When can i apply for British Citizenship???

[unknown]

hi all

I just want to express my feelings deeply from my heart that this forum has provided me a great deal of info and support in the last couple of years.

the purpose of todays post is that :

i came to uk on a spouse visa in 2003, my ILR was refused in 2004 and on the appeal hearing in 2005 i was advised to apply FLR on compationate grounds which i have done so.my marriage was dissolved in july 2005, and i have just got married to a british citizen on 27th of october as i was waiting for coa for over a year. i have a 11 month old son with this wife too.

recently i have received my ILR through Legacy cases out of immigration rule on the basis of my lenght of residence n connections in UK..it also says settlement on the passport. due to all this i just want to know that when can i apply for Citizenship???

as some say u can apply now, some say wait for a year. as i have learnt through this forum that i can apply anytime after receiving ILR but im still not sure what to do.

is there anybody who could guide me properly??

i will be very grateful.

thanx

cheers

[John]

Is your spouse a British Citizen?

[unknown]

thanx for the reply John!!

and yes my spouse is a British citizen. as u know from my previous posts i was waiting for my ILR n COA so i got my coa last month n got ILR this month. i got married to my wife just 3 days ago lolzzz.... i am living with my wife for 2 years but i applied for FLR/ILR back in March 2005 so its been over 5 years now..

as i have read too many long discussions here regarding this matter but Im still not sure when to apply...if im allowed to apply now or have to wait for 12 months???

another thing my ILR was issued in 2nd weeks of October and i got married on 27th of Oct.... plzz comment.

thanx

[unknown]

is there anybody else who could tell or suggest about the above situation???

feedback will be much appreciated!!!

thanx

[John]

Sorry I did not spot your post last Saturday.

Firstly, congratulations on your marriage! Wow, you have now been married for more than a week!

Being married to a British Citizen means that the qualifying period for Naturalisation is not 5 years .... it is just 3 years. And there is no need t have ILR for at least one year. You need to have ILR for at least one second .... actually that is an exaggeration!

But it is necessary to be "legal" in the 3-year qualifying period ... at all times when in the UK in that 3-year period. But based upon what you have posted it is not clear whether you had legal status in the UK in the 3-year period, prior to getting your ILR. Specifically, as regards :-

on the appeal hearing in 2005 i was advised to apply FLR

-: how soon after the appeal hearing was the FLR application made?

Also can you please explain why in the opening post above you said "i have just got married to a british citizen on 27th of august", but later you tell us "i got married on 27th of Oct".

[iyanu]

John asked unknown...
Also can you please explain why in the opening post above you said "i have just got married to a british citizen on 27th of august", but later you tell us "i got married on 27th of Oct".

Common John...that was a genuine mistake from 'Unknown'

[unknown]

thanx for the reply John. i think i was sleeping when i wrote down 27th of August lolzz....cant believe i posted that date honestly....but anyway i got married on 27.10.2010.

regarding ur question how soon i applied for FLR after my hearing date...

on the date after the court i went straight to a net cafe n downloaded the FLR app forms n gave it to my solicitor but i cudnt sign it. so he called me in the evening n i signed it n on the next day he posted it to HO. in reply the HO confirmed the validity of the application for FLR and then they recognised it an asylum claim 2 after months......so my hearing was on 5th of march and FLR app date was 6th march 2005.

for detials please read
http://www.immigrationboards.com/viewto ... highlight=


im sure my 5 years of stay was legal so dont u think i can apply for citizenship now???

please keep in mind though im living with my wife for over 2 years n have a son aswell, but my ILR was issued in the 2nd week of Oct n i got married on 27th......

thas the reason im too confused what to do...the reason why im thinking too much for it is i wana go to spain n denmark for a holiday in Xmas holidays!!!

[John]

im sure my 5 years of stay was legal so dont u think i can apply for citizenship now???

Based upon what you have posted I think you can indeed apply for Naturalisation now.

[unknown]

im sure my 5 years of stay was legal so dont u think i can apply for citizenship now???

Based upon what you have posted I think you can indeed apply for Naturalisation now.

Thats a good news and truly it has reduced my confusion

anyway im gona apply for naturalisation with in next weeks and hope to get it soon.

all the best for those who are in the similar situation as i am!!!

cheers!

[avjones]

I'm not sure you have been here legally long enough - what leave were you issued with, and when?

[John]

Amanda, based upon what he has posted, for years he had "Section 3C protection", so where is the problem?

[unknown]

I'm not sure you have been here legally long enough - what leave were you issued with, and when?

as i said i came on a spouse visa in 2003, applied ILR in DEC 2003 but was refused, on the appeal hearing in march 2005 on the recommendation of the adjudicator and HO rep officer i withdrawn the appeal n applied again FLR and raised artcles 3,6 and 8.THe HO recognised the application as valid n said they gona pass my case to certain case worker for more in detail consideration, last letter which i received from HO was in may 2005 in which they stated coz of article 3 they taking it as an asylum claim, but my solicitor wrote to them that its an extension of leave n not the asylum claim.. in all that old letters they didnt impose any restrictions on me n gave me the same rights issued on my EC.....

in june 2010 HO sent me a letter n asking for my photographs n other docs n stated that MY ASYLUM claim is in legacy n will be sorted either giving me ILR or requiring me 2 leave UK.

i got the ILR outside the immigration rules on the basis of long residence n family connections in UK. on the letter accompanied they wrote while reveiwing my case they have noticed that they have rceived representaion for my human rights claim n if i will not write to them they will consider as i have withdrawn that claim.

on that basis i guess my 5 years prevoius stay was not illegal.

but again as John says it must be section 3c protection,
what make you think that John ?
because section 3c is for the person who still got some leave left when applied for FLR but in my case my EC was expired in dec 2003, lodged my appeal in 2004 and the appeal hearing was in march 2005. in this case a question arise: what was my legal status while my appeal was pending???

after i withdrawn my appeal in march 2005 and on the next day i applied for FLR then what was my status untill june 2010???? was it legal or illegal???

please dont forget i was still married 2 the british citizen untill july 2005 when my marriage was dissolved.

and also when i applied for COA in sept 2009 HO still considered my case and issued COA in sept 2010 while i told HO my FLR is pending!!! i guess their stance would have been different if i was illegal or overstayer????

any comments please???

[avjones]

As far as I can see you weren't legal until ILR was granted.

s.3(c) only applies, as you say, while an application is considered and appealed.

In your case, once the appeal was withdrawn, s.3(C) no longer applied. So your new application was made when you didn't have leave, and therefore you were illegal throughout that time.

That might not apply if the Home Office withdrew the decision at your appeal hearing, because they would then have considered the FLR application as a variation of your previous application, and s.3(C) would therefore apply.

[unknown]

''That might not apply if the Home Office withdrew the decision at your appeal hearing, because they would then have considered the FLR application as a variation of your previous application, and s.3(C) would therefore apply.''

thanx for the above comment !!! i agreed whatever u posted but problem is that how can i check if the HO withdrawn the decesion or not.

also i just wana ask if i consider that i had the section 3c protection then is it possible to apply for the naturalisation now???

what if i will not be able to get nationality then is it possible to argue the HO decesion?? or can i ask for a refund??? lolzzz...

the reason why im asking if i could argue is that:

on the appeal hearing the adjudicator n the HO representive both wer agreed that if i withdrew the appeal i can apply FLR which we have done.. i still got the letter when HO says that my application is valid ( means it has got legality).