Immigration Corner | How the spouse of a British citizen applies for filing

Dear Mr Bassie,

Please let me know how a spouse of a British citizen can apply for citizenship. Any assistance will be appreciated.

G.D.

Dear G.D.,

There are a number of things that must be considered when a person applies for citizenship if the spouse is a British citizen.

Persons can apply for British citizenship by ‘naturalisation’ if they:

• Are 18 years old or over; or

• Are married to, or in a civil partnership with, someone who is a British citizen; or

• Have lived in the UK for at least three years before the date of your application

They can apply as soon as they have one of the following:

• Indefinite leave to remain (ILR) in the UK

• ‘Settled status’ (also known as ‘indefinite leave to remain under the EU Settlement Scheme’)

• Indefinite leave to enter the UK (permission to move to the UK permanently from abroad)

They must also:

• Prove they were in the UK exactly three years before the day the Home Office receives their application

• Prove their knowledge of English, Welsh or Scottish Gaelic

• Show they have passed the ‘life in the UK’ test

• Be of good character.

Please note that this is one way to apply for British citizenship. Persons should check if they are eligible another way, including through the Windrush scheme.

PRE-SETTLED STATUS

Persons may be able to apply for citizenship if they can show all of the following:

• They have pre-settled status

• They are from the EU, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and started living in the UK by 31 December 2020

• They have lived in the UK five years in a row and in that time they have been working (or looking for work for up to three months), studying or they are self-sufficient.

RESIDENCY REQUIREMENTS

Persons must have lived in the UK for at least three years before the date of their application.

They cannot include any time spent in the UK when exempt from immigration control as a:

• Diplomat

• Member of a diplomat’s staff or household

• Member of visiting armed forces

Persons also should not have broken any UK immigration laws. If they have indefinite leave to enter or remain, the Home Office will not usually check if they broke any immigration laws before then.

TIME SPENT OUTSIDE THE UK

To be eligible, persons should not have:

• Spent more than 270 days outside the UK during the three years before their application

• Spent more than 90 days outside the UK in the last 12 months

Persons may be exempt from the residency requirements if their partner works abroad either for the UK government or an organisation intricately linked to government.

WHEN TO APPLY

Persons must have been physically present in the UK exactly three years before the Home Office receives the application.

Please note that the application may be rejected if persons were not in the UK exactly three years before the Home Office received it. This depends on the reason why they were not in the UK.

The Home Office will consider if there are special circumstances, for example:

• They were not able to live in the UK at the start of the three-year period because of health reasons or travel restrictions

• They were told to leave the UK during the three years but this decision was later overturned

Please note that the date the Home Office receives the application depends on how it was applied for. If the application was made online, the application will be received on the same day. It will take longer if the application is made by post.

It costs £1,735 to apply and this includes the £130 citizenship ceremony fee. Persons will usually get a decision within six months – some applications can take longer. If it takes longer, the applicant will be told before six months have passed.

Please note that a child is usually automatically a British citizen if they were born in the UK and their other parent was a British citizen. Please check if there are other ways the applicant’s child is eligible for British citizenship.

Just for completeness, please be aware that persons cannot apply for citizenship as the partner of a British citizen if their partner has died. Check eligible another way, for example, if they have indefinite leave to remain in the UK.

I hope this helps.

John S. Bassie is a barrister/attorney-at-law who practises law in Jamaica. He is a justice of the peace, a Supreme Court-appointed mediator, a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, a chartered arbitrator, the past global president of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and a member of the Immigration Law Practitioners Association (UK). Email: lawbassie@yahoo.com