US to UK: Becoming a British Citizen

I have written briefly the story of how my husband and I met and the process we went through getting me to the UK over at "We Met in an IRC Chatroom".

After meeting in person and deciding to get married, I spent quite a bit of time finding out just what needed to be done so that I could emigrate to the UK. One of the first places I looked was the Home Office UK Border Agency website.

Over the next 4 months I collected documents, filled out forms, and made one trip to Chicago to actually get the marriage visa. Once I was in the UK though, the work wasn't over. We had so many months from my date of entry in which to get married, after that the visa was void. After we were married, I had to send more documents to the Home Office to prove the wedding had taken place and get permission to remain as the spouse of a person settled in Britain.

Two years later, I went through the whole process again, this time sending documents to prove that we were still married and still lived together. After this step, I was granted "Indefinite leave to remain" in the UK.

A person who has been resident in the United Kingdom for a minimum of 5 years is eligible to apply for British citizenship (3 years if you are applying as a the spouse or civil partner of a British national). I opted to wait however until my eldest son was over 18 years of age. When a parent becomes a British citizen, any minor children are automatically granted citizenship as well. I did not want to take that decision from him, and so made my own decision to wait.

After 13 years though, I was ready to take the plunge. I am now going through the process and have sent my application form and supporting documents off (along with a hefty fee).

I will be providing updates in this article on what is happening with my application for British citizenship, so be sure to bookmark this page and come back.

Several types of visas are available if you wish to emigrate to the UK. Specific laws apply to each, so be sure to read the fine print carefully.

The Student Visa allows you to enter to attend school in the UK with restrictions on the number of hours you are allowed to work each week.

The Work Visa allows you to enter and work legally.

The Partner and Family Visa allows you to enter as the spouse, civil partner, fiancé/e, child, or elderly dependent of a British citizen with restrictions on working.

I entered the UK under the final category as the fiancée of a British citizen.

The rules for travelling to the UK to marry or enter into a civil partnership are quite specific.

You must be able to prove:

*you plan to marry or register a civil partnership within a reasonable time (usually 6 months)

*you plan to live together permanently after you are married or have registered a civil partnership

*you have met each other

*until you are married or have registered a civil partnership, there is somewhere for you and any dependants to live without help from public funds

*when you are married or in a civil partnership, there will be adequate accommodation where you and any dependants can live exclusively and without help from public funds

*you and any dependants can be supported without working or needing help from public funds

We had to give information about where my son and I would be living before we married and after, including the number of bedrooms and the number of people in the home. We needed to indicate how we would be supported financially, and provide evidence that we would not be relying upon public funds for anything.

When I applied for a visa, the requirement for having met in person was not yet on the books, but the official at the British Consulate in Chicago told us they had refused several requests for a marriage visa because the person had not yet met his or her intended spouse. This has implications for those who are entering into an arranged marriage sight unseen, or for those who have had thus far a long-distance romance via the internet.

Once you have married, you can apply to the Home Office for permission to remain in the country as the spouse or civil partner of a settled person. This is considered to be a probationary period and will last for 27 months. During that time you will be able to live and work within the UK.

After 27 months have passed you can apply for permission to settle permanently, also called Indefinite Leave to Remain in the UK.

You can apply for permission to live permanently in the UK as a husband, wife or civil partner if:

* you were given permission to enter or remain in the UK as a husband, wife or civil partner, and have completed a period of two years in that category

*you are still the husband, wife or civil partner of the person specified in your permission to enter or remain, and the marriage or civil partnership is existing and genuine (not a 'marriage of convenience', for example)

*you and your partner both intend to live together permanently as husband and wife or civil partners

*you have adequate accommodation where both of you and any dependants can live without needing public funds, and at least part of that accommodation (for example, a bedroom) is for your and your partner's sole use

*both of you can support yourselves and any dependants without needing public funds

*you have enough knowledge of the English language and life in the UK. (This last requirement does not apply if you are aged 65 or over.)

• You are aged 18, or over
• You are of sound mind
• You intend to continue living in the UK, or to continue in Crown service, the service of an international organisation of which the UK is a member, or the service of a company or association established in the UK
• You are able to communicate in English, Welsh or Scottish Gaelic to an acceptable degree
• You have sufficient Knowledge of Life in the UK
• You are of good character
• You meet the residential requirements

What are the residential requirements?

• You have been resident in the UK for at least five years (three years for those applying as the spouse or civil partner of a British national)
• You have been present in the UK five years before the date of your application
• You have not spent more than 450 days outside the UK during the five-year period
• You have not spent more than 90 days outside the UK in the last 12 months of the five-year period
• You have not been in breach of the Immigration Rules at any stage during the five-year period
• The Qualifying Period is calculated from the date the Home Office receives your application. For example, if the Home Office receives your application on 25 March 2010, you must show that you were in the UK on 26 March 2005.
• you must be free from any immigration time restrictions, in other words you have been granted an indefinite leave to remain in the UK

For further details on this information see the UK Border Agency page, Standard Requirements for Naturalisation.

12 September It's official!
I am now British! I've made the affirmation of loyalty to the Queen, and a pledge of loyalty to the United Kingdom. I've shaken hands with The Honourable Mayor of Bromley. I've signed the register. I am from this day forward a citizen of the United Kingdom.

Thanks for joining me on this journey.

3 August. I have now phoned and arranged a date for the Citizenship Ceremony. Bromley conducts 3 a month, so I have a few choices for days. In addition to arranging a date I also have to answer two pertinent questions.

Do I wish to make an oath, or an affirmation, of loyalty to Queen Elizabeth? I'll make an affirmation.

Do I wish to shake hands with the mayor? Yes.

All sorted, it's been arranged for 12 September and they will send details in the post.

29 July. My wait is over! I received a letter in the post today from the Home Office UK Border Agency.
I am pleased to tell you that this application for British citizenship has been approved.
I now have to arrange to take part in a Citizenship Ceremony with the Local Authority, that'd be Bromley. I have 21 days from the date on the letter to book the ceremony. However eager I may be though, it's after 5 on a Friday and I will need to wait until Monday to phone.

24 May 2011. I've received a letter telling me that my application has been received by the Home Office, they've processed the application fee, and all I can do now is wait.

9 May 2011. So, here I am. I have filled out naturalisation application form AN, gotten signatures from 2 referees, taken it all to the Nationality Checking Service where everything was declared to be filled in correctly. Now, all I can do is wait for a decision to be made. This process can take anywhere up to 6 months.

You don't have to, but I am certain I saved myself a lot of hassle by using the Nationality Checking Service local to me. They checked all the forms to make sure I had filled them out correctly, checked my documents to make sure I had everything, and best of all, made photocopies of all the documents so that I could take the originals back home with me. They will then send the application form and document copies on to the Home Office for consideration.

If I had not used this available service, I would have had to send all of the original documents to the Home Office.

April 2011 Getting all of the right forms and documents together has been a potential mine field for error. Several different forms are available depending on what basis you are using to apply for British nationalisation. Then there are all the supporting documents - passports, marriage certificates, birth certificates, proof of passing the Life in the UK exam.

I have read carefully the page on How to Apply for Naturalisation as a British Citizen. This covers everything a person needs to know, including what the process will be, fees, and what supporting documents are needed.

I spent a long afternoon filling out the application form, found two people who met the criteria to verify I was a person of good character, used another afternoon to get photos taken. The guides provided give very clear indication of what documents are needed and I spent another couple of hours making sure I had everything together that I might need. All of this was placed into a folder where it could be kept together.

Most Councils offer a Nationality Checking Service for a fee. If the council where you live offers this service, use it. I phoned to make an appointment once I have everything together and was lucky enough to be able to get in the next week as they had had a cancellation.

6 August 2011
It's been nearly 3 full months, but today I received a letter in the post.

"I am pleased to tell you that this application for British citizenship has been approved. "

Today is also my 13th wedding anniversary, making this a really special day.

I now will need to arrange and take part in a citizenship ceremony where I can take either an Oath or an Affirmation of Allegiance to the Crown and a Pledge of Loyalty to the United Kingdom.

Phone calls on Monday to make those arrangement.