New Nationality Law: Gentle Reminder

All of this makes me want to cry


It impacts families and it impacts those of us who are enjoying our lives and setting our lives here, even if we were *lucky* and came on an adventure.  (I am so thankful if I have to return home at some point... I get to go to the US and not somewhere else!!!) It makes me want to cry even worse for families who are struggling and poor and can't keep up with the fee increases and changing timelines and this that and everything... Its really sad...
 
Lots of folks on here are currently lucky,they'll squeak by... some of us aren't and those who come in the future definitley won't be and its scary not being able to have a stable future...

Beating a dead horse 

wait, they are seriously planning to take away the use of the NHS from people who are working and paying into the system but are not yet citizens?  what happens if a non-citizen gets pregnant? are they seriously going to deny healthcare to a future british citizen? 

are there anymore details/info on this plan that someone can link to?  i'm starting to think we made the wrong decision to settle over there and that i should hold on to my US health insurance

As previously pointed out, there is a grand plan which has not been hammered out yet.  You can see my very strong advice down in the advocacy area.

ok, i have a question that i know can't definitively be answered...but reading through all of these changes has made me wonder... i had originally planned to marry in may of 2010 and apply for the spousal visa immediately after.  i know that i've already missed the july 2011 cutoff for ILR, but given the changes in store, now my fiance and i are wondering if it would be beneficial to go ahead and do a courthouse ceremony and apply for the spousal visa now... our thought process being that perhaps the implementation of the new rules could be delayed long enough for me to slip through under the old rules, or that at the very least, i'd have more 'time' on the clock counted towards citizenship (since it sounds like my tier 1 time WON'T count under the new rules).  does anyone have any 'what would you do' answers to this question? 

Sorry lilybelle, you've already missed it. If they do implement in July 2011 that means that you would have had to receive your spousal visa PRIOR to the end of last month.

weby: i do know that we've missed it...i guess what i'm getting at, is does it make sense to speed things up in case they don't follow through on implementing probationary citizenship when they say they will (like, is there any chance this could be delayed by a few months if something goes wrong) or does it make sense to go ahead and 'start the clock' on my spousal visa since i *will* fall under the new system?  am i right in understanding that my time on Tier 1 will no longer count once i switch to a spousal visa under the new system?

From the consultation's Annex A:

The UK is entitled to expect migrants who aim to settle here permanently to act responsibly and to obey the law. Criminal behaviour will have consequences. Migrants who have criminal convictions, including those resulting in non-custodial sentences, will not normally be granted citizenship until those convictions are spent. Those with convictions that can never become spent under the Rehabilitation of Offences Act 1974 will not normally be granted citizenship at any stage. Migrants committing serious crimes will be deported from the UK following their custodial sentence. In cases where our international obligations under the ECHR or the Refugee Convention prevent us from removing an individual, we would grant a form of leave that does not lead to citizenship.

Add this to the list of questions that need clarification:

How does UKBA define criminal behaviour? What's a criminal conviction and what's a non-custodial sentence...? Is a driving ticket or such going to get us in trouble?

Oh, and the link to the proforma they want the consultation's response in isn't working. They want to hear from the public in a specific format but won't make the format available. Go figure. I realise it's early in the consultation process but still. Very cheeky, as this is clear only when that link is accessed.

lilybelle: your clock will reset upon switching to spouse. So if you *know* you're going to switch at some point, the sooner you do it, the more quickly you'll progress towards citizenship or permanent residency (even under the new system.)

lilybelle: your clock will reset upon switching to spouse. So if you *know* you're going to switch at some point, the sooner you do it, the more quickly you'll progress towards citizenship or permanent residency (even under the new system.)

thanks--this is what we were getting at...we're still set on our wedding plans for may, but the more i read about the new system and how it could potentially take even longer now for citizenship, the more i'm thinking it may be worth speeding up the legal ceremony and getting started on the family track.  i had thought i read something about the current system counting the year on Tier 1 towards citizenship once you switch to spouse, so that's why i wasn't so concerned about waiting a year for the wedding until i heard about the changes.  it sounds like i confused some details along the way, regardless...

i had thought i read something about the current system counting the year on Tier 1 towards citizenship once you switch to spouse,

Under the current system, you can count any sort of residence towards citizenship, but you also need to have ILR as well- and you can't get ILR as a spouse unless you have 2 years of residence specifically on a spousal or unmarried partner visa (well, except for those long term married folks with a KOL endorsement, but that definitely doesn't apply to you.)

I'm in the same situation- I have close to 2 years of residence in the UK before I got my spousal visa which means absolutely nothing for ILR purposes but the moment I get my ILR in 2010 I will be eligible for citizenship due to my previous residency in the UK.

In the new system, you won't have to have ILR to get citizenship, but previous residency in a different category will no longer count towards citizenship if you switch between the family and economic tracks.

In the new system, you won't have to have ILR to get citizenship, but previous residency in a different category will no longer count towards citizenship if you switch between the family and economic tracks.

ahh, thanks for the clarification-- this is exactly what i was trying to get at with my concerns about when we apply for the spouse visa.  i guess in the long run, being under the new rules, an extra year won't make that much of a difference, but i sort of hate the idea of my first year here not counting towards citizenship time. it really seems to make the most sense for us to just go ahead and do a civil ceremony now. 

Under the current system, you can count any sort of residence towards citizenship

Does anybody know if this would include BUNAC (before they got rid of it and then brought it back, so it's the old version if that makes a difference)?  I moved out here September 2008 on BUNAC then left on 27 February 2009 to apply for a fiance visa from the US and got the visa effective 5 March 2009 and entered on 11 March.  I got FLR(M) on 1 June 2009 so will be eligible to apply for ILR before the changes kick in.  I know the time on BUNAC doesn't count for ILR,  but can I count it towards citizenship even though there was a gap of 6 days in visas allowing me to live here?

Under the current rules, ANY time spent UNDER IMMIGRATION CONTROL (so any visa or visitor period) can count toward the 3 year residence time for citizenship under the family path. And as long as you're not absent from the country for more than 270 days during that 3 year period and 90 days during the last 12 months before application you should be able to apply for Citizenship in September 2011.

http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/britishcitizenship/eligibility/naturalisation/spouseorcivilpartnerofcitizen/

Start of the residential qualifying period

The residential qualifying period will be worked out from the day we receive your application. Most unsuccessful applications fail because the applicant was not present in the United Kingdom at the beginning of the residential qualifying period. You must make sure you meet this requirement before you make your application. For example, if we received your application on 25 November 2005, you would have to show that you were in the United Kingdom on 26 November 2002.

You cannot count time you have spent in the United Kingdom while exempt from immigration control as part of the residential qualifying period. If you are in the United Kingdom as a diplomat or as a member of visiting armed forces or if you are in any place of detention, you would be considered exempt from immigration control. This time would be treated as absence from the United Kingdom.

You just made my day WebyJ :-)