Naturalisation Application and Self Employed History

[iamwill]

Hi

Need help please,

Just got ILR (Feb 2018) on basis of 6 Years Discretionary Leave and married to BC since 2011. Can i apply straight to Citizenship/Naturalisation? Or do i need to wait for 12 months??

Also i have been a self-employed for last 6 years and have not paid any NI Contribution because of Low Income exemption, what should i do for "SECTION 10 Evidence of National Insurance contributions covering the relevant period"??

Kindly suggest, Would appreciate from someone who have similar case and applied for naturalisation recently.

Thanks and looking forward

[ariskar]

You should be able to print "Statement of Account", complimented by SA100 or SA302 documents from HMRC online services. NCS /NDRS would scan and copy those from you as residency proof. British Citizenship (inc. Naturalisation) is not conditioned on employment and NI level of contributions.

However, if you were caught in the past evading tax and NI, or hiding real income, this could count against you for good character requirements. It is unlikely that naturalisation checks would trigger HMRC investigations on this, therefore if you were okay till the application date, you should be okay also there onward. If you were a genuine "low income" earner, there is nothing to fear about this.

I assume you are EU/EEA? If per your forum avatar you are from Panama (non-EEA) you will not need to provide any employment proof, as long as you provide current and any (expired) past passports covering the requirement time. As you are applying as a BC spouse, you only need proof for 3 years predating your application.

All the best!

[iamwill]

Thanks for your response. I am from Pakistan and New to these boards. Don't know how to change default country flag.

So can i apply for Citizenship/Naturalisation now or do i have to wait 12 MONTHS.?
Also you mentioned NDS / NDRS. What are they stand for??

Thanks