Question about Naturalisation

Hi,

Hope you are all doing well.
I will be applying for ILR in November and I wanted to do the fast track.

If my ILR is approved, how long after can I apply for naturalisation?

I read somewhere that if I have left the country for holiday throughout the 5 years I have been here, I have to add on the number of days to wait before I can apply too?

I tried researching but I'm still not satisfied if I understand it correctly.

Thank you for your help



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If you are married to a UK citizen, you can apply for UK citizenship (naturalisation) as soon as you receive your ILR. You do not have to wait any period of time at all.

The residency requirements for ILR as the spouse of a UK citizen are:
- you hold ILR
- you were physically inside the UK exactly 3 years prior to the date you apply for UK citizenship... for example, if you apply on December 15th 2021, you must be able to show you were in the UK on December 15th 2018.
- you have not been outside the UK for more than 270 days (9 months) in the last 3 years before applying for UK citizenship
- no more than 90 days of those 270 days can have been in the last 12 months before applying

When calculating the number of days you have been outside the UK, you do NOT count the day you left the UK, or the day you returned to the UK, because you were physically in the UK for part of those days. For example, if you left the UK on Monday and you returned on Friday, that would only count as 3 days outside the UK (Tue, Wed and Thu).

There is a bit of leeway on the 270 days though... they will usually disregard up to 300 days if you had a good reason for being outside the UK for those 300 days (i.e. for work)

As long as you have not gone over 270 days in the last 3 years, or 90 days in the last 12 months, there is no need to wait to apply... you can just apply as soon as you are ready.

If you have gone over the 270/90 days, then you just have to wait to apply until enough time has passed that you are back down below 270 days/90 days in the last 3 years/12 months.

If you are married to a UK citizen, you can apply for UK citizenship (naturalisation) as soon as you receive your ILR. You do not have to wait any period of time at all.

The residency requirements for ILR as the spouse of a UK citizen are:
- you hold ILR
- you were physically inside the UK exactly 3 years prior to the date you apply for UK citizenship... for example, if you apply on December 15th 2021, you must be able to show you were in the UK on December 15th 2018.
- you have not been outside the UK for more than 270 days (9 months) in the last 3 years before applying for UK citizenship
- no more than 90 days of those 270 days can have been in the last 12 months before applying

When calculating the number of days you have been outside the UK, you do NOT count the day you left the UK, or the day you returned to the UK, because you were physically in the UK for part of those days. For example, if you left the UK on Monday and you returned on Friday, that would only count as 3 days outside the UK (Tue, Wed and Thu).

There is a bit of leeway on the 270 days though... they will usually disregard up to 300 days if you had a good reason for being outside the UK for those 300 days (i.e. for work)

As long as you have not gone over 270 days in the last 3 years, or 90 days in the last 12 months, there is no need to wait to apply... you can just apply as soon as you are ready.

If you have gone over the 270/90 days, then you just have to wait to apply until enough time has passed that you are back down below 270 days/90 days in the last 3 years/12 months.

Hi, Thank you for your quick and thorough response. That makes it much more clearer! Just so I fully understand, in my case I was in the UK 3 years prior to the date on which I'll apply. You said you must be able to show this...is there something I have to provide to prove this? I have not been outside of the UK for more than 270 days in the past 3 years or for 90 days in the last 12 months, so in this case I can apply for my naturalisation as soon as I get my ILR? Sorry for all of the questions, but I just wanted to clarify.

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Hi, Thank you for your quick and thorough response. That makes it much more clearer! Just so I fully understand, in my case I was in the UK 3 years prior to the date on which I'll apply. You said you must be able to show this...is there something I have to provide to prove this? I have not been outside of the UK for more than 270 days in the past 3 years or for 90 days in the last 12 months, so in this case I can apply for my naturalisation as soon as I get my ILR? Sorry for all of the questions, but I just wanted to clarify.

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ksand is it you have to have been in the UK 3 years to the day prior to application or 5 years? The gov.uk site says 5 years. They use your passport stamps as proof of residency in the UK (I believe).

ksand is it you have to have been in the UK 3 years to the day prior to application or 5 years? The gov.uk site says 5 years. They use your passport stamps as proof of residency in the UK (I believe).

If you are married to a UK citizen
It's 3 years of residency, and you must hold ILR, but it can be for any length of time (i.e. you could apply for UK citizenship on the same day you receive your ILR BRP).

See here: https://www.gov.uk/apply-citizenship-spouse

From that page:

Eligibility and fees
You can apply for British citizenship by ‘naturalisation’ if you:
- are 18 or over
- are married to, or in a civil partnership with, someone who is a British citizen
- have lived in the UK for at least 3 years before the date of your application

You can apply as soon as you 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)

You must also:
- prove you were in the UK exactly 3 years before the day the Home Office receives your application
- prove your knowledge of English, Welsh or Scottish Gaelic
- show you’ve passed the life in the UK test
- be of good character - read the naturalisation guidance
This is one way to apply for British citizenship. Check if you’re eligible another way - including through the Windrush scheme.

Residency requirements
You must have lived in the UK for at least 3 years before the date of your application.

You cannot include any time spent in the UK when you’re exempt from immigration control as a:
- diplomat
- member of a diplomat’s staff or household
- member of visiting armed forces

You also should not have broken any UK immigration laws (for example living illegally in the UK).

Time you’ve spent outside the UK
To be eligible, you should not have:
- spent more than 270 days outside the UK during the 3 years before your application
- spent more than 90 days outside the UK in the last 12 months

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

If you are NOT married to a UK citizen
It's 5 years of residency, and you must have held ILR for at least 12 months before you can apply for citizenship.

See here: https://www.gov.uk/apply-citizenship-indefinite-leave-to-remain

Hi, Thank you for your quick and thorough response. That makes it much more clearer! Just so I fully understand, in my case I was in the UK 3 years prior to the date on which I'll apply. You said you must be able to show this...is there something I have to provide to prove this?

You just provide your passport, and the stamps will show you did not leave the UK in that period.

I have not been outside of the UK for more than 270 days in the past 3 years or for 90 days in the last 12 months, so in this case I can apply for my naturalisation as soon as I get my ILR? Sorry for all of the questions, but I just wanted to clarify.

Yes, you can... you can apply as soon as you are ready to.

It's completely up to you exactly when you apply... some people decide to apply within 1-2 days of receiving their ILR. Others decide to wait a while longer before applying for citizenship.

ksand is it you have to have been in the UK 3 years to the day prior to application or 5 years? The gov.uk site says 5 years. They use your passport stamps as proof of residency in the UK (I believe).

It's actually always been 3 years for people married to UK citizens... the only reason you have to wait 5 years rather than 3 years is because it takes 5 years to gain ILR.

However, before the new immigration rules came in in July 2012, those on spousal visas could qualify for ILR after 2 years in the UK, so once they had ILR, they often had to wait up to another year before they could apply for citizenship.

So, on the old rules, the visa route to citizenship was:
1.
a) 27-month spousal visa
or
b) 6-month fiance visa followed by 24-month FLR(M)
2. apply for ILR after 24 months in the UK/on FLR(M)
3. apply for citizenship once you had been in the UK for 3 years (time spent in the UK on a visitor or fiance visa also counted towards the 3 years)

But now the route is:
1.
a) 33-month spousal visa
or
b) 6-month fiance visa followed by 30-month FLR(M)
2. 30-month FLR(M)
3. apply for ILR after 5 years in the UK/on FLR(M)
4. apply for citizenship as soon as you get ILR, showing 3 years of residency

Thanks for the clarification. I'm going through the same process soon so it's good to be clear on what's required.

Thank you guys! Makes much more sense to me now. I really appreciate your help

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