5 YEAR RULE- citizenship application

Hi everyone

I was looking at the old stickies and found this one:

http://www.immigrationboards.com/viewtopic.php?t=5290


Is this law/rule still in place ie. when you lodge your application for citizenship, you must have been present in the UK FIVE YEARS AGO EXACTLY?? I hope I have understood that thread correctly- because that is what it seems to suggest. The thread is from 2006, so I am not sure if this is still the way the rules work regarding applications for citizenship.

macaroni wrote: Is this law/rule still in place ie. when you lodge your application for citizenship, you must have been present in the UK FIVE YEARS AGO EXACTLY??

Yes.

Or three years, if the spouse or civil partner of a British citizen.

For this purpose, the Channel Islands and Isle of Man count as United Kingdom.

JAJ wrote:

macaroni wrote: Is this law/rule still in place ie. when you lodge your application for citizenship, you must have been present in the UK FIVE YEARS AGO EXACTLY??

Yes.

Or three years, if the spouse or civil partner of a British citizen.

For this purpose, the Channel Islands and Isle of Man count as United Kingdom.

Thank you JAJ.

I panicked when I read the 5 YEAR RULE.

Macaroni, it's not a rule. It's a clause in the law itself.

Also, now it must be exactly 6 years ago? Naturalization requirements have been increased by a year, right?

global gypsy wrote:Also, now it must be exactly 6 years ago? Naturalization requirements have been increased by a year, right?

No they haven't.

Naturalisation requirements are unchanged. It's only the interaction between the nationality and immigration law that imposes an effective 6 year residence requirement for most (not all) applicants not married to a British citizen.