Residency for Indefinite Leave to Remain.

Hiya Folks!
I've been scouring the Home office website for this information and I'm hoping someone here has the definitive answer or can give me the email address of someone in the IND who can!

Here is my situation- in one month, I will have been a legal resident of the UK for 3 years. I first came into the UK on a work permit in Dec 2001, and before that permit ran out (Dec 2003), my husband and I were married.  I have a Spousal Visa from July 2003 and that will expire in July 2005 -3 weeks before which I am supposed to file for my Indefinite leave to remain Visa.

Because I've been a legal resident for the entire time I've been in the UK, can I apply for indefinite leave to remain once I've been here 3 years? Is that the same for British Citizenship?

Thanks!
Jen

Hi Jen!

I *think* how it works is you have to have at least three years residency (which would include your work permit time) but one of those years have to be under Indefinite Leave to Remain.  So essentially, once you apply for your ILR in July 2005, you'll need to wait one year before applying for citizenship.  Your indefinite leave to remain is based on your spousal visa, I believe.  So the length of time you were here on the work permit doesn't count towards that one.  That's my understanding at least.  Sorry I don't have the links to back it up, though. 

Jenny,

You are asking two separate questions.

1. On the ILR: No, I don't believe you'll be able to apply for ILR until your spousal visa two year period is (nearly) up. Check with an immigration advisor, but I have heard that the problem is that when you switch categories, the Home Office zeroes you out and you start over in terms of accumulating your time toward ILR. Since you switched from a work permit holder to spousal visa, I expect they will not consider the work permit time towards ILR. I have heard they have a general policy of discouraging category switching.

2. On citizenship: I know (because it was what was done in my own case) that it is sometimes possible for the Home Office to waive certain criteria on a citizenship application if you want to try to get it a little earlier.  I had not had my ILR for an entire year when my naturalisation application went in. Since you had significant work permit time before your spousal visa, it may be possible in your case to ask them to exercise discretion in your favour. It's worth asking a solicitor!

I think in order to get them to do so, it would pay to go to an immigration advisor or immigration lawyer and have them do the application for naturalisation, rather than try to do it on your own.

If you want to be absolutely on the safe side, you should wait until you have had ILR for one year.

Sorry for dragging up an old-ish thread, but actually if you are applying for naturalisation on the basis of marriage, you needn't have had ILR for one year, only but only need to have ILR on the day you apply:

You should have been free from immigration time restrictions during the last 12 months of this period. Usually there is a stamp or sticker in your passport saying that you have indefinite leave to enter or remain or no time limit. If you do not have a passport which says this and you have lived here many years you may still be free from an immigration time restriction. If you are married to a British citizen you only need to be free from immigration restrictions on the day you apply.

This is from the Home Ofice website: http://snipurl.com/b2gw [nofollow]

Just thought'd I'd clear that up!

Jenny, this way you can apply for naturalisation the day you get ILR! 

kellwie, good catch. If the husband is British, then there should be no problem applying for naturalisation at once! Thanks for spotting that!

kellwie, good catch. If the husband is British, then there should be no problem applying for naturalisation at once! Thanks for spotting that!

Well, from how I understand it not quite at once as she does not have ILR--yet.  But once she does (July 2005), she won't have to wait the extra 12 months on ILR to apply as she will have already been in the country much longer than 3 years at that point.

Just happen to know this as I was potentially going to be in a similar situation!

Thanks for the info Kellwie! Yep- I'm going to have ILR in July 2005 and I will have been in England for more than 3 years at that point. COOL!