Options for people with Tier 1 married to UK citizen

[Pepperpower]

Hi there

Thanks for this site, which has been a helpful source during both of my previous visa applications.

I am currently on a tier 1 (general). 1st leave granted jan 2011, recently extended jan 2013 for 3 more years.

My partner of 4 years is a UK citizen and we live in England together.

We are now talking about getting married. My question is really about citizenship, as this is my ultimate goal. (I'm US citizen). We plan to stay in the UK, and I travel frequently for work so being out of immigration control would be much easier for me.

What would be the quickest path for me to get citizenship - assume for arguments sake we marry in 6 months (September 2013).

How long would each option take and What fees would be expected?

Thanks so much,
Pepperpower

[Jambo]

For citizenship you need ILR. The quickest way to get it is to stay on tier-1 until you qualify for it (2016). Once it's granted and if you are then married to a BC, you can apply for naturalisation the same day ILR is granted.