EEA Application for British citizenship

dudu1975 · Post by **dudu1975** » Wed Jun 05, 2013 6:42 pm

Hi I am Maltese and moved to Uk in July 2002 under employment work permit and have been employed in the UK ever since. Malta joined EU in May 2004. I am thinking of applying for British citizenship (Dual) for me and my family. Got Life in the UK test pass.

I have a few questions but I'll start with the easy one.

Q1.3 in the form AN says

"1.3 Please say when you were given indefinite leave to enter/remain in the UK (not necessary if you are a Commonwealth
citizen with right of abode in the United Kingdom). If you are an EEA
national, a Swiss national or a family member of an EEA or Swiss
national you should read pages 8-10 of the Booklet AN."

Booklet AN says
"New immigration regulations came into force on 30 April 2006. If you are a national of a country which is a member state of the EEA or Switzerland, or the family member of such a person, you will automatically have permanent residence status after exercising EEA free movement rights in the UK for any continuous period of 5 years ending on or after 30 April 2006, and therefore will not have to apply for indefinite leave to remain. But remember that, unless married to or the civil partner of a British citizen, you should normally have held permanent resident status for 12 months before applying for naturalisation. This means that you may need to wait until you have been in the United Kingdom for 6 years before you can apply."

Question: when does my 5 years start from; Jul-2002 or May-2004 ?
I after an answer for Q1.3.
Thanks all.

Post by **Jambo** » Wed Jun 05, 2013 8:02 pm

July 2002. You can also leave that field empty. Is it not mandatory.

dudu1975 · Post by **dudu1975** » Wed Jun 05, 2013 10:30 pm

Thanks for your advice. Can I ask ILR or PR...

So since Malta joined EU in May 2004 can I claim ILR (or PR) on May 2004+5yrs (ie 1st 2 years of work permit don't count) or is it July 2002+5yrs (ie 1st 2 years of work permit count) ?

Post by **Jambo** » Thu Jun 06, 2013 8:00 am

Unless you applied (& paid) for ILR, you won't have ILR. The PR under the EU route can include the 2 years before Malta joined the EU (because you were working).

As I said, the exact date doesn't really matter (you can leave it blank) as long as you can prove you have PR for more than 1 year (i.e. provide evidence of 5 continuous years of employment ending at least 1 year ago).

dudu1975 · Post by **dudu1975** » Thu Jun 06, 2013 8:30 am

Do I have to obtain any PR paperwork before I can apply for citizenship ? My understanding is NO.
BTW, yes, I have been employed since Jul-2002.

Post by **Jambo** » Thu Jun 06, 2013 9:03 am

See Q5 in Citizenship FAQs - Common Questions - Read before posting.

Plum70 · Post by **Plum70** » Thu Jun 06, 2013 10:19 am

Dudu, you may not apply for PR confirmation before applying to naturalise.

P60s covering the 5 year qualifying period of your choosing should suffice.

dudu1975 · Post by **dudu1975** » Thu Jun 06, 2013 12:51 pm

Thanks both...indeed very helpful...so what is my PR date technically,
Jul-2002+5years ?

Looks like I don't need any PR paperwork and I can apply for naturalisation straight away.

Can I ask about children now. Here's the timeline to clarify.

Jul-2002 : arrive UK under work permit (+wife)
Apr-2003 : daughter born in UK, hold Maltese passport by registration; now 10yrs old
May-2004 Malta joins EU
May-2008 : second daughter born in UK, hold Maltese passport by registration, now 5 years old
(always resided in UK an attended UK schools)

I am looking at form MN1 for both of them. But on reading the Guide MN1 page 8 "Children of EEA nationals" I am somewhat unsure as to whether they are already British citizens and don't need form MN1 at all.

Any guidance in this respect?

Post by **Jambo** » Thu Jun 06, 2013 1:17 pm

dudu1975 wrote:Thanks both...indeed very helpful...so what is my PR date technically,
Jul-2002+5years ?

Yes. July 2007. See Acquisition of permanent residence – residence in the UK prior to accession to the European Union.

Looks like I don't need any PR paperwork and I can apply for naturalisation straight away.

As part of the naturalisation application you will need to provide evidence (P60s or letter from employer) to support your claim for PR in 2007.

Can I ask about children now. Here's the timeline to clarify.

Jul-2002 : arrive UK under work permit (+wife)
Apr-2003 : daughter born in UK, hold Maltese passport by registration; now 10yrs old
May-2004 Malta joins EU
May-2008 : second daughter born in UK, hold Maltese passport by registration, now 5 years old
(always resided in UK an attended UK schools)

I am looking at form MN1 for both of them. But on reading the Guide MN1 page 8 "Children of EEA nationals" I am somewhat unsure as to whether they are already British citizens and don't need form MN1 at all.

Any guidance in this respect?

For the children, your exact PR date is important as children born in the UK after that date are British from birth. They can apply directly for a passport and don't need to register using MN1. As your case is not a normal one, I suggest you add a cover letter to the passport application explaining why you have obtained PR in 2007 before the birth of the child. You will also need to provide evidence of your work during those 5 years to support the passport application for your second child.

Yor eldest child will need to register to become a British citizen. This can be done when you apply or anytime before she is 18.

Plum70 · Post by **Plum70** » Thu Jun 06, 2013 3:12 pm

As jambo has advised...

But what about your wife? No mention of her nationality or position...Is she also looking to naturalise? If so then it will be cheaper if you both make a joint application.

dudu1975 · Post by **dudu1975** » Thu Jun 06, 2013 9:33 pm

Yes wife is also Maltese and has been residing here since Jul-2002. So no problem there I imagine.

Can I ask again about Question 1.3 in the Adults and Children's application. This is about ILE/R. In the case of my elder daughter born Apr-2003 what should I enter for Q1.3 ?

Post by **Jambo** » Thu Jun 06, 2013 10:20 pm

dudu1975 wrote:Yes wife is also Maltese and has been residing here since Jul-2002. So no problem there I imagine.

Can I ask again about Question 1.3 in the Adults and Children's application. This is about ILE/R. In the case of my elder daughter born Apr-2003 what should I enter for Q1.3 ?

The question in form MN1 asks "if and when". This is not relevant to your child. Just leave blank.

dudu1975 · Post by **dudu1975** » Sun Jun 09, 2013 5:52 pm

I got a passport application form for my younger child...you commented a few posts up about sending a cover letter etc...Will my P60s suffice or will they also need the mum's ? She's has recently gone to work as she was taking care of the kids ie. no P60s from her side from the time we moved to UK.

That leads me also to another question on her MN1 form. How can she submit P60s if she is a house-wife ?

Post by **Jambo** » Sun Jun 09, 2013 8:08 pm

One parent employment for 5 years is enough. There is no need for evidence from both of you (both in passport application and MN1).

In the cover letter I suggest you mention you have obtained PR in 2007 as your years from 2002-2004 count for PR (following ECJ ruling in the case of Ziolkowski (C-424/10)).

dudu1975 · Post by **dudu1975** » Mon Jun 10, 2013 11:59 am

Do you mean that my wife can use my P60's to prove residence on her citizenship form ?
She was a housewife some most of this time ie. no P60s.

Post by **Jambo** » Mon Jun 10, 2013 12:41 pm

dudu1975 wrote:Do you mean that my wife can use my P60's to prove residence on her citizenship form ?
She was a housewife some most of this time ie. no P60s.

Your wife could use your P60s to prove PR as a family member of (an employed) EEA national. She needs to show she has PR to be eligible for naturalisation.

She will also need to prove residence, this can be done using tenancy agreements, official letters (child benefit, council tax) utility bills (under her name), bank statements etc.

For the children applications (passport or MN1), evidence from one parent (your P60s) is enough.

dudu1975 · Post by **dudu1975** » Sun Jul 07, 2013 6:06 pm

Hi can you provide some guidance on sending the passports with the applications; Can they be passports be 'authenticated' or do they actually need to be posted with the Adults' and Children's applications ?

boloney · Post by **boloney** » Sun Jul 07, 2013 10:00 pm

dudu1975 wrote:Hi can you provide some guidance on sending the passports with the applications; Can they be passports be 'authenticated' or do they actually need to be posted with the Adults' and Children's applications ?

you can use NCS and they will photocopy your passports and give them back to you. If you choose to do it by post you will have to send passports.

Post by **Jambo** » Mon Jul 08, 2013 9:25 am

dudu1975 wrote:Hi can you provide some guidance on sending the passports with the applications; Can they be passports be 'authenticated' or do they actually need to be posted with the Adults' and Children's applications ?

You can send copies certified by a solicitor (cost vary so shop around) or use NCS if you don't want to send originals.

Immigrationboards.com: Immigration, work visa and work permit discussion board

EEA Application for British citizenship