Immigration Corner | Spouse seeking British citizenship

Dear Mr Bassie,

I am not British, but I am married to a British citizen. I would like to know if I am eligible for British citizenship. I look forward to your advice.

JY

Dear JY,

Persons who are married to or in a civil partnership with a British citizen and who wish to apply as the spouse or civil partner of a British citizen must have lived in the United Kingdom for the last three years.

Those persons will also need to have either indefinite leave to remain (ILR) or settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme. Persons who do will be eligible to apply for citizenship immediately.

INDEFINITE LEAVE TO REMAIN

Persons can usually apply for ILR after they have lived in the United Kingdom for five years. To apply for citizenship with ILR, those persons must usually have to live in the UK for 12 months after getting ILR.

‘SETTLED STATUS’ UNDER THE EU SETTLEMENT SCHEME

Persons who would like to apply for citizenship with settled status must live in the United Kingdom for 12 months after getting it.

PERSONS WHO HAD PERMANENT RESIDENCE STATUS BEFORE RECEIVING SETTLED STATUS

Persons can no longer apply for citizenship based on their permanent residence status.

Persons who had permanent residence status can count the time that they have had it towards the 12 months they need to wait before applying for citizenship with their settled status. For example, if a person arrived in the United Kingdom in 2012, gained permanent residence status in 2018, and in June 2021 he/she received settled status. Usually, he/she would need to wait 12 months after getting settled status to apply for citizenship, but because he/she had permanent residence status for three years already, that person can apply straight away for British citizenship.

‘PERMANENT RESIDENCE’ STATUS

Please be aware that persons can no longer apply for British citizenship with ‘permanent residence’ status.

Those persons might still be able to apply for settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme, if they have not already, and they can then use this to apply for British citizenship.

Please note that the deadline to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme for most people was June 30, 2021. However, persons can still apply if they have ‘reasonable grounds’ for not being able to apply by the deadline.

OTHER WAYS PERSONS CAN BE ELIGIBLE

Persons may be eligible to apply for citizenship if:

• They have a British parent

• They have another type of British nationality

• They are stateless

• They previously gave up (renounced) their citizenship

Persons may also be eligible if they are Commonwealth citizens as they may be eligible to apply for citizenship under the Windrush Scheme if both of the following apply:

• He/she or one of their parents arrived in the United Kingdom before 1973

• He/she has lived in the United Kingdom and not been away from there for more than two years

Please note that if their parent arrived in the United Kingdom before 1973, he/she must have either:

• Been born in the United Kingdom; or

• Arrived in the United Kingdom before he/she were 18 years old.

It should be noted that some Commonwealth citizens have ‘right of abode’ in the United Kingdom. This means that they can live or work in the United Kingdom without immigration restrictions. Persons should check if they can apply to prove that they have right of abode in the United Kingdom.

I hope this helps.

John S. Bassie is a barrister/attorney-at-law who practices law in Jamaica. He is a justice of the peace, a Supreme Court-appointed mediator, a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, a chartered arbitrator, deputy global president of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and a member of the Immigration Law Practitioners Association (UK). Email: lawbassie@yahoo.com