Jaydee408

I am the spouse of an EEA National (Hungary) and I have been living in the UK for over three years now. My wife has lived here for five years and I would like to know at what point I am able to apply for permanent residence (or indefinite leave to remain) and then a British Passport. I have been told that after three years the spouse of a UK national can apply for ILR and then a passport, and was wondering if this is the case for spouses of EEA nationals aswell?

Any advise will be greatly appreciated.

JAJ

You need to wait 5 years for permanent residence.

You can't apply after 3 years as you don't have Indefinite Leave to Remain. Of course, you could have applied for a spouse visa + ILR if you had wished.

Bear in mind the waiting period for naturalisation will likely increase due to new legislation.

Jaydee408

Thanks for the advice. Does that mean that, under current legislation, as soon as I receive permanent residence I would be able to apply? Or would I need to wait a year beyond that, ie. six years in total?

JAJ

Under current legislation, you could apply for naturalisation as soon as you get permanent residence, ie 5 years.

However, a first reading of the new legislation from January 2010 (likely commencement date) is that in order to apply for naturalisation as a spouse, you need to have been admitted as a spouse. So that will exclude those who came in under the EEA rules.

You will be able to apply on your own merits, but that will involve an 8 year residence requirement.

There may be some scope to reduce that to 6 years, if you have done "qualifying activities" ... it's a hare-brained Labour idea of giving credit for doing voluntary work but the (highly probable) Conservative government in 2010 may not go ahead with it. They are not likely to want to give people breaks if they work for the Labour Party, for example. So the probability is 8 years.

There is also scope to keep the current residence requirements in force for 2 years after commencement, but in order to benefit you need to have (or apply for) Indefinite Leave to Remain before commencement. This again, does not include those who come in on the EEA track.

Keep in touch with developments as it is early days yet and the law is unnecessarily complex and not nearly as clear as what it replaced.

SteveandGalina

Hi,

Some excellent points but I have a different question to ask so maybe someone can help?

I am British and fifty-eight and my wife is Russian and fifty-one - we have been married for four years but we live mainly in Malta (I had a job there when we first met - she came to Malta to study English).

I have asked the British Embassy in Malta what our possibilities are and the lady who I spoke to didn't seem to know much.

Other people tell me that because we are living outside of the UK Galina can never apply for a UK passport and will always have to use her Russian passport which means that every time we wish to go to the UK we have to apply for a visa for her (and apparently unless I am working there we will have to pay for the Visa)!

Given that I am British and she is my wife this seems awfully unfair.

Galina has a Schengen visa granted to her by the Maltese Government but we can forget application for dual Maltese Nationality because although the published rule book says one can apply after five years I have been officially informed that unless you have been living in Malta for twenty years they don't look kindly on your application!

Any ideas? Sometimes I think of applying to the European Court of Human Rights but I presume that this is expensive and am also not sure what their thoughts would be!

Jaydee408

Thanks for you input, you've been extremely helpful! I just have one further question. My wife is currently eligible to aplly for a British passport as she has ILR. Once she receives her passport, would that benefit me in any way in regards to residency. I only ask because work commitments mean that we may have to leave the UK in the next two years.

JAJ

Sorry. Since 1983, it is not possible to become a British citizen based on marriage.

If your wife wants a different passport, the options are, a. move to the United Kingdom, or b. apply for citizenship in the country you are living.

SteveandGalina

Thanks for your comments - believe me my wife doesn't really want to be a British citizen - she is proud of her Russianness (if that's a word!) but having to get a visa everytime we wish to visit the UK is a real pain!

Freedom of movement we do not have!

:-)

JAJ

You should look to get your wife a multiple entry UK visa. If they are issuing single-entry visas, they should not be doing that, see:
http://www.ukvisas.gov.uk/en/ecg/vis...visitorgeneral

As for Maltese citizenship, you may want to explore this option further. Find out how many foreigners have been granted Maltese citizenship and what the nationality breakdown is. Would you consider applying for Maltese citizenship yourself?

After 5 years working in Malta, you at least both become Permanent Residents under Maltese law.

SteveandGalina

Hi JAJ

Thanks for the info - my wife already has a Schengen Visa for the next five years but, of course, that doesn't help a jot with regards to the UK.

Our probem is that we do go back to the UK occasionally, mainly to see my sisters and their families (or to do a bit of shopping - a great female preoccupation!)

:-)

We also go to South Africa and you wouldn't believe how awkward it is getting a South African visa from Malta - even UK visas are now processed in Rome (as are South African ones) and of course there is always the worry that one has made a mistake on the application form - and also the cost of couriering documents to Rome and back.

It's really not a great situation

JAJ

Hi
Did you read the information on multiple entry UK visas?

Also, the issue of you possibly becoming Maltese may also be pertinent to the solution you seek.

SteveandGalina

Hi JAJ

Thanks for your interest and input.

As mentioned in my original post, I have investigated the possibilities of dual Citizenship English and Maltese but although the printed regulations state that one can apply after five years of living in Malta (maybe living and working) under which legislation I would qualify, I have been officially informed that the Maltese Government don't look favourably on any application unless the applicant has been continuously in Malta for twenty years (I was actually advised that very close to twenty might be grounds for acceptance).

Now of course there is the word 'continuously' as I mentioned to the Government official who gave me the news, what if I had a month vacation in the UK or elsewhere?

They seemed to think that it would be up to me to prove my claim of twenty continuous years rather than them to disprove it.

I don't think being out for say six months invalidates your application I think that it just means that you have to wait another six months.

JAJ

Hi
Are you sure that the official you talked to is telling the truth?

SteveandGalina

Absolutely - he is an under Minister!!! And I went to see him with a very good friend of mine who is 'someoe' in Malta.

Thanks anyway

JAJ

I would still try to verify it independently. Find out how many British citizens have become Maltese in recent years, for example.

Or apply when the time comes and see what happens.