Immigration Corner | Routes to British citizenship

Dear Mr. Bassie,

I would like to know under what circumstances can a person become a British citizen.

GV

Dear GV,

There are different ways to apply for British citizenship and these are based on a person’s circumstances.

Although persons may have been born in the United Kingdom, this does not mean that those persons will automatically obtain British citizenship. It should be noted that eligibility for British citizenship will depend on that person’s date of birth and the parents’ circumstances at that time. Please be aware that persons may be eligible to apply for citizenship if they were born in the United Kingdom and are not British citizens.

Persons have moved to the United Kingdom

If persons have moved to the United Kingdom, they may be able to apply for citizenship by ‘naturalisation’, which will depend on the situation. Persons should note that if they are eligible in more than one way, they can choose which way they would like to apply.

To apply as the spouse or civil partner of a British citizen, if married to or in a civil partnership with a British citizen, persons must have lived in the United Kingdom for the last three years.

Those persons will also need to have one of the following:

• Indefinite leave to remain

• Settled status under the European Union (EU) Settlement Scheme

• A permanent residence document to confirm permanent residence status

If persons have any of the aforementioned, they will be eligible to apply for citizenship immediately.

Indefinite leave to remain (ILR)

Persons who have indefinite leave to remain (ILR) can usually apply for ILR after they have lived in the United Kingdom for five years. Please note that to apply for citizenship with ILR persons must usually have lived in the UK for 12 months after obtaining it.

Permanent residence status

If persons or family members are from the EU, EEA or Switzerland, they usually get permanent residence status automatically after living in the United Kingdom for five years.

To apply for citizenship with permanent residence status, persons must usually have lived in the United Kingdom for 12 months after getting permanent residence status. Those persons also need a permanent residence document that proves they have lived in the United Kingdom for five years - this can be any five-year period. This means that if the five-year period was more than 12 months ago, they will be able to apply for citizenship as soon as they get their permanent residence documents.

Settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme

If persons and their family members are from the EU, EEA or Switzerland, they can apply for ‘settled status’ after they have lived in the United Kingdom for five years.

To apply for citizenship with settled status, persons must usually have lived in the United Kingdom for 12 months after getting it. Settled status is also known as ‘indefinite leave to remain under the EU Settlement Scheme’.

Other routes to be eligible

Persons may be eligible to apply for citizenship if:

• They have a British parent

• They have another type of British nationality

• They are stateless

• They previously gave up (renounced) their citizenship

Also, if certain Commonwealth citizens may be eligible to apply for citizenship under the Windrush Scheme if both the applicant or one of their parents arrived in the United Kingdom before 1973 and if they havelived in the United Kingdom and not been away from it for more than two years.

If the parent arrived in the United Kingdom before 1973, the applicant must have either been born in the United Kingdom or arrived there before their 18th birthday.

Just for completeness, please note that some Commonwealth citizens have ‘right of abode’ in the United Kingdom. This means they can live or work in the United Kingdom without immigration restrictions.

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 and a member of the Immigration Law Practitioners Association (UK). Email: lawbassie@yahoo.com