Quote Originally Posted by Terpe View Post
All applications from 28 October must include both life in uk pass certificate and a pass certificate in English at level B1
The forum link with all details on this new requirement is here - New UKBA Requirements for Settlement and Naturalisation

Quote Originally Posted by Terpe View Post
That 3 year timing is critical. Don't risk non compliance (even one day) UKBA are very strict about that as it's law. They may take a dim view if they feel you tried to circumvent immigration rules.
Here are the UKBA rules for residential requirements:-

In order to demonstrate the residential requirements for naturalisation you need to:-

- have been resident in the United Kingdom for at least three years (this is known as the residential qualifying period) and
- have been present in the United Kingdom three years before the date of your application and
- have not spent more than 270 days outside the United Kingdom during the three-year period and
- have not spend more than 90 days outside the United Kingdom in the last 12 months of the three-year period and
- have not been in breach of the immigration rules at any stage during the three-year period.

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'll find this snippet of information helpful too:-

What is the date of your application? (Applying by post or courier from inside the UK)
If you send your application form and application fee by post, the date of application is the date of posting. This is decided by the postmark. If the postmark is illegible or missing, the date of postage is taken as being at least 1 day before it is received by us.

If you send your application form and application fee by courier, the date of application is the date when it is delivered to our payment handling service.