Anybody can confirm this pls....

[darren-b]

i dont think so, you need to be in the uk 3 or 6 years to qualify and have ilr .

My understanding was 3 years as the spouse of a British citizen, 5 years if not. But if not married to a British citizen you have to have been free from immigration time restrictions for the last 12 months (ie ILR plus a year).

So if a 'non-spouse' got ILR in November 2008 they could not apply until at least November 2009 regardless of when they originally came to the UK.

[joebloggs]

So if a 'non-spouse' got ILR in November 2008 they could not apply until at least November 2009 regardless of when they originally came to the UK.

yes your right about the nov 2009 date, as stated in the bold text i pasted, one year free from immigration control for non spouse apps.

not so sure for a spouse thou, i'm sure i have read of people who came on a work permit, and had spent at least a year legally in the uk, and then changed to a spouse visa after marrying a brit, then after 2yrs got ILR and were then able to apply straight away for citizenship.(3yrs in the uk)

while for most on here, to get 3 years would be 2 years on a spouse, then 1yr ILR.

[darren-b]

yes your right about the nov 2009 date, as stated in the bold text i pasted, one year free from immigration control for non spouse apps.

not so sure for a spouse thou, i'm sure i have read of people who came on a work permit, and had spent at least a year legally in the uk, and then changed to a spouse visa after marrying a brit, then after 2yrs got ILR and were then able to apply straight away for citizenship.(3yrs in the uk)

while for most on here, to get 3 years would be 2 years on a spouse, then 1yr ILR.

Yup, to apply as a spouse you don't actually have to have been married for the whole of the 3 year qualifying period.

Not sure what the split is on here between fiancee and spouse visas, but anyone who came here on a fiancee visa may only wait for as a little as 6 months after they get ILR.