| Changes to the UK Immigration
Rules: Inforce effective @ 1st January 2005
- Marriage Visa
- Unmarried Partners
- Fiancé/e of an UK Citizen, permanent
resident or EU Citizen
- Citizenship and Naturalisation
Changes to the UK Immigration Rules agreed by Home Office Ministers
on the 21st of December will come into force from 1 January 2005.
The following changes will affect foreign nationals, overseas students,
spouses looking for settlement and humanitarian crisis victims.
Changes affecting foreign nationals applying for entry clearance
overseas:
* The age at which a person can be given a visa for marriage,
as a fiance(é), or as an unmarried partner, will be raised
from 16 to 18 years old;
* Overseas students will be able to apply for entry to the
UK to study only at institutions on the Department for Education
and Skills' (DfES) register of education and training providers.
The register will be available on the DfES website from 23 December:
Department for Education & Skills - Providers' Register;
* Provisions for the settlement of dependants (spouses, partners
and children) in line with the new HM (Armed) Forces Rule introduced
in October;
* Creation of a category of leave to enter or remain for the
purpose of "Temporary Protection" in line with the Temporary Protection
Directive agreed by European member states to provide temporary
sanctuary to victims in the event of a major large scale humanitarian
crisis.
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Unmarried Partners
Unmarried Partners of a British Citizen or of anyone with any type
of long term status in the UK.
It has been possible since 1997 for unmarried partners both in a
heterosexual and same sex relationship to gain entry to the UK.
These sort of applications tend to be more difficult than those
based on marriage as you need to show that you have been together
for two years and that it is a permanent relationship. The requirements
since April 2003 are as follows:
* You have to show that any previous relationship whether
in marriage or as an unmarried couple has ended.
* You should have been living together for at least two years
in a relationship similar to marriage. You will need to provide
documentary evidence confirming that you have been living together
for this time.
* If you have been together for less than four years you are
granted a visa for a probationary period of two years. If you are
still living together at the end of two years in the UK permanent
residence (properly known as indefinite leave to remain) will usually
be granted.
* If you have been together for four years or more outside
the UK you will be granted indefinite leave to remain (permanent
residence) in the UK without having to live in the UK for two years.
Again, you will need to provide documentary evidence proving this.
* You must intend to live together permanently with your partner.
* You must possess sufficient funds to pay you and your partner's
living expenses and those of any dependants without claiming public
funds. Public funds cover various benefits paid by the Government
if you are currently looking for work, if you are on a low income
and if you are in various other situations.
* Accommodation for the unmarried partners, and any dependants,
must be suitable and available.
* It is a requirement that the overseas unmarried partner
has to be 16 years old or over, and the sponsor in the UK has to
be at least 18 years old.
* Children of the unmarried partners who are under 18 years
old are allowed entry to the UK as dependants, and can make their
application at the same time as the main applicant.
* After a total period of five years in the UK if you meet
the residence requirements you may then apply for UK citizenship.
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Fiancé/e of an UK Citizen, permanent
resident or EU Citizen
The requirements for immigration to UK as a Fiancé/e's are
very similar to the rules for married couples. You may wish to consider
very carefully whether it is best to marry first and then apply
for entry as this will avoid the necessity of making a fiance/e
application and then a second application to remain as a spouse.
However, please note that it is no longer possible for most visitors
to change status to a spouse visa. The basic requirements for immigration
to UK are as follows:
* Unless you are engaged to an EU Citizen (not British citizen
in this situation!) with a five year residence permit you must apply
for entry from outside the UK. If you wish to apply from within
the UK in other circumstances your application is likely to be refused
unless you can show exceptional reasons why the application should
be granted.
* You are granted entry to the UK for a period of six months
during which time you must marry your fiancé/e in the UK.
If there are exceptional reasons for delaying marriage until after
the initial six months an extension to stay in the UK may be granted.
* You will not be permitted to work in the UK on the fiance/e
visa, and you and your fiance/e must show that there will be sufficient
funds and accommodation in the UK without requiring public funds
before and after the marriage. Public funds cover various benefits
paid by the Government if you are currently looking for work, if
you are on a low income and if you are in various other situations.
* You must have met your future spouse. This is to prevent
a situation that occurs sometimes in arranged marriages where the
future husband and wife have never met.
* You must intend to live together permanently with your future
spouse once you are married.
* It is a requirement that the overseas fiancé/fiancée
has to be 16 years old or over, and the sponsor in the UK has to
be at least 18 years old.
* Children of the overseas fiance/e who are under 18 years
old are only allowed entry to the UK as dependants if it can be
shown that it would cause serious problems if they are not allowed
entry at the same time. Therefore this sort of application will
be difficult to make, and in many cases it may be best to wait until
after the marriage and then apply for entry of dependents.
* You should apply for a marriage visa from within the UK
when you are married, and will then be eligible to work freely in
the UK.
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Citizenship and Naturalisation
Unless you have a claim to Citizenship based on ancestry you will
probably have apply for naturalisation in one of the following two
categories:
* Naturalisation after five years in the UK
* Naturalisation after three years in the UK as a spouse of
an UK Citizen
Naturalisation after five years in the UK
If you are not married to a British Citizen you will need to meet
the following requirements to apply for naturalisation:
* You must be aged 18 or over and are not of unsound mind.
* You must be of good character.
* You should be able to communicate in the English language
(or Welsh or Scottish Gaelic). There are exemptions to this requirement,
for example if one is elderly or mentally handicapped.
* You should intend to live in the UK or in Crown Service
abroad (working directly for an UK Government organisation), or
be employed by an international organisation of which the UK is
a member, or be employed by a company or association established
in the United Kingdom.
In addition the candidate should have fulfilled the five-year
requirement as detailed below. The five-year period is counted from
the five years from the date when the application reaches the home
office.
You must have had indefinite leave to remain (sometimes also known
as permanent residency/ILR) to be able to apply for naturalisation.
The processing times for naturalization applications is currently
about six to seven months. If you are not married to an UK Citizen
you will need to meet the following requirements:
* You must have been living in the United Kingdom at the beginning
of the five-year period; and
* During the five-year period you must not have been outside
the United Kingdom for more than 450 days (about 15 months); and
* During the last 12 months of the five-year period you must
not have been outside the UK for more than 90 days; and
* During the last 12 months of the five-year period your stay
in the United Kingdom must have held permanent residency/ indefinite
leave to remain (ILR)
* You must not have been living in the United Kingdom in breach
of UK immigration rules at any time during the five-year period
ending with the date that the application is received by the Home
Office.
If you would like assistance with a naturalisation application
made on the basis of having permanent residency, please contact
our office on (0)207 842 0800 or complete our online enquiry form
for natiralization.
Naturalisation after three years in the UK as a spouse of an UK
Citizen
The requirements for naturalisation as a spouse of a British citizen
are very similar to those mentioned above. The main difference is
that there is a shorter residency requirement of three years in
the UK as opposed to five years. The three years of the residency
requirement are counted from the date your naturalization application
is received by the Home Office.
Further details on residency requirements are as follows:
* You must have been living in the United Kingdom at the beginning
of the three- year period; and
* On the date that your application is received in the Home
Office, you must have permanent residence/ ILR in the UK; and
* During the three-year period you must not have been outside
the UK for more than 270 days (approximately 9 months); and
* During the last 12 months of the five-year period you must
not have been outside the UK for more than 90 days; and
* You must not have been in breach of any UK immigration rules
at any time during this three-year period of residence in the UK.
This is a simplification of several complex laws; there may
well be other important issues to consider.
Please contact us for more information and assistance on making
an application for naturalisation based on marriage to a British
citizen.
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Marriage Visa
Spouses of UK citizens or permanent residents (mainly those with
indefinite leave to remain) may come to the UK under marriage visa
category, and are able to work as soon as a visa is granted. You
will need to meet the following marriage visa requirements:
* If you have been together for less than four years you are
granted a marriage visa for a probationary period of two years.
If you are still married and living together at the end of two years
in the UK permanent residence (properly known as indefinite leave
to remain) will usually be granted.
* If you have been together for four years or more outside
the UK you will be granted indefinite leave to remain (permanent
residence) in the UK without having to live in the UK for two years.
* The UK citizen or permanent resident must have actually
met their non-UK spouse. This is to prevent a situation that occurs
sometimes in arranged marriages where the husband and wife have
never met.
* You must intend to live together permanently with your spouse.
* You must possess sufficient funds to pay you and your spouse's
living expenses and those of any dependants without claiming public
funds. Public funds cover various benefits paid by the Government
if you are currently looking for work, if you are on a low income
and if you are in various other situations.
* Accommodation for the couple, and any dependants, must be
suitable and available.
* Spouses seeking to come to the UK on the basis of marriage
to a UK national should apply for entry clearance before entering
the UK.
* If you have a visa valid for six months or less in the UK
you cannot change status to a spouse visa.
* Children of the marriage who are under 18 years old are
allowed entry to the UK as dependants, and can make their application
at the same time as the main applicant.
* After a total period of three years in the UK if you meet
the residence requirements you may then apply for UK citizenship.
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Long Residence
* Indefinite Leave to Remain after 10 years lawful stay, or 14 years
lawful or unlawful stay in the UK.
Indefinite leave to remain rather than permanent residence is the
proper term for immigration status in the UK that allows you to
remain in the UK permanently and that gives you the freedom to take
up any kind of work in the UK. Indefinite leave to remain is normally
only granted to people who are in a long term category that specifically
leads to this. However, you can also gain indefinite leave to remain
if you meet the following requirements:
Please note that many of these requirements are only likely to be
relevant if you are applying on the basis of ten years rather than
fourteen years in the UK. If you are applying on the basis of fourteen
years stay in the UK you will probably not be absent from the UK
at all during most if not all the of the fourteen years.
* You have ten years lawful residence in the UK, or 14 years
of lawful or unlawful residence. Normally most people who are applying
on the basis of 14 years residence would have a small amount of
lawful residence with the the greater part of their residence over
the fourteen years being unlawful.
* You should not have been outside the UK for longer than
six months in any one time during the relevant period.
* You should not have been outside the UK for longer than
18 months in total during the relevant period.
* You should continue to obtain extensions to your status
in the UK throughout the ten year period. This is likely to be relevant
if you are a student and have spent much of your student life in
the UK.
* You should not have left the UK during the relevant period
with a clear intention not to return to the UK.
* You should not have left the UK over the ten year period
after being refused entry to the UK, or after being refused an extension
of leave to remain in the UK or after being deported.
* You should not have been convicted of an offence and imprisoned,
or otherwise detained in another institution over the relevant period.
* It will also be considered whether in the public interest
indefinite leave to remain should be refused. This will probably
not be relevant in most cases. The following will be taken into
consideration when your application is being assessed:
a your age;
a your ties to the United Kingdom;
a your personal history; including character, conduct, associations
you belong to and employment record;
a your domestic circumstances - this generally means any family
ties you have in the UK;
a any previous criminal record and the nature of any offence
you may have committed in the UK;
a any compassionate circumstances;
a any representations received on your behalf;
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