Before Settled Status: If you had the right to reside in the UK under EU law (pre-settled status or other EU-based residence rights) before you received settled status and you can demonstrate you were living in the UK continuously, you may have already fulfilled the "12 months free from immigration restrictions" requirement.
-Evidence of Continuity: You would need to show that you were exercising a qualifying activity or were otherwise resident in the UK under EU law, which could be through documents or evidence of your life in the UK before your settled status.

Steps You Can Take:
-Review Your Residence History: You should check if there is any evidence that shows you had the right to reside in the UK for the 12 months before your settled status was granted. This could include payslips, rental agreements, or anything that proves continuous residence.
-Consider Seeking Legal Advice: Given the complexity of immigration law and the specifics of your case, it may be advisable to consult an immigration solicitor who can help confirm whether the 12-month rule is already met based on your specific circumstances.

In summary, based on the information you’ve provided, it may be possible for you to apply for British citizenship now if you can demonstrate that you had a qualifying right to reside under EU law for the 12 months prior to receiving your settled status. However, this will depend on your specific situation and you may want to seek further professional guidance to confirm.’

- - -

I believe that, based on my circumstances, I may be eligible to apply for British citizenship now, without waiting for the 12 months after my settled status was granted. This is because my continuous residence and work in the UK under pre-settled status likely count toward the '12 months free from immigration restrictions' requirement.

Could someone please advise me whether I can apply for citizenship now? I would be extremely grateful if you could share your knowledge or experiences. I greatly appreciate any input you can provide!

Thank you!

Regards,

I don't think what you indicated applies to you. To be eligible for settled status you lived here for 5 years which you just completed. You haven't spent time here under the withdrawal agreement but without status under EUSS prior to when you applied for pre-settled (eg you arrived in 2018 and didn't apply until 2019). In such a circumstance you may have a leg to stand on, but not as you described, in my opinion.

Do you have particular motivation to want to apply now, rather than waiting for 10 more months? I believe as things are you application likely wouldn't be successful and it is an expensive application. It is up to you what you choose to do.

[alterhase58]

Is there perhaps a misunderstanding? EU Treaties vs. UK Withdrawal Agreement?
You describe your activities which sounds like you were exercising "EU Treaty Rights" - if you started UK residency you could only have exercised Treaty Right for about four months, because the UK officially left the EU on 31 January 2020. After that the EU Treaties were no longer in force and you could not have exercised treaty right after that. The WA did not provide for those rights to be carried over.
As far as I understand.

[contorted_svy]

I believe that section would apply to someone who has lived here for a few years before getting pre-settled status (eg arrive here in 2017, get pre-settled status in 2019) and then get settled status 5 years after getting pre-settled, rather than as soon as eligible -therefore someone who could have received ILR under EUSS before the date they secured it, and that if taking into consideration that additional time they would at the time of application accrued 12 months after the date they would have become eligible for settled status. This is just my interpretation of course.

[kinga_m]

Hi OP,

I believe that your interpretation - as well as the email you received - is correct in that you should be eligible for a citizenship as soon as you obtain the settled status from pre-settled status (regardless of whether you lived in the UK before being granted a pre-settled status).

This obviously suggests that most people who have had a pre-settled status for 5 years qualify (unless someone obtained settled status without the pre-settled status step and cannot provide evidence to claim Withdrawal Agreement rights otherwise). And this seems to be confirmed here https://www.gov.uk/apply-citizenship-in ... -to-remain, which states:

If you have pre-settled status

You may be able to apply for citizenship if you can show all of the following:

- you have pre-settled status
- you’re from the EU, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and started living in the UK by 31 December 2020 (or you’re their family member)
- you’ve lived in the UK for 5 years in a row and in that time you’ve been working (or looking for work for up to 3 months), studying or you’re self-sufficient

The page I mention was updated on Jan 29th, so I guess it's one of the new interpretations of the Withdrawal Agreement after the recent court cases.

[contorted_svy]

Hi OP,

I believe that your interpretation - as well as the email you received - is correct in that you should be eligible for a citizenship as soon as you obtain the settled status from pre-settled status (regardless of whether you lived in the UK before being granted a pre-settled status).

This obviously suggests that most people who have had a pre-settled status for 5 years qualify (unless someone obtained settled status without the pre-settled status step and cannot provide evidence to claim Withdrawal Agreement rights otherwise). And this seems to be confirmed here https://www.gov.uk/apply-citizenship-in ... -to-remain, which states:

If you have pre-settled status

You may be able to apply for citizenship if you can show all of the following:

- you have pre-settled status
- you’re from the EU, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and started living in the UK by 31 December 2020 (or you’re their family member)
- you’ve lived in the UK for 5 years in a row and in that time you’ve been working (or looking for work for up to 3 months), studying or you’re self-sufficient

The page I mention was updated on Jan 29th, so I guess it's one of the new interpretations of the Withdrawal Agreement after the recent court cases.

This seems rather confusing. OP already holds settled status so I am not sure this would apply and I haven't found an updated version of the guidance on how one may be able to apply for citizenship without settled status and without waiting for one year since getting ILR (or one year since becoming eligible to get ILR). I would want to see a clear instruction reflected in the guidance or in law before proceeding.