British Citizenship Lawyers for Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen & Across Scotland

After many years of complex visa applications and uncertainty for you and your family’s future of living in the United Kingdom, obtaining Indefinite Leave to Remain in the UK then allows you to finally apply to become a British Citizen.

For those who are not married or in a civil partnership with a British citizen

For those who are not married to a British citizen nor in a civil partnership with a British citizen you must have lived in the UK with a valid visa for at least 5 years in order to meet the residency requirement and have spent no more than 450 days outside the UK during this period. In the last 12 months you must not have spent more than 90 days outside the UK and also have held Indefinite Leave to Remain throughout this 12-month period.

This category applies to refugees who have held Indefinite Leave to Remain for 12 months after five years “refugee status”, to European nationals who have been granted “settled status” under the EU Settlement Scheme and have lived in the UK for 12 months after being granted “settled status” and for any person who has held visas continuously for a five year period and has held Indefinite Leave to Remain for 12 months.

For those who are married or in a civil partnership with a British citizen

You must have lived in the UK for 3 years in order to meet the residency requirement and spent no more than 270 days outside the UK in that period.
In the last 12 months you must not have spent more than 90 days outside the UK. You will also need to show that during those 3 years you have not been in breach of any immigration rules.
Please note that for this category there is no requirement to have held ILR/permanent residency for 12 months and applicants can apply for naturalisation as soon as they secure ILR/permanent residency status.

For Children Born in the UK

If a child was born in the UK they can apply to become British when:
• Their parents who were not British citizens and were not settled in the UK when they were born, then become settled in the UK or become a British citizen.• If a child has lived in the UK for the first 10 years of their life, they will have an entitlement to become British regardless of their parents immigration status.
These are the two main categories of children applying on their own to become British. There are a number of other categories and if you think your child may have a right to register as a British Citizen, we can help.

English Language Qualification

Knowledge of life in the UK

Good Character Requirement

If you are over 18 and under 65, you must be able to show that you have obtained a speaking and listening qualification at level B1 or higher or an equivalent qualification. This qualification must have been obtained at a test centre which is approved by the Home Office.

Another way of meeting this requirement is by having a suitable academic qualification taught in the UK at degree level or by having a suitable academic qualification taught overseas in English which is deemed by UK NARIC to be compatible with a UK degree.

You will not be required to meet this requirement if you are a national of a majority English speaking country.

If you are over 18 and under 65, you must be able to show that you have passed the Life in the UK Test(LITUK)

Please note that if you have already passed the Life in the UK Test when applying for Indefinite Leave to Remain, you will not be required to sit the test again.

If you have a medical condition or other impairment you may able to seek an exemption from passing both exams if you are able to provide satisfactory medical evidence.

Anybody over the age of ten who applies to become a British citizen needs to meet the so-called “good character requirement”. This requires meeting the Home Office Rules in respect of criminal convictions, breaches of Immigration Laws and other types of behaviour that the Home Office consider make an individual unsuitable to be granted British Citizenship.

A criminal conviction or breach of Immigration Law does not automatically exclude a person from being granted British Citizenship, but depends on the type of criminal offence or immigration breach, when it was committed and the punishment imposed. If you have a concern in respect of a criminal conviction, breach of immigration law or any other good character issue it is essential to seek expert legal advice on the impact it may have on your application before you apply.

We will meet with you and obtain all relevant information about your circumstances and advise if you meet the requirements to apply to become a British Citizen.

If you meet the requirements, we will advise you in detail of the specific evidence you require to obtain.

When you have obtained all the evidence we will ensure the evidence is complete and in the format required. In order to prove you have been residing in the UK for five years, if necessary we will correspond with Government departments, your employer, accountant, landlord, colleges or universities and your children’s school/nursery and any other person or organisation to make sure the correct evidence is obtained.

We will prepare your application through the Home Office Online system and when you are happy it is complete and accurate we will submit the application online.

We will assist you in processing payment for the fees charged by the Home Office for the application.

We will arrange the booking of an appointment at a Home Office Centre where you require to submit original documents and provide your photograph and finger-prints.

We will prepare all the evidence to support the application and submit this to the Home Office online.

We will keep you updated in respect of the progress of the application, carry out all relevant correspondence with the Home Office and inform you immediately when we receive a decision

Address

Quinn Martin & Langan68 Maryhill RoadGlasgowG20 7QB

Phone

0141 332 3702

Fill in our enquiry form

Call us on 0141 332 3702 or fill in this form and we will get back to you as soon as possible

Our immigration, family and criminal lawyers can help clients in communities throughout Glasgow, Ayr, Prestwick, Perth, Dundee, Aberdeen, Inverness, Moray, Edinburgh, Paisley, East Kilbride, Livingston, Hamilton, Dunfermline, Cumbernauld, Kirkcaldy, Kilmarnock, Coatbridge, Greenock, Glenrothes, Stirling, Airdrie, Falkirk, Irvine, Dumfries and indeed across Scotland.

Address

Quinn Martin & Langan68 Maryhill RoadGlasgowG20 7QB

Phone

0141 332 3702

Fill in our enquiry form

Call us on 0141 332 3702 or fill in this form and we will get back to you as soon as possible

British Citizenship

British Citizenship Lawyers for Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen & Across Scotland

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