Naturalisation while sponsoring non-EEA family member

[Aekei]

I am an EEA citizen arriving in the UK in 2010 and applied/received my PR in 2015, technically I am eligible to naturalise by the end of this year. I am also sponsoring a non-EEA unmarried partner and she has to wait 5-years until 2020 to receive her PR.

Until the Brexit vote, my idea was basically to wait until she gets her PR and then we can apply for naturalisation together if needed as people have recommended against me naturalising first and having dual citizenship which may invalidate my sponsorship. I have now gotten more worried and wanted to check what the legal implications really are of me naturalising soonest possible to have the alternative to move to the UK spousal visa if needed in the future. My understanding is that before 2012, dual citizens could exercise treaty rights and sponsor people via the EEA route and they kept some sort of exception if you have your PR or a residence certificate from before 2012. Unfortunately, I never applied for the residence certificate upon arrival but getting my PR in 2015 clearly shows I was exercising treaty rights before 2012.

Anybody with experience on how Home Office would look at this?

[noajthan]

I am an EEA citizen arriving in the UK in 2010 and applied/received my PR in 2015, technically I am eligible to naturalise by the end of this year. I am also sponsoring a non-EEA unmarried partner and she has to wait 5-years until 2020 to receive her PR.

Until the Brexit vote, my idea was basically to wait until she gets her PR and then we can apply for naturalisation together if needed as people have recommended against me naturalising first and having dual citizenship which may invalidate my sponsorship. I have now gotten more worried and wanted to check what the legal implications really are of me naturalising soonest possible to have the alternative to move to the UK spousal visa if needed in the future. My understanding is that before 2012, dual citizens could exercise treaty rights and sponsor people via the EEA route and they kept some sort of exception if you have your PR or a residence certificate from before 2012. Unfortunately, I never applied for the residence certificate upon arrival but getting my PR in 2015 clearly shows I was exercising treaty rights before 2012.

Anybody with experience on how Home Office would look at this?

You (or rather your family member) would need a RC issued on a certain date in 2012 (they would have to have been your family member at the time) in order to invoke and benefit from the McCarthy transitional arrangement.
Otherwise as soon as you naturalise you will be unable to sponsor EEA family members any more.

See page 45 of HO guidance:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/s ... s_v3_0.pdf