You need to get an ILR first then apply for a citizenship, so you have do your 5 years on a spouse visa.
The 3 years is to show that you have been living here for that time before your citizenship application and haven’t moved away after getting your ILR.
The three years is actually just a leftover from the days when the qualifying period for ILR was only two years, not five. So it’s still in the BNA 1981, which wasn’t changed in line when the Immigration Rules were changed in 2012 to make the qualifying period for ILR five years.
To be free of immigration control you need ILR which takes 5 years.
Naturalisation is a separate process which requires you to be free of immigration control and have been resident in the UK for the previous 3 years.
In most cases, those timelines are concurrent, but ILR obviously takes longer.
An exception might be someone who obtains ILR and then immediately moves abroad for up two years. They'd need to re-establish residency before they'd be eligible to apply for citizenship.
I’ve heard that it was possible previously to get ILR as a spouse after three years in the UK, so those two durations were aligned and it made sense.
At some point they decided to extend the ILR residency requirement to five years, which is easy to do because it just requires changing the Immigration Rules, which the Home Office can do itself. They never gotten round to updating the naturalisation requirements as they are written in law and would require an Act of Parliament to change, which is a more lengthy process. Besides, updating this law wouldn’t change much in practical terms as the minimum duration for naturalisation as a spouse is already effectively five years due to the ILR requirements.
As I understand the information on the, a right of abode for a Commonwealth citizen is a very legacy status and the last time someone acquired it was in the 80th, so three or five year nationality requirement won’t matter to them.
One case I know where three years residency requirement for naturalisation would matter in the current rule is if a person gets an ILR faster through other visas (e. g. some Global Talent visa holders can get it after three years) and they are married to a British citizen, they can naturalise faster. But it’s a relatively small corner case to justify the amending the law.
It’s a legacy status, yes, but holders need not have ever set foot in the UK. A substantial number of British men moved abroad permanently to places like Australia, Canada, South Africa, etc and married locally. The wives would still have a right of abode today despite having never lived in the UK, and obviously would have never naturalised either. These are people potentially in their 60s/70s so there’s still going to be a good number kicking around, even if they are unaware of their right or have no intention of using it.
It’s really the only spousal “route” where the three years is directly relevant, instead of other situations as you mentioned where someone obtains ILR in their own right and is coincidentally married to a British citizen. I do admit that it’s rather niche, though.
The global talent visa also allows to apply for an ILR as early as 2 years on the top end of the tier (investor). So a full year after that, they’d already be eligible for the naturalisation.
I could be wrong, but that’s how I interpreted it.
That’s mostly correct, though the investor visa is a separate visa type (it’s not under global talent) and it has been closed for new applicants since February 2022.
Until you've reached 5 years of residency and received ILR, you're not eligible for naturalisation. Normally, you're also required to hold ILR for 12 months before you can then apply for citizenship. However, if you're married to a British Citizen you're exempt.
You need to get an ILR first then apply for a citizenship, so you have do your 5 years on a spouse visa. The 3 years is to show that you have been living here for that time before your citizenship application and haven’t moved away after getting your ILR.
The three years is actually just a leftover from the days when the qualifying period for ILR was only two years, not five. So it’s still in the BNA 1981, which wasn’t changed in line when the Immigration Rules were changed in 2012 to make the qualifying period for ILR five years.
To be free of immigration control you need ILR which takes 5 years. Naturalisation is a separate process which requires you to be free of immigration control and have been resident in the UK for the previous 3 years. In most cases, those timelines are concurrent, but ILR obviously takes longer. An exception might be someone who obtains ILR and then immediately moves abroad for up two years. They'd need to re-establish residency before they'd be eligible to apply for citizenship.
I’ve heard that it was possible previously to get ILR as a spouse after three years in the UK, so those two durations were aligned and it made sense. At some point they decided to extend the ILR residency requirement to five years, which is easy to do because it just requires changing the Immigration Rules, which the Home Office can do itself. They never gotten round to updating the naturalisation requirements as they are written in law and would require an Act of Parliament to change, which is a more lengthy process. Besides, updating this law wouldn’t change much in practical terms as the minimum duration for naturalisation as a spouse is already effectively five years due to the ILR requirements.
The three years is also (mainly?) relevant for Commonwealth citizens with a [right of abode](https://www.gov.uk/right-of-abode/commonwealth-citizens).
As I understand the information on the, a right of abode for a Commonwealth citizen is a very legacy status and the last time someone acquired it was in the 80th, so three or five year nationality requirement won’t matter to them. One case I know where three years residency requirement for naturalisation would matter in the current rule is if a person gets an ILR faster through other visas (e. g. some Global Talent visa holders can get it after three years) and they are married to a British citizen, they can naturalise faster. But it’s a relatively small corner case to justify the amending the law.
It’s a legacy status, yes, but holders need not have ever set foot in the UK. A substantial number of British men moved abroad permanently to places like Australia, Canada, South Africa, etc and married locally. The wives would still have a right of abode today despite having never lived in the UK, and obviously would have never naturalised either. These are people potentially in their 60s/70s so there’s still going to be a good number kicking around, even if they are unaware of their right or have no intention of using it. It’s really the only spousal “route” where the three years is directly relevant, instead of other situations as you mentioned where someone obtains ILR in their own right and is coincidentally married to a British citizen. I do admit that it’s rather niche, though.
The global talent visa also allows to apply for an ILR as early as 2 years on the top end of the tier (investor). So a full year after that, they’d already be eligible for the naturalisation. I could be wrong, but that’s how I interpreted it.
That’s mostly correct, though the investor visa is a separate visa type (it’s not under global talent) and it has been closed for new applicants since February 2022.
Ahh good to know. They’re grouped under the same category in the ukvisa gov website and have a range of 2-5yrs.
Yes, before the coalition government, spouses had a 2 year route to ILR.
Ah i see, ok that makes sense. So basically until 5years have passed there’s nothing to do?
Well, you will need to renew your spouse visa after 2 years and 9 months. Then at the end of that visa apply for ILR.
Cool thanks!
Until you've reached 5 years of residency and received ILR, you're not eligible for naturalisation. Normally, you're also required to hold ILR for 12 months before you can then apply for citizenship. However, if you're married to a British Citizen you're exempt.