TrishP

Hopefully, by the time the OP applies, that won't change or will be even quicker. Thanks to the ever-changing, myriad rules and regulations in this country, CIC never seems to be able to get on top of their backlog.

christmasoompa

It's not expected that the rules will change until late 2017, so if the OP applies in May she should be fine. When the rules change I'm sure the processing time will jump up again due to all the extra applications from people that are suddenly eligible, but that shouldn't affect the OP hopefully.

And if apps are being processed in a couple of months now, I'd say CIC are on top of the backlog - for now at least! That's pretty quick considering all the checks that have to be done. The wait for a ceremony seems to be the bit that's holding things up now, but the actual processing by CIC is incredibly quick.

Hopefully the OP won't be sent a residency questionnaire (which would delay things) and will have citizenship by next Christmas.

ann m

It's probably already been said, but always try to get the same citizenship as your child.

Could you just visit for Xmas, to get over the immediate hurdle of feeling like you're missing out? And then get on with the business of getting citizenship and planning your return.

Reevokid

My mum and sister visited with my niece and we had a blast. Loved seeing them interact with my 16 month old daughter. Just don't want them to miss out on seeing her grow anymore. Patience is a virtue.

brits1

Having family visits for me was bitter/sweet, watching our two boys run to meet family at the arrivals airport and drag their feet when we were heading to the departure area of the airport to drop off family after their visits but after a couple of days they were back into their routine, for me it was harder as I knew what I thought they were missing out on with their Aunties and Uncles and Grandparents all living in the UK but it did not seem to bother them so much and I kept my feelings to myself, we had a good life, the boys were happy, my Oh and I were happy for the most part, it is hard and I know our boys were loved by our families but the bond was not the same as seeing someone often as our families did with each other in the UK.

Reevokid

So I don't think I can wait for Citizenship. The reason being I am actually not eligible until mid August and then it could take another whole year until I get it. I did the online calculation. I could be 39.5 years old by the time I receive it.

I will be the one that has to get a job in the UK to sponsor my husband. Then I would pretty much immediately have to get pregnant and hope this happens. I predict I would be 40 years old by the time this all happens. My daughter will be 4 years old before our next baby is born. This is a bigger age gap than I hoped for. Plus I hope I would qualify for maternity pay?

In a nutshell I would like to try for my second baby now, while I am young enough to be able to bear the exhaustion it brings. However I desperately want to be near family for our second. We are already finding the simplest things difficult with no family near by. Things like her being ill and having to rush away from our high pressured jobs to pick her up. Our date nights are few and far between as baby sitters are so expensive. We are really staring to see the value of the extended family.

Would I lose my PR if we lived and worked in the UK for max 3 years? Then came back or evaluated our situation.

Natalie L

Hi, I just saw your thread and especially the part last year about is there another woman going through the same thing, and so I just wanted to say, yes!

I live in Ontario, not Calgary, but its been a bleak winter in terms of company and things to do for my son, I have a 2.5 year old son and want to have another but like you, I'm not sure if I can do it again here without the support of my family (I naively had no idea how difficult it would be.) I am married to a Canadian and have been here longer that you, about ten years and in so many ways I love it here but I still don't feel truly settled, especially as I get older. I am going back to the UK in June for a long visit to see how we feel and if we would be happy there, I'm a bit tired of the negative comments like why would you move back etc. when you live in Canada though so trying not to take the on board too much. I hate the fact that my son isn't near his grandparents and my sister and they love him to bits

I don't have any advice really, just wanted to say, I know how you feel. I am also a graphic designer so I understand the pressures of that too! I think you have had the other questions answered in terms of residency and the answers were helpful to me too, I applied for my citizenship recently just in case we do make the move as I wanted to be able to come back and forth easily with travel etc but it takes so long, Im going to see what happens I can let you know how long it takes when I get everything back from them.

becks_r

Other things you may want to think about - can you take a sabbatical from your job to cover the 9 months expecting and then having the baby in the UK? Or maybe, could you still work for the same company you work for now, but remotely? I worked with a woman back in England who met an American guy, and she persuaded our company to let her move to Florida for a year, well a year initially. Time difference occasionally caused a problem, but it worked well most of the time (and we didn't have to put up with her annoying office habits!!) Maybe you could do that, do your work remotely - graphic design seems to be a job you could do over email, web etc, but that is just a guess on my part. Of course, I have no idea about your husband, maybe that wouldn't work. But IMHO, investigate every option, even the really weird ones. Whatever you end up with will be the one that works for all of you.

I must admit, I often think it would be lovely to divide my time between UK and US. Just haven't worked out how yet, but I do feel if I can make it work, it would be great to do!!

theowlandbeard

Why hello there, counterpart! Your story and situation is quite similar (yet different) to mine.

I am a Canadian citizen, my husband is British. We live in Saskatoon, SK. My husband has been here nearly 4.5 years and I believe is eligible to apply for citizenship next month.

We are now considering a move back to the UK as a good job has yet to pan out for my husband and I think he is keen to not only have a fulfilling career but also to be closer to family with our first baby due later this year.

Maternity leave would be an excellent time to move back as I would be off work anyway for the 6 month wait time for him to work before we can apply for my sponsorship. However, we don't know how long it will take him to receive citizenship so it may mean waiting a year or two yet.

Anyway just wanted to let you know you're not alone in your struggles in decision making! The thought of moving both excites and terrifies me. We met when I lived in London working as a supply teacher from 2008-2010. Moving to the UK then was exciting as I was young and single and in my 20's with no job or mortgage! Now I'd be leaving a permanent full time teaching job, a house I love filled with treasured possessions, and I'm a married soon-to-be mom. Quite the different circumstances from 9 years ago! But I love my husband, I love the UK, and I completely understand his reasons for wanting to return.

So I guess we'll both see how things pan out? I'd love to have an update on your situation as I know this post is half a year old!