Immigration Corner | Will I automatically become a citizen if my spouse is British?

Dear Mr Bassie,

Please let me know if I will automatically become a British citizen if my spouse is British. I look forward to your response.

B.J.

Dear B.J.,

Persons do not automatically become a British citizen when they marry a person from the United Kingdom (UK). Those persons will need to apply to be recognised as the spouse of a British citizen.

Eligibility and fees

Persons may apply for British citizenship by ‘naturalisation’ if they are 18 years old or over; are married to, or in a civil partnership with, someone who is a British citizen; and if they have lived in the UK for at least three years before the date of their application.

Persons may apply as soon as they have one of the following:

• indefinite leave to remain (ILR) in the UK;

• ‘settled status’ (also known as ‘indefinite leave to remain under the EU Settlement Scheme’);

• indefinite leave to enter the UK (permission to move to the UK permanently from abroad)

Persons must also prove that they were in the UK exactly three years before the day the Home Office is in receipt of their application; prove their knowledge of English, Welsh, or Scottish Gaelic; show that they have passed the life in the UK test; and be of good character. It is advisable that applicants read the naturalisation guidance online.

This is one way to apply for British citizenship. Persons should check if they are eligible another way - including through the Windrush scheme.

Residency requirements

Applicants must have lived in the UK for at least three years before the date of the application.They cannot include any time spent in the UK when they were exempt from immigration control as a

• diplomat.

• member of a diplomat’s staff or household.

• member of visiting armed forces.

They also should not have broken any UK immigration laws. Please note that for persons who have indefinite leave to enter or remain, the Home Office will not usually check to see whether they broke any immigration laws before then.

Time spent outside the UK

To be eligible, persons should not have

• spent more than 270 days outside of the UK during the three years before the application.

• spent more than 90 days outside of the UK in the last 12 months.

Please be aware that applicants may be exempt from the residency requirements if their partner works abroad either for the UK government or an organisation intricately linked to government.

When to apply

Please note that persons must have been physically present in the UK exactly three years before the Home Office receives their application. The application may be rejected if persons were not in the UK exactly three years before the Home Office received it. Acceptance under three years will depend on the reason they were not in the UK.

The Home Office will consider if there are special circumstances, for example, if the applicant was not able to live in the UK at the start of the three-year period because of health reasons or travel restrictions; or the applicant was told to leave the UK during the three years, but this decision was later overturned

Persons should note that it costs £1,630 to apply, and usually, a decision can be expected within six months - some applications may take longer.

I hope this helps.

John S. Bassie is a barrister/attorney-at-law who practises 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, the past global president of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and a member of the Immigration Law Practitioners Association (UK). Email: lawbassie@yahoo.com