Mrs friend was here last night, she has been married to UK man for 5 years, the longest time and only time she spent in the UK was 2 months, she tells me that she dosent need any tests, like Life in the UK ect, and she will be given a UK PP no problem,

Could somebody verify either way please,

Thanks, Lickey..

If you meet the requirements for naturalisation you should go to the applying for naturalisation as a British citizen section for details on how to apply.

There are seven requirements you need to meet before you apply:

• you are aged 18 or over; and
  
• you are of sound mind; and
  
• you can communicate in English, Welsh or Scottish Gaelic to an acceptable degree; and
  
• you have sufficient knowledge of life in the United Kingdom; and
  
• you are of good character; and
  
• you are the husband, wife or civil partner of a British citizen; and
  
• you meet the residential requirements; or
  
• your husband, wife or civil partner is in Crown or designated service outside the United Kingdom.
  

Residential requirements

In order to demonstrate the residential requirements for naturalisation you need to:

• have been resident in the United Kingdom for at least three years (this is known as the residential qualifying period); and
  
• have been present in the United Kingdom three years before the date of your application; and
  
• have not spent more than 270 days outside the United Kingdom during the three-year period; and
  
• have not spend more than 90 days outside the United Kingdom in the last 12 months of the three-year period; and
  
• have not been in breach of the immigration rules at any stage during the three-year period.
  

It is a common failing of human nature, not confined to certain Thai ladies, for some people to seek to boost their self-esteem by making out that they have got something that others around them haven't. Your friend is a long way from qualifying for British citizenship. The only slight advantage that she has in the process towards settlement and citizenship is that having lived outside the UK with her husband for more than 4 years she could, after being granted the initial spouse visa and arriving in the UK, apply for ILR as soon as she has passed the Knowledge of Life in the UK test. However, she would still need 3 years' residence (including one with ILR) from the date of her initial arrival to qualify for British citizenship, and she and her sponsor would need to meet all the requirements, financial and otherwise, for the initial and subsequent applications, including the A1 English Language test for the original spouse visa.

But she won't thank you for telling her all that. Just sound impressed and let her carry on tucking into the som-tam.

The only slight advantage that she has in the process towards settlement and citizenship is that having lived outside the UK with her husband for more than 4 years she could, after being granted the initial spouse visa and arriving in the UK, apply for ILR as soon as she has passed the Knowledge of Life in the UK test.

With respect, Eff1n2ret, not anymore. One of the changes that came into effect on 9/7/12 was the abolition of ILE for spouses and partners.

off topic post removed

Thanks very much for your answers everybody, i really didnt think it would be as easy as she suggests, it seems she would have to do all the tests 1st timers in the UK would have to do??

The only slight advantage that she has in the process towards settlement and citizenship is that having lived outside the UK with her husband for more than 4 years she could, after being granted the initial spouse visa and arriving in the UK, apply for ILR as soon as she has passed the Knowledge of Life in the UK test.

With respect, Eff1n2ret, not anymore. One of the changes that came into effect on 9/7/12 was the abolition of ILE for spouses and partners.

Thank you. I now see that although Para 282c still provides for the issue of a spouse visa to someone in the situation I mentioned, 287c only provides for ILR for spouses of Points Based Migrants.

I am afraid that as my former work recedes into dim-and-distant memory at an ever-increasing rate my enthusiasm for keeping up with these Byzantine rule-changes diminishes in direct proportion. Perhaps I should give up on sounding off on these matters.

You mention "abolition of ILE for spouses and partners". I see that 282b does provide for ILE, but I suppose they're now assuming that there's no way anyone can take the KOL test while visiting the UK having practised online overseas? Or can they? - if so, that would be a short-cut worth thinking about for long-term spouses/partners. If not, what's the point of 282b (unless it's just for the benefit of dependants of serving members of the Armed Forces, who can take the test overseas)?

I took my information on the abolition of ILE for spouses and partners from the announcement made on 9th July.

In Transitional provisions and interaction between Part 8 and Appendix FM it does say that Paras 281 to 289 will continue to apply to family members of members of HM armed forces, and this includes retention of ILE if qualified.

The rules as published on the UKBA website are all over the place at the moment. The old rules don't seem to have been amended at all and one has to search through various appendices to find the changes!

Perhaps I should give up on sounding off on these matters.

I have always found your posts on these matters to be informative and helpful; even if I have at times questioned you about them and even disagreed.

I, and I'm sure many others, would miss your input were you to decide to cease.