Qualifying Period for Naturalization as British Citizen

[ashiqanjum]

My question is regarding the qualifying period for Naturalization as a British citizen.

We came in UK on work visa on June 17, 2007. My wife left UK on 7th of September, 2008 for a couple of months on a family visit. Our appointment date for naturalization is 8th October 2013, therefore our qualifying period starts from 9th October 2008. Now according to rules, she was not in this country when our qualifying period starts.

However, I read the following in chapter 18 (http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitec ... chapter18/) of the naturalization rules (3.3 Presence in the UK at the beginning of the 5(3) year qualifying period) which states that:

Where an applicant misses the requirement to have been in the
United Kingdom on the date 5(3) years prior to the application date by
2 months or less either way, for whatever reason, we may consider
offering re-declaration.

Can we get two months waiver which will enable us to apply for naturalization on October 8?

Thank you very much

[Jambo]

No. Re-declaration means letting you to reapply again when you meet the requirement without losing the fee. The HO has no discretion with this requirement. It a pass/fail test. Make sure you pass it.

[ashiqanjum]

No. Re-declaration means letting you to reapply again when you meet the requirement without losing the fee. The HO has no discretion with this requirement. It a pass/fail test. Make sure you pass it.

Many thanks for this. Then what is meant by two months allowance:

(where the case is being considered within two months of the date
of application) the requirement would be met within that two
months (e.g. if the application date was 1.7.03, and we were
looking at the case on 1.8.03, we would need to see whether the
applicant was likely to meet the requirements by 1.9.03 to ensure
that he/she was allowed a full two months from the date of
application)

[Jambo]

This means that in the two months cases, the caseworker might offer you a redeclaration which means sending you a form for you to sign with a new (valid) date so you meet the requirement without losing the fee. But why would you count on the caseworker discretion? Better just to wait until she qualifies and apply then. Applying early wont save time (as the caseworker will need to get a new signed declaration with a qualifying date on it).

[ashiqanjum]

We want to apply on October 8 because a new rule is coming into effect on October 25. This will require us to appear in an English exam on top of the life in the UK test which we have already passed. We want to avoid the English test because this will waste time and resources.

As per the chapter 18 link I shared above, we can get the two months waiver for her, but not sure about the implications. Any suggestions and ideas will be appreciated.

Many thanks

[Jambo]

It will not help you to avoid the new requirement. If she apply in October and doesn't meet the "presence in the UK at the start of the qualifying period", the application will fail. The caseworker might apply discretion and write back to you asking to sign the declaration page of the form again with a date that meets the requirement. As that date would be after October, she will need to meet the new language requirement. There are no shortcuts I'm afraid. Don't risk the £874 application fee.

If she did study for a degree in English, she can be expmted from taking a test.