Immigration Corner | Moving from settled status to applying for British citizenship

Dear Mr Bassie,

A relative of mine received ‘settled status’ while in the United Kingdom. I am wondering whether she will be eligible for British citizenship by virtue of this status. I look forward to your response.

– MS

Dear MS,

Persons who already have settled statuses under the European Union (EU) Settlement Scheme can apply to see if they can become British citizens. To apply for citizenship with settled status, persons must usually have lived in the United Kingdom for 12 months after receiving it.

Persons who had ‘permanent residence’ status before they received settled status can no longer apply for citizenship, based on their permanent residence status. However, those persons who had permanent residence status are able to count the time that they had it towards the 12 months that they will need to wait before applying for citizenship with their settled status.

For example, if someone went to the United Kingdom in 2015 and gained permanent residence status in 2018, and in March 2021, he/she was granted settled status.

Usually, that person would need to wait 12 months after being granted settled status to apply for citizenship – but because he/she had permanent residence status for three years prior to applying, that person would be immediately eligible to apply for citizenship.

Those persons who have permanent residence status can no longer apply for British citizenship. Those persons might still be able to apply for settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme if they have not already done so. They can then use this to apply for British citizenship.

Please note that the deadline to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme for most people was June 30, 2021. However, persons can still apply if they have ‘reasonable grounds’ for not being able to have applied by the deadline.

Just for completeness, please be aware that there are other ways that persons can be eligible to apply for citizenship, for example, if they:

• Have a British parent;

• Have another type of British nationality;

• Are stateless;

• Previously gave up (renounced) your citizenship.

Please note that persons who are Commonwealth citizens may be eligible to apply for citizenship under the Windrush Scheme if:

• Applicant or one of their parents arrived in the United Kingdom before 1973;

• Applicant has lived in the United Kingdom and not been away from there for more than two years.

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

• Been born in the United Kingdom; or

• Arrived in the United Kingdom before he/she was 18 years of age.

Some Commonwealth citizens have ‘right of abode’ in the UK. This means that they can live or work in the United Kingdom without immigration restrictions. Persons should check if they can apply to prove they have right of abode in the United Kingdom.

All the best.

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, global vice-president of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, and a member of the Immigration Law Practitioners Association (UK). Email: l awbassie@yahoo.com