New Nationality Law: Gentle Reminder

I believe they stated that you would have X amount of time (I think it was 2 years) to apply for citizenship if you had ILR/ILE before Part 2 came into force. People who come in with ILE but won't qualify for citizenship for 3 years because of the residency requirement may have to do the earned citizenship part.

From the Advocacy board post:

art 2 will commence July 2011.

The 2 year transitional period is for CITIZENSHIP applications only (July 2011 - July 2013).
This transitional arrangement is only for those who actually HAVE ILR or have submitted an application for ILR at the date of commencement. They will have 2 years underwhich they can apply for citizenship and have their application decided under the current rules.

If you're still on FLR July 2011 (and have not submitted your application for ILR) you will have to go through the earned citizenship scheme.

So if you have ILR/ILE or have applied for it when Part 2 comes in, you can apply for citizenship under the old rules up to July 2013. After that, you have to apply under the new rules. Someone coming on ILE in February 2010 will thus qualify for citizenship in February 2013 assuming the number of days outside the UK is within limits, and will thus still qualify under the old rules. Someone coming on ILE in or after July 2010, though, might get caught out. So Reinadeluz will probably be ok if ILE is granted in February.

Ah, that makes sense.  Thanks for clearing that up for me.  I've been so confused by this stuff!

Huh. I got my FLR earlier this month. I'm either going to be the last person on the old scheme or the first person on the new scheme.

Isn't that special?

I'll add my thanks to this, it's helping me get a better grasp on what's happening since I'm not very good at sorting through it on my own  I wouldn't be eligible for ILR till September 2011, so I know I'll be in the earned citizenship category, which is fine, I'll sort through it when the time comes. The only thing I'm confused about is if ILR is staying as it is or what it's being replaced by--and as such, would I be eligible for ILR? I only ask since I haven't read anything yet about what would replace that (or if it's there I completely missed it, which is very possible with yours truly).

ILR will be replaced by probationary citizenship, which is another temporary status. After that, the government wants people to either get citizenship, get permanent residency (which will take longer to get and I think they want to only give it to people who have a good reason for not getting citizenship, like their native country doesn't allow dual citizenship), or leave the country.

ILR will be replaced by probationary citizenship, which is another temporary status. After that, the government wants people to either get citizenship, get permanent residency (which will take longer to get and I think they want to only give it to people who have a good reason for not getting citizenship, like their native country doesn't allow dual citizenship), or leave the country.

Fair enough, that's what I was thinking. I just wasn't sure if they had ironed out any plans for getting rid of ILR/probationary citizenship yet since I hadn't read any details about it. Either way I can sort it out though, I was just curious

Nope, that will all be handled in 'secondary legislation' and other murky, not-properly-scrutinised nonsense that they'll try to sneak past people in the usual underhand manner.

Nope, that will all be handled in 'secondary legislation' and other murky, not-properly-scrutinised nonsense that they'll try to sneak past people in the usual underhand manner.

Awesome Though I'm not too surprised that it will be handled in that way, I just figured I probably had missed something and that it had been sorted through already and I just wasn't hip with it. I'm anxious to see what details they come up with in the end, and what type of money it would involve.

I'm a tad confused also.  My DH has his Spousal Visa w/KOL Requirement.  We are landing in the UK November 6th 2009.  How long will he have to take his test and apply for ILR before falling into the new requirements?  Does he have until the end of 2009 or July 2010 to get ILR?  He will reach 3 yrs of residency in November in 2012.

Thanks all for the great info posted.

I'm a tad confused also.  My DH has his Spousal Visa w/KOL Requirement.  We are landing in the UK November 6th 2009.  How long will he have to take his test and apply for ILR before falling into the new requirements?  Does he have until the end of 2009 or July 2010 to get ILR?  He will reach 3 yrs of residency in November in 2012.

He will have until June 30, 2011 to get his ILR. He will make the 3 years residence requirement before it changes in July 2013.

Thank-you WebyJ

Sorry, just a correction here. It exempts everyone currently in the family pipeline. Everyone else on citizenship-qualifying visas (work, ancestry) still gets screwed.

Hold up! Are you certain it's ONLY family track?

I asked this question when the announcement was made and someone (can't remember who) told me I would be fine to get my ILR in April 2011. I am WP. 

Hold up! Are you certain it's ONLY family track?

I asked this question when the announcement was made and someone (can't remember who) told me I would be fine to get my ILR in April 2011. I am WP. 

If you are able to get your ILR before July 2011, you will still be able to get it, regardless of your visa type.  I think Superl just meant that because the announcement was made in July 2009 and extended the commencement date until July 2011, everyone who was currently in the country on the family track would still be allowed to get ILR, as the family track only requires 2 years on FLR to be eligible.  However, anyone who entered the country on a Tier 1 or 2 in June 2009 would not be eligible for ILR by July 2011, so would not make the cutoff. 

Aha! Thanks for clearing that up!

Yes, sorry, what I meant was that not everyone in the pipeline was fine, as many people on work visas would not qualify within the 2 years.