As you will have seen in our previous articles, in 2015 UK Immigration Law underwent several key changes. Here is the latest of these changes, which came into effect just before Christmas.
As of the 12th November 2015, all nationals from the European Economic Area (EEA) and Switzerland will have to obtain a permanent residence card before they can apply for British citizenship.
Generally, a person who is not applying on the grounds of marriage or civil partnership to a British citizen should also have had permanent residence for 12 months before applying for naturalisation. However, EEA nationals can, upon obtaining their permanent residence card, apply for British nationality immediately, although non-EEA family members must wait an additional 12 months before becoming eligible to apply.
In practice, most family members who are not EEA/Swiss nationals will have applied for a permanent residence card in order to avoid potential evidential problems for travel and employment. However EEA/Swiss nationals may not have applied for a document certifying permanent residence. If you are an EEA or Swiss national and want to be a citizen of the UK, you will need to apply for permanent residence before applying for British citizenship.
If you need help with applying for UK citizenship or with any issues of Immigration Law then get in touch with our expert immigration solicitors today. We’re open 7 days a week and have helped dozens of clients with their immigration issues in the last few years.
