It is possible to gain British citizenship by marriage if you are a foreign national married to or in a civil partnership with a British citizen.
Contact our immigration lawyers for a free telephone consultation on 020 3744 2797 or complete our enquiry form to discuss your British Citizenship application.
If you are a foreign national married to a British citizen or in a civil partnership, it is possible to gain British citizenship by naturalisation and live in the UK. It is also worth clarifying that marrying a British citizen (or marrying a UK citizen) does not automatically or immediately give you British citizenship, but you may be able to apply when you qualify. The Home Office rules state that a person who is 18 or over and married to or in a civil partnership with a British citizen, and has been living in the UK for at least 3 years can apply to naturalise as soon as they have:
There are further eligibility criteria that must also be met in order to gain British citizenship by marriage or civil partnership, as explained below.
The benefit of applying for UK citizenship through marriage or civil partnership is that you can do so immediately after gaining permanent settlement in the UK if you can prove that you have been living in the UK for exactly 3 years. Normally, a person is required to wait for 12 months after they gain settlement to apply for British citizenship.
Under the current Home Office policy, the requirements of applying for British citizenship by marriage are:
There are some additional general requirements that must be met to naturalise as a British citizen; you must:
For more details on these general requirements, please visit our page on British Citizenship requirements.
Unfortunately, the Home Office rules state you cannot apply to naturalise as a British citizen if your British partner has died. However, there may be alternative ways of gaining citizenship. For example, you can first apply for ILR if your British spouse or partner has died. Once you have held ILR for 12 months, you can apply for British citizenship2.
During the 3 years prior to submitting your application, you must have been physically present in England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man, or the Channel Islands.
Check if you fulfil all the requirements to gain British citizenship through marriage or civil partnership, by speaking to one of our immigration solicitors. Contact us today for a telephone consultation on 020 3744 2797 or by email at info@reissedwards.co.uk.
You can get British citizenship by marriage by:
The processing time for citizenship through marriage is currently around six months, but if your case is particularly complex or insufficient information is provided, this may take longer.
With your British citizenship application, you will be asked to provide a number of supporting documents and items of evidence, as follows:
If any of your documents are not written in English, they will need to be professionally translated.
You can apply for British citizenship by marriage or as a civil partner as soon as you hold indefinite leave to remain (ILR), indefinite leave to enter (ILE) for the UK, or settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme. You must also have lived in the UK (including England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man, or the Channel Islands) for at least 3 years.
British citizenship by marriage application fee is £1,330. In addition, you will need to pay for Biometric residence fee £19.20 and any translation, English language exams, and a Life in the UK test.
The processing time for citizenship through marriage is currently around six months, but if your case is particularly complex or insufficient information is provided, this may take longer.
The UK allows dual nationality. This means you are not required by UK law to renounce your existing citizenship of another country. You will need to check, however, if the laws of the countries in which you hold citizenship require you to renounce their citizenship before applying to become a British citizen. For more information, check our article Dual Citizenship in the UK
You cannot normally appeal a refused British citizenship by marriage application. You may be able to request an administrative review if you believe a mistake was made by the Home Office when making a decision. Alternatively, you may be able to apply for a judicial review to challenge the legal basis for the decision.
Applications for British citizenship by marriage or civil partnership are refused for many reasons, including where:
It is advisable to discuss your case with an immigration solicitor in the event of a refusal. An immigration solicitor can review your case and the reasons for refusal and explain the best way forward. In some cases, they may recommend submitting a fresh application or using an alternative route to achieve the same objective.
Contact us today for a free telephone consultation on 020 3744 2797 or by email at info@reissedwards.co.uk.
References
1 GOV.UK: Citizenship by naturalisation application form
2 GOV.UK: Death of a partner