Worth getting the British citizenship with the new rules?

[apriliapegaso28]

Hi,

I am an EEA citizen married to a non-EEA and we were not quite sure whether or not things could get easier for us if I became British citizen as well.

I researched a few months ago about it and saw that I didn't have to give my current nationality up, so I thought that it was a good idea to become British as my understanding was that I could choose between applying the immigration law via the EEA route or the UK one.

I've now seen that the law has just changed a couple of weeks ago and thinking that as the UK immigration law seems much harder than the European one, do you think it's worth applying for British citizenship under the new circumstances anymore?

Confused with so many changes...

[Jambo]

If the purpose of getting BC is to be able to apply using the UK immigrations rules, then there isn't really a need for that. A settled person (someone with PR/ILR) can make use of the UK immigration rules the same as a British person.

In general, the EEA regulations are much easier to meet than the UK immigration rules so I don't see any reason using the UK immigration rules.

There were also changes to the EEA regulations which prevent British citizens to make use of the EEA regulations if they are dual nationals so becoming British might prevent you from using the EEA route.

[apriliapegaso28]

That's what I read just before sending my papers out, that dual nationals could not use the EEA route in the future anymore.

The main reason was that although we plan to live in the UK, as my wife's non-EEA and we both have old parents, we might need to leave the UK for longer than 2 years at some point in the future and then we'd need to come back.

Being British we were thinking that the situation would be easier than let's say for example, living in a non-EEA country for a while as an EEA citizen and then trying to come back to the UK. Do you know if this is even possible? or my non-EEA wife wouldn't be allowed to enter the UK if I am coming directly from a non-EEA country (as I understand I wouldn't have been exercising any treaty rights to support her application)?

[Jambo]

You don't need to exercise treaty rights before moving to a member state (unless it's a country you are citizen of). It's doesn't matter what you did before and where you came from.

BTW - the non EEA can apply for BC on their own rights without the EEA national applying for BC. This makes more sense than both of you applying as it will allow you to come back without any need for visa in future.

[apriliapegaso28]

Thank you Jambo!

I see, the problem in our case is that her country doesn't allow dual citizenship so she doesn't want to apply for BC in the future if that means giving up her nationality of birth.

Which kind of application should we filled in the future in our situation (she being a non-EEA person married to an EEA citizen and me returning to the UK after a number of years abroad)?

We are mainly concerned that at that time of returning, quite possibly I won't have a job in the UK (although we'd have good savings) so not sure how that would affect the fact that I might not be exercising my treaty rights (as in proving that I am working) and as such my wife might not be allowed to re-enter with me?

[Jambo]

Assuming you will be away from the UK for more than 6 months, there is no requirement whatsoever to prove treaty rights before moving to a member state.

If your partner is a visa national, then a EEA Family Permit will be needed. If your partner is not a visa national, you can just show up at the border with a marriage certificate.

For the first three months you are not required to exercise treaty rights. After that initial period, you need to exercise treaty rights to reside under the EEA regulations.

[apriliapegaso28]

Assuming you will be away from the UK for more than 6 months, there is no requirement whatsoever to prove treaty rights before moving to a member state.

Thank you, I was not aware about that and I got more worried after I read a few weeks ago that British citizens had to prove a quite elevated income to sponsor their non-EEA family members. That made me think that being abroad in the 1st place and not being British could make things even harder.

If your partner is a visa national, then a EEA Family Permit will be needed. If your partner is not a visa national, you can just show up at the border with a marriage certificate.

I need to check then how we could apply for an EEA family permit if we both are living abroad in a non-EEA country for a while.


With all these changes now, I think I'm going to delay the application until I understand the possible consequences down the line...

Thanks for the guidance Jambo!