MN1 3.1 application query

[BarbaraK]

I am a BC by descent, husband is EU (Finnish) and children are EU (Finnish) born in South Africa.

My daughter arrived shortly before her 16th birthday in August 2015 and will only have been here just over 2 years on her 18th birthday in September this year. As she won't qualify under the 3 year residency requirements for section 3.5 application (my son is younger and we will apply for him in 2018), is it worth trying to get her BC under section 3.1? We wouldn't have bothered but with the uncertainty surrounding EU citizens it means she is living in limbo. She is fully integrated into the community, presently studying for her A levels etc. She has no support system outside of the UK as we have no family in South Africa and she does not speak Finnish. All her family, immediate and extended, live here in the UK. She has no intention of leaving the UK but how do we prove that her future lies here? My husband has been working since he arrived but not sure if he would qualify as settled either.

I lived here for a number of years back in the early 90's but have no proof of this at all as my passport was never stamped so the option of section 3.2 is moot.

Advice from anyone would be gratefully accepted!

[noajthan]

Is family on UK or EU migration route?
Any UK domestic visas - or just exercising EU treaty rights?

Daughter would normally be expected to have become settled in UK - so for an EU citizen that's normally about acquiring PR.
That normally takes 5 continuous years as a qualified person or as the dependent of a qualified person.

In the HO world 'future intentions' are partly based on someone's track record of past behaviour;
such as living in UK, staying and spending most of time in UK along with family and, perhaps, integrating into community and getting educated here.

Daughter herself can also express her future plans and ambitions in a cogent cover letter.
However for an older teen with only 2 years or so in UK settled status would normally be expected.

A section 3(1) application is at Home Secretary's discretion.
You can read about it chapter and verse, here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publicati ... structions

As to records of your previous life in UK, a SAR request to UKVI may (or may not) throw up some interesting and relevant history.
May be worth a punt (just £10) or free for a 'fast-track' SAR.
See https://www.gov.uk/government/publicati ... mmigration

[BarbaraK]

Not sure what route we would be. I'm not on any being a British Citizen, hubby, I presume, is exercising treaty rights as are kids. I will apply for my son's British Citizenship after he has been here 3 years and, as far as I am aware, an EU spouse of a BC only needs 3 years residence before they can apply. So that should in theory be them sorted prior to the final brexit woes. My daughter, if she doesn't get BC prior to 18, would need to wait out 5 years and then she is in a tenuous position with all the changes that are surely going to come about, she will be slap bang in the middle of her university course.

At what stage are you considered to be settled?

Thank you for that advice, I will call for my port records. My NI records possibly as well although most of the time I was caring for my grandmother in London and not working. Worth a try.

[CR001]

an EU spouse of a BC only needs 3 years residence before they can apply. So that should in theory be them sorted prior to the final brexit woes. No, your spouse requires settled status, ie Permanent Residence, before he can apply for BC. To get PR, he needs 5 years of exercising treaty rights and being a qualified person.

My daughter, if she doesn't get BC prior to 18, would need to wait out 5 years and then she is in a tenuous position with all the changes that are surely going to come about, she will be slap bang in the middle of her university course. If she is studying and dependent on her father, she can piggy back on his PR application.

At what stage are you considered to be settled? On the EU route, after a full 5 years of exercising treaty rights and being a qualified person.

Thank you for that advice, I will call for my port records. My NI records possibly as well although most of the time I was caring for my grandmother in London and not working. Worth a try. Any period of residence for 3 years, regardless of what you did in the UK, can be used to apply for BC for both kids if you have the documentation to prove you were here.

[BarbaraK]

Sorry, feeling quite stupid here...where am I reading it wrong in the 3 year residency requirement for naturalisation of a spouse of a British Citizen? This is where I got the 3 year idea from (taken from the guidance notes on the gov website.

A. If you are married to or the civil partner of a British citizen (section 6(2) of the British Nationality Act 1981)

The legal requirements you should meet before you apply are that you:
 Are aged 18 or over when you apply
 Are married to or the civil partner of a British citizen on the date of application
 Are of sound mind, so that you understand the step you are taking (but see section 7 for those who are not of sound mind)
 Can communicate in English (or Welsh or Scottish Gaelic) to an acceptable degree
 Have sufficient knowledge about life in the UK
 Are of good character
 Have lived in the UK for a minimum of 3 years before you apply and meet the following residence requirements: .....

[Casa]

Yes, but settled status (PR or ILR) is mandatory before qualifying for BC whether married or not to a BC and this takes 5 years.

[noajthan]

Website only shows edited highlights.
Check AN guidance too.

And that's a common misunderstanding based on legacy or throwback rules.

Spouse of BC still (nowadays) takes 5 years to get settled so this '3 years of residence' requirement is subsumed into the 5 years to get settled.

It still takes 5 years overall for PR/ILR.
The periods to reside and to settle can run concurrently.

And get up to speed on EU route for hubby and daughter.
Be careful - simply living in UK is not enough.
Dad may sponsor daughter if need be; as a Brit you are out of the picture.
Google: qualified person pdf.

Suggest in meantime get daughter an EEA FM RC.
EEA QP RC for hubby.

At least after 3 years in UK daughter should qualify for EU (if not Home) fees for uni - instead of crippling international fees.
Check UKCISA website.

[BarbaraK]

Ah, ok, lightbulb has now come on.

My daughter and husband both have their applications in for their residence forms, still waiting.

Hopefully things won't change again for students between now and 2018 intake.

Thank you for your help, we will try for MN1 3.1 in August (and be prepared to have thrown away the money), worth trying on the basis of less headache alone.

[noajthan]

Its a long shot for daughter if Dad is not settled/naturalising at same time.
Read linked doc (above) to understand why.

And dad/hubby needs DCPR to naturalise.