Anybody can confirm this pls....

[cheesewiz]

My filipina friend said to me that once you completed your 5 years here (workpermit visa) then applied for ILR and granted, you can apply for British citizen right away? I thought 1 year ILR then BC my african colleagues said that to me as well bec when she applied for her ILR the PEO told her that she can apply BC that day if she wants, she wants but she got no money anymore after paying £950 for her ILR.

Anybody can confirm this? Thanks

[darren-b]

As far as I know this is not true. It's a year after ILR unless you are married to a British Citizen. From the BIA Website

"You must be free from immigration time restrictions when you make your naturalisation application. Unless you are married to or the civil partner of a British citizen, you should have been free from immigration time restrictions during the last 12 months of the residential qualifying period."

[cheesewiz]

As far as I know this is not true. It's a year after ILR unless you are married to a British Citizen. From the BIA Website

"You must be free from immigration time restrictions when you make your naturalisation application. Unless you are married to or the civil partner of a British citizen, you should have been free from immigration time restrictions during the last 12 months of the residential qualifying period."

thanks Darren. My friend just got her ILR last Nov and yesterday at work she said she is going to apply for Brit citizen this Feb after her holiday to Phils. I haven't seen the letter from HO that they gave to her but she said that's what it says there I said to her you have to ring the HO and ask about it before applying or else you just waste the money...but it seems she is convinced that she is eligible already base on that letter from HO. I'll ask her for a copy so I can post it here bec even me I don't understand much what on BIA website most of the time.

[joebloggs]

thanks Darren. My friend just got her ILR last Nov and yesterday at work she said she is going to apply for Brit citizen this Feb after her holiday to Phils. I haven't seen the letter from HO that they gave to her but she said that's what it says there I said to her you have to ring the HO and ask about it before applying or else you just waste the money...but it seems she is convinced that she is eligible already base on that letter from HO. I'll ask her for a copy so I can post it here bec even me I don't understand much what on BIA website most of the time.

Naturalisation after six years in the UK

If you are not married to a British Citizen you will need to meet the following requirements to apply for naturalisation:

* You must be aged 18 or over and are not of unsound mind.
* You must be of good character.
* You should be able to communicate in the English language (or Welsh or Scottish Gaelic). There are exemptions to this requirement, for example if you are elderly or mentally handicapped.
* You should intend to live in the UK or in Crown Service abroad (working directly for an UK Government organisation), or be employed by an international organisation of which the UK is a member, or be employed by a company or association established in the United Kingdom.

If you are not married to an UK Citizen you will need to meet the following residence requirements over the last six years.

* You must have been living in the UK exactly six years before the date the application reaches the Home Office; and
* During the six-year period you must not have been outside the United Kingdom for more than 450 days (about 15 months); and
* During the last 12 months of the six-year period you must not have been outside the UK for more than 90 days; and
* During the last 12 months of the six-year period your stay in the United Kingdom you must have held permanent residence/ indefinite leave to remain (ILR); and
* You must not have been living in the United Kingdom in breach of the UK immigration rules at any time during the six-year period ending with the date that the application is received by the Home Office.

The processing times for naturalization applications is currently about six to seven months. If you would like assistance with a naturalisation application made on the basis of having permanent residency, please contact our office on (0)207 842 0800 or complete our online enquiry form for naturalization.

[cheesewiz]

Naturalisation after six years in the UK

If you are not married to a British Citizen you will need to meet the following requirements to apply for naturalisation:

* You must be aged 18 or over and are not of unsound mind.
* You must be of good character.
* You should be able to communicate in the English language (or Welsh or Scottish Gaelic). There are exemptions to this requirement, for example if you are elderly or mentally handicapped.
* You should intend to live in the UK or in Crown Service abroad (working directly for an UK Government organisation), or be employed by an international organisation of which the UK is a member, or be employed by a company or association established in the United Kingdom.

If you are not married to an UK Citizen you will need to meet the following residence requirements over the last six years.

* You must have been living in the UK exactly six years before the date the application reaches the Home Office; and
* During the six-year period you must not have been outside the United Kingdom for more than 450 days (about 15 months); and
* During the last 12 months of the six-year period you must not have been outside the UK for more than 90 days; and
* During the last 12 months of the six-year period your stay in the United Kingdom you must have held permanent residence/ indefinite leave to remain (ILR); and
* You must not have been living in the United Kingdom in breach of the UK immigration rules at any time during the six-year period ending with the date that the application is received by the Home Office.

The processing times for naturalization applications is currently about six to seven months. If you would like assistance with a naturalisation application made on the basis of having permanent residency, please contact our office on (0)207 842 0800 or complete our online enquiry form for naturalization.

thanks Joe, she's married to filipino too and got their ILR last Nov 2008. I'll tell her tomorrow to ring the HO. Yesterday she is very excited about it bec she is avoiding this voluntary service law just incase it takes effect soon.

[joebloggs]

thanks Joe, she's married to filipino too and got their ILR last Nov 2008. I'll tell her tomorrow to ring the HO. Yesterday she is very excited about it bec she is avoiding this voluntary service law just incase it takes effect soon.

how many years has she been in the uk ?
if less than 6 then i don't think she can apply for citizenship until shes been in the uk 6yrs.. but yes she should phone the HO and check..

[joebloggs]

no i don't think so, in your case its 5yrs workpermit,then ilr, and you can apply for citizenship 1 yr after that , so 6yrs in total

maybe your friends are married to brits ?

because its 3yrs for a spouse, 2yrs to ilr then 1 yr after that citizenship.. (so you have been 3yrs in the uk also have ilr)

but say your friend was on a work permit and had been here more than 1 yr, and then she married a Brit, she could apply for ilr after 2 yrs and also citizenship !, because she has been 3yrs or more in the uk. (so you will have been 3yrs or more in the uk also have ilr)

[cheesewiz]

no i don't think so, in your case its 5yrs workpermit,then ilr, and you can apply for citizenship 1 yr after that , so 6yrs in total

maybe your friends are married to brits ?

because its 3yrs for a spouse, 2yrs to ilr then 1 yr after that citizenship.. (so you have been 3yrs in the uk also have ilr)

but say your friend was on a work permit and had been here more than 1 yr, and then she married a Brit, she could apply for ilr after 2 yrs and also citizenship !, because she has been 3yrs or more in the uk. (so you will have been 3yrs or more in the uk also have ilr)

how about my filipina friend (actually, we're not that friends) she is married to Brit and got her ILR Nov last year I think. Last xmas I saw her on a party asking me if she can apply for Brit citizen already. Before that she's been here on a work permit (Domestic Helper) before she met her Brit husband. She left her employer then her visa runs out so she's been overstayer here in 2006. So, she went back to Phils and applied a fiancee visa then get married here in UK.

To make the story short, is she qualified to apply as a British citizenship since she's been here for morethan 5 years already just that she's been an overstayer once?

[darren-b]

how about my filipina friend (actually, we're not that friends) she is married to Brit and got her ILR Nov last year I think. Last xmas I saw her on a party asking me if she can apply for Brit citizen already. Before that she's been here on a work permit (Domestic Helper) before she met her Brit husband. She left her employer then her visa runs out so she's been overstayer here in 2006. So, she went back to Phils and applied a fiancee visa then get married here in UK.

To make the story short, is she qualified to apply as a British citizenship since she's been here for morethan 5 years already just that she's been an overstayer once?

Being in breach of immigration rules will reset her residental qualifying period, and it will start again from the date she returned to the UK on a fiancee visa. Though as she is married to a British citizen she would only have to wait 3 years, not 5 years. I guess she wouldn't be qualified yet, though will be sometime soon.

[darren-b]

Is that the whole letter? As further down I would expect it to say

Immigration time restrictions
You must be free from immigration time restrictions when you make your naturalisation application. Unless you are married to or the civil partner of a British citizen, you should have been free from immigration time restrictions during the last 12 months of the residential qualifying period.


The same as on here

[benb]

As far as I know, based on my friend's applications, one would have to wait at least 12 months after ILR to qualify for Naturalisation. You would likely loose your application fee if you submit too early.

Also, the link pointed out by Darren states that firmly too.

However it also states, "There is discretion to allow applications from people who do not meet this requirement. For details of how we apply discretion, you should read the page on discretion to regard immigration time restrictions during the last 12 months."

I do not know what the special cases are - likely marriage to a British.

[darren-b]

As far as I know, based on my friend's applications, one would have to wait at least 12 months after ILR to qualify for Naturalisation. You would likely loose your application fee if you submit too early.

Also, the link pointed out by Darren states that firmly too.

However it also states, "There is discretion to allow applications from people who do not meet this requirement. For details of how we apply discretion, you should read the page on discretion to regard immigration time restrictions during the last 12 months."

I do not know what the special cases are - likely marriage to a British.

Marriage to a British Citizen is not a special case, there are additional rules specified here to say you only have to be free of immigration time restrictions on the day you apply. (When my wife applied she had her ILR for a lot less than a year.)

The cases where discretion could be used are here. Amongst other things you need compelling business or compassionate reasons to apply when you've had ILR for less than 9 months. Less requirements are needed to be met if you've had ILR for more than 9 months, though I'm not sure I'd risk the £655 for the sake of a couple of months. Especially when there's no guarantees how long your application would take anyway as there is no same day service. (The website says 6 to 7 months and some applications take over a year, though the last person I know to apply took about 3 months.)