Until 12 November 2015 as a EU National or a citizens of EEA countries and their family members were able to qualify once they have achieved the required five or three years of residence, possessed permanent residence for the last 12 months of that period and met all the other requirements.
Permanent residence is something that a person acquires subject to meeting the set criteria; generallythere is no need to formally apply for it and it is not conferred or granted by the British authorities but by automatic operation of EU law.
However from 12 November 2015, if a person with permanent residence wishes to apply for British citizenship he or she will have to first apply for a permanent residence certificate or card. This change is introduced by the British Nationality (General) (Amendment No. 3) Regulations 2015 (SI 2015/1806).
In certain cases the applicants find that the Home Office only allows naturalisation applications to be made at least one year after a permanent residence card is issued. But strictly speaking the rules only require that:
- the applicant has had permanent residence for at least 12 months; and
- that the applicant possesses a permanent residence certificate or card
Hence it is necessary to possess a permanent residence certificate or card to make the naturalisation application but the one year lead-in period begins as soon as permanent residence begins. This means that if the underlying right of permanent residence has already existed for a year prior to the date of issue of the card then the person can make an application as soon as the card is issued. Similarly if the applicant has possessed permanent residence for nine months when the card is issued, then he or she will need to wait a further three months from the date the card is issued before applying for naturalisation.
If you would like to apply for Permanent Residence card for the EU National or the non EEA Family member then you can book an appointment with our UK Immigration experts at SmartMove2UK by calling +919819127002 or email us to book a slot.
