Immigration Corner | Under what circumstance can the spouse of a British citizen apply for British citizenship?

Dear Mr Bassie,

I am a spouse of a citizen of the United Kingdom. Please tell me what are the circumstances under which I can apply for British citizenship as a spouse.

– L.B.

Dear L.B.,

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

Please note that persons can apply for British citizenship 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)

In addition they must also prove they were in the UK exactly three years before the day the Home Office receives 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. Applicants are advised to read the naturalisation guidance.

This is not the only way to apply for British citizenship. Persons should check if they are eligible to apply another way – including through the Windrush scheme.

PRE-SETTLED STATUS

Persons may be able to apply for citizenship, if they can show all of the following:

• They have pre-settled status;

• They are from the EU, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and started living in the UK by December 31, 2020 (or they are a family member)

• They have lived in the UK for five consecutive years and in that time they have been working (or looking for work for up to three months), studying or they are self-sufficient.

RESIDENCY REQUIREMENTS

Applicants must have lived in the UK for at least three years before the date of their application. Please note applicants cannot include any time spent in the UK when they are exempt from immigration control such as:

• A diplomat

• A member of a diplomat’s staff or household

• A member of visiting armed forces

In addition, they ought not to have broken any UK immigration laws. Please be aware that if they have indefinite leave to enter or remain, the Home Office will not usually check to see if they have broken any immigration laws before then.

TIME SPENT OUTSIDE THE UK

To be eligible, persons should not have spent more than 270 days outside the UK during the three years before submitting their application. Further, they should not have spent more than 90 days outside the UK in the last 12 months.

Certain persons may be exempt from the residency requirements if their partner works abroad either for the UK government or an organisation closely linked to government.

WHEN TO APPLY

As previously stated, applicants must have been physically present in the UK exactly three years before the Home Office receives the application. Please note that the application may be rejected if they were not in the UK exactly three years before the Home Office received it. This will largely depend on the reason why the applicant was not in the UK.

The Home Office will consider if there are special circumstances, for example, an 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.

It costs £1,735 to apply and this includes the £130 citizenship ceremony fee. Persons usually get a decision within six months – some applications can take longer. If it takes longer, an applicant will be told before the six months have passed.

Just for completeness, a child is usually automatically a British citizen if he/she was born in the UK and their other parent was a British citizen. Also, persons cannot apply for British citizenship as the partner of a British citizen if their partner has died. However, they should check if there is another way that they could be eligible, for example, they may have indefinite leave to remain in the UK.

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