Immigration Corner | Under what circumstances can a person become a British citizen?

Dear Mr Bassie,

M y girlfriend is British, and I was wondering under what circumstances can I become a British citizen. Any advice would be appreciated.

L.L.

Dear L.L.,

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

If persons were born in the United Kingdom (UK), they do not automatically get British citizenship. It depends on when they were born and their parents’ circumstances. However, persons may be eligible to apply for citizenship if they were born in the UK and are not British citizens.

PERSONS WHO HAVE MOVED TO THE UK

Persons may be able to apply for citizenship by ‘naturalization’, depending on your situation. Please note that if persons are eligible in more than one way, they can choose which way to apply.

Persons who are married to, or in a civil partnership with, a British citizen and would like to apply as the spouse or civil partner of a British citizen must have lived in the UK for the previous 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 they do, they will be eligible to apply for citizenship immediately.

PERSONS WHO HAVE INDEFINITE LEAVE TO REMAIN (ILR)

Persons can usually apply for ILR after living in the UK for five years. To apply for citizenship with ILR, persons must usually have lived in the UK for 12 months after receiving it.

PERSONS WHO HAVE PERMANENT RESIDENCE STATUS

If persons or their family members are from the EU, European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland, they usually get permanent residence status automatically after living in the UK for five years.

To apply for citizenship with permanent residence status, persons must usually have lived in the UK for 12 months after getting permanent residence status. They will also need a permanent residence document that proves that they have lived in the UK 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 document.

PERSONS WHO HAVE ‘SETTLED STATUS’ UNDER THE EU SETTLEMENT SCHEME

If persons and their family member are from the EU, EEA or Switzerland, they can apply for ‘settled status’ after they have lived in the UK for five years. To apply for citizenship with settled status, persons must usually have lived in the UK for 12 months after getting it.

Please note that settled status is also known as ‘indefinite leave to remain under the EU Settlement Scheme’.

OTHER WAYS PERSONS CAN 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) your citizenship.

PERSONS WHO ARE COMMONWEALTH CITIZENS

Persons 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.

• The applicant lived in the United Kingdom and had not been away from there for more than two years.

If the applicant’s parent arrived in the United Kingdom before 1973, they must have either:

• Been born in the United Kingdom.

• Arrived in the United Kingdom before they were 18 years old.

Please note that some Commonwealth citizens have ‘right of abode’ in the UK. This means persons can live or work in the UK without immigration restrictions. Persons should make the necessary checks to see if they can apply to prove that they have right of abode in the UK.

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.