Obtaining British citizenship is far from everyone. Only one who meets a number of conditions can count on him. Which one? But this is worth telling in more detail.
Mandatory conditions
Firstly, the applicant must live in the territory of this state for at least five years. Secondly, he must be an adequate and mentally healthy person. Thirdly, he needs to lead a respectable life and comply with the law.
Also, in order to obtain British citizenship, you have to go through an oath ceremony. This is an official event, the meaning of which is to assure a person of his loyalty and respect for the country. After he takes an oath, he will be issued a Certificate of Naturalization. This document is a significant legal basis for the applicant to submit a petition to the migration service to issue a British passport for him.
Naturalization itself is a process that is aimed at voluntarily obtaining citizenship by a person who is interested in this.
After 5 years of stay
If a person during the specified period has not left the territory of the state (due to training, for example), then he can count on obtaining UK citizenship. But, again, the applicant needs:
- Be over 18 years old.
- Fluent in English, Welsh or Scottish. For retirees and people with developmental delays in this case there are concessions.
- Do not leave the state for more than 15 months.
- Observe all conditions for migrants.
After applying, you usually have to wait 6-7 months for a decision.
List of documents
He is as brief as possible. A much longer list of requirements for a potential British citizen. From the documents you will need a foreign passport with visas and a certificate confirming the successful passing of the exam for knowledge of the English language and culture of the state. What test do you need to take? Any of the standardized ones. It can be TOEFL, IELTS, ESOL or FCE. For many, passing the test is the most difficult step, because it must be passed on "excellent".
In addition, you need a birth certificate, as well as marriage and the presence of children (if any).
About filling out an application
This topic should be briefly noted by attention, telling about how to obtain British citizenship to a Russian citizen. In fact, there is nothing complicated in filling out the application, since all the data concerning the identity and life of the applicant must be entered there.
If this is a girl, then in the column with questions about marital status, it will be necessary to indicate the details of her ex-husband, if any. Especially in detail will have to describe the reason for the divorce.
You must carefully fill in the dates of departure from your country. However, these data can be written off from the passport, where all the marks are indicated.
In the paragraph Good Character, the place of work, position, and also the address of the tax office are noted. There is also a line about criminal record. There you need to enter information on criminal cases, civil (division of property, divorce, etc.), and road accidents, which reached the proceedings.
Letters of recommendation
If a person is interested in how to obtain British citizenship, he will need to take care of presenting letters of recommendation. There should be two of them.The authors of the recommendations are British citizens who have been his acquaintances for the past three years. They are also required.
Authors of recommendations should be over 25 years old and not be relatives of the applicant. They can be anyone, but not agents or lawyers. And two more authors of recommendations should not be related to each other. And also to have outstanding convictions (this will be a conditional confirmation of their integrity).
A personal letter of recommendation must be completed in the appropriate form. Samples and forms can be found on any UK themed resource in the public domain.
Marriage
By officially registering a relationship with a British citizen, you can also obtain a passport of this country. But it’s not so simple.
First you need to get a conjugal visa. One of the three, to be precise. The first is a bride / groom visa. It will need to be obtained if the marriage is only planned to be issued. And it’s necessary to act quickly, since it lasts only 6 months.
There is also a wife / husband visa. It is issued on the basis of a marriage. And it is valid for 2.5 years (extension is possible). It gives the migrant the right to obtain British citizenship.
The last visa is called matrimonial. It is made out so that people can marry in the UK. But the grounds for a long stay, and even more so for obtaining a local passport, this document does not provide. With her, you can only arrange a marriage.
Thus, UK citizenship can only be granted to a migrant if he or she has a husband / wife visa.
Getting a passport through marriage
It is important to note that marriage is not a 100% guarantee that a migrant will receive permission to live permanently in the country. In order for a person not to be denied naturalization through marriage, it will be necessary to take into account a lot of important facts.
Firstly, it is necessary to prove the reality of marriage. This is done through a separate and general interview with the spouses, during which the date of their acquaintance, the duration of the relationship and various personal trifles, such as your favorite dish and birthdays, are found out. Often, representatives of the migration service can even visit spouses at home without warning to make sure they are living together.
Secondly, you will have to give the notorious oath, which will be a confirmation of the migrant’s desire to permanently live in the UK. Thirdly, you need to live three years in marriage.
Fulfillment of these conditions increases the chances of obtaining a British passport to the maximum.
Important factors
It is worth noting that the probability of obtaining a coveted foreign passport increases significantly if a person fulfills certain unwritten conditions.
It is more realistic to obtain UK citizenship if you have a prestigious position with a salary of at least 18,600 pounds. Also, the chances are increased if a person has acquired his own housing in the country. This is even more important than salary. The issuance of the notorious spouse visa, for example, is often denied to people who are only renting housing, since the lack of their own property indicates inadequate living conditions.
One more principle deserves attention. A UK migrant can obtain citizenship if he has a child with a soulmate in three years.
Double citizenship
A few words should also be said about him. Many are interested in dual citizenship in Russia with Great Britain. And it is worth noting that it is possible. Upon receipt of a British passport, a person can keep what he had before. But for this you will need to go through several stages.
First you have to get a residence permit in the UK.Before that, you will need to write an application to the visa center of the country and obtain permission to enter the state and to stay there for 40 months. Then extend the residence permit after the deadline. This will give two more legal years to live in the country. However, only on such conditions:
- During the first 3 months of the extended period, the applicant will have to invest £ 2,000,000 in the development of any local infrastructure or enterprise.
- After entering, you must not leave the country in the first 9 months, and then stay outside the state for more than 90 days.
And, of course, the applicant’s mandatory financial independence is added to these conditions. If all the conditions are met, the person will be approved for permanent residence, and then the issuance of a British passport.
About stay time
This topic needs to be studied by everyone - both those who are interested in second citizenship (Great Britain), and everyone who wants to obtain a residence permit in this country.
So, for five notorious years, a person should not leave the state for a period of more than 450 days. A maximum of 90 days is allowed per year.
But there are also concessions. Absences of up to 900 days, for example, are permitted to people who have real estate and a family in the UK. However, if a person was absent for more than 450 days, but less than 730 days, then the period of his naturalization will increase to 7 years. It will also be 8 years if the applicant resides outside the state for more than 730 days.
Exceptions
Only in extremely rare circumstances does the UK allow an absence of more than 900 days. At the same time, dual citizenship and naturalization remain a real prospect for the applicant. In addition, there are such exceptions that allow exemptions and allow accelerated naturalization:
- A man is sent to serve in the British Army outside the United Kingdom.
- The applicant has a job offer, which requires the presence of a passport of a citizen of this state.
- The person was invited to work in an international company or to be a merchant marine sailor. Then he needs a passport of the United Kingdom, because otherwise the business trips provided for by type of activity will prove to be impracticable.
- He is the spouse of an employee of the British army, sent to carry out military duty abroad.
If one of the above circumstances takes place, then the question regarding how to obtain British citizenship for a Russian citizen becomes half resolved. The United Kingdom values people who are helpful to the country.
What else should you know?
Based on the above, you can understand what kind of citizenship in the UK is difficult to obtain. But, in any case, it seems possible. Moreover, there are three additional ways of naturalization.
The first involves the implementation of professional activities in the country for six years, after five of which you can apply for a residence permit.
Also, everyone who has lived legally in the country for 10 years has a chance to obtain citizenship. And one year from above - on the basis of a residence permit. If the residence was illegal, then a citizen's passport can also be obtained. Only the term rises to 15 years. And one year from above - with a residence permit. However, the person should not have deportations.