Family Uk Citizenship Application

[Trebilcock]

Briefly, my wife's friends are applying for naturalization as a family, but I think they are bound to fail. The husband on his own might be OK, as he has lived here for about 8 years. The wife has lived here just under 5 years, so might just scrape in? The husband's son (not her's) has only been here a few months, and I suspect he has no chance whatsoever. Even though they've applied as a family, I suspect if just one fails to meet the criteria all 3 will be refused. Is that right? Not sure about the referees they've included, either. Tried to tell them about these potential problems, but they don't seem to listen. Any thoughts or info would be very much appreciated. Thanks.

[7by7]

The main requirements for naturalisation as British are:

1) Been resident in the UK for at least 5 years (3 years if the spouse or civil partner of a British citizen). Time spent in the UK as a visitor, student or with any other non-settlement visa will count toward this.

2) Have been free of any time restriction on one's stay in the UK (i.e. ILR or the equivalent) for at least the last 12 months (unless the spouse or civil partner of a British citizen).

3) Were physically present in the UK on the exact day 5 years (3 years if the spouse or civil partner of a British citizen) prior to applying and during the intervening 5 (3) years have spent no more than 450 (270) days out of the UK with no more than 90 days in the final year.

4) Demonstrate sufficient knowledge of life and language in the UK; unless already done so to obtain ILR or exempt.

5) Be of good character.

However, children under 18 cannot be naturalised; but they can be registered as British citizens. They do have to be free of any time restrictions on their stay in the UK and if over 10 be of good character, but the other requirements wont apply.

So, if the son is under 18 and has ILR (or the equivalent) he can apply for registration at the same time as his father applies for naturalisation, but if he is over 18 he cannot apply for naturalisation until he meets all the requirements listed above.

See;

Standard requirements for naturalisation

Knowledge of language and life in the UK

Can I register a child aged under 18 as a British citizen?

[Trebilcock]

Many thanks for such a detailed reply. I'm pretty certain that both the wife and son will fail to meet the requirements, and my worry is that having applied as a family they will lose the entire application fee (about a Thousand Pounds, I think) In other words, if one fails, then all fail. Anyone know if this is true? Thanks for reading.

[7by7]

The fee is not for citizenship, it is to cover the cost of processing the application (plus a tidy profit thanks to Messrs Blair and Brown) so it is not refundable if an application is rejected.

I think that in a multiple application if one or more of the applicants are rejected, any others included in the application who qualify will still be granted citizenship; but I am not sure. Hopefully someone more knowledgeable than I in this area will respond.