ILR(M) to Citizenship

[BlackpoolAndy]

I am firstly aware that nothing is a substitute for actual legal advice, however the company who dealt with her case previously (the original ILR ceased communication abruptly and I do not have time to continue chasing them) I am awaiting responses from a couple of immigration specialists in the North-West

My wife of 5 years is an australian citizen and has had an ILR(M) for over 12 months, so the next logical step is for citizenship, however the home office have thrown multiple stumbling blocks into us doing it on our own.

She has an australian passport in her maiden name (recently expired though) and the current visa is also in her maiden name.

However as we married over 5 years ago a lot of supporting documentation (payslips, bank statements) are now in her married name

The citizenship application seemingly only wants an ACTIVE travel document in her CURRENT name, though can we apply under her maiden name?

The citizenship application (whilst very large) seems to indicate that you DO need a valid passport (travel document of which she has no other) which she does not have. Are we mis-reading the application documents?

I am unsure if this means we should forget about citizenship and instead re-apply for a new australian passport (if citizenship successful she will be looking into renouncing australian citizenship so no need for a passport if possible so this is both a waste of time and money and we would only be doing it in order to apply for citizenship)

I hope someone can shed some light on this!
I think I have included all neccessary information on here, the issue is whether or not we can apply in her maiden name, the same as her current ILR(m) and also the same as her (now expired) australian passport)

All we want to do is go on holiday, but with no travel document, we can't go abroad! (Unless there is something we can do/purchase to make it possible)

Many thanks!

[BlackpoolAndy]

Quickly adding on, the previous legal company seemed to say that it is OK to apply with the now expired passport and this would not be an issue.

The issue seems to be that, despite being married, can she apply for citizenship in her MAIDEN name, as this matches her (expired) passport and current ILR(m) details, or will this cause an issue?

[ariskar]

Simplest path is applying using maiden name and existing documents, then after obtaining BC, change the name with deed poll.

In case you have a UK marriage certificate with the "new" husband's family name, you can do the following:
As she has lived at least 5 years as your spouse she may naturalise as BC using the 5 year route (1 year ILR already complete and included) without having to provide the marriage certificates and complicate the dual naming case.

If she wishes to naturalise as spouse of BC with the new name, then she will need to change the name on her foreign (Aus.) passport before she can apply or you may run into issues.

Good luck!

[mrgs1]

Why did you not change the passport to your married name? Seems odd once my wife married me we changed all documents and renewed passport ready for the immigration journey.

[BlackpoolAndy]

Simplest path is applying using maiden name and existing documents, then after obtaining BC, change the name with deed poll.

In case you have a UK marriage certificate with the "new" husband's family name, you can do the following:
As she has lived at least 5 years as your spouse she may naturalise as BC using the 5 year route (1 year ILR already complete and included) without having to provide the marriage certificates and complicate the dual naming case.

If she wishes to naturalise as spouse of BC with the new name, then she will need to change the name on her foreign (Aus.) passport before she can apply or you may run into issues.

Good luck!

Many thanks!

We do not have much in terms of supporting documents with her maiden name, I suppose we could change the name on her bank account etc. We don't have very much with her maiden name going back a few years either. Any idea what we can do regarding that?

Is it OK that her passport is expired?

The booklets for the citizenship document are very poor, seemingly conflicting in places. I think we were looking at the 5yr route with the previous lawyers, I will apply with the lawyers as home office have messed up our applications previously

Many thanks indeed!

[vinny]

If the passport has recently expired, then it may be okay. Else, you may have to convince them that you haven't been sneaking out/in of the UK.

[vinny]

Calculating Absences

You must check the available evidence to see whether an applicant meets the residence requirements.

The following can be used as evidence of residence:

• original passports or travel documents which have been stamped to show arrival in the UK and entry and departure from other countries:
  • these should be checked against the list of absences provided on the application form
• Home Office records
• if the applicant does not have passports to cover the qualifying period, other evidence such as employers’ letters or tax and National Insurance letters:
  • in such cases you should assess whether there is sufficient evidence to show that that applicant has been resident in the UK during the qualifying period, giving them the benefit of any doubt where claimed absences are within the limits we would normally allow and there are no grounds to doubt the accuracy of the claim

You must not normally accept doctors' letters on their own as proof of residence. However, if nothing else is available and the doctors can confirm that they have seen the applicant on a regular basis during the period concerned these may be accepted.

If there are gaps in a person’s evidence of residence and it is clear from the information available that they could not have travelled, you must accept this. Examples of this might include a refugee who has no means of travel or where immigration records confirm continuous residence.

You must only count whole days' absences from the UK. You must not count the dates of departure and arrival as absences. For example, a person who left the UK on 22 September and returned on 23 September will not be classed as having been absent from the UK.

An applicant only needs to have been physically present in the UK for the purpose of the act. They do not have to have been ordinarily resident or domiciled here.

For reference: Section 6(1), Section 6(2).

[BlackpoolAndy]

Many thanks indeed!
All we have to do is obtain some kind of supporting paperwork in her maiden name I suppose, we can change everything now but obviously it won't go back very far.
Do you think there is anything else we should do? Obviously we will probably still go with a solicitor, they seem to be quoting £5-600 for the service of applying for us, I don't trust us to get it right without them