The Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Act 2009, has established changes to the United Kingdom’s citizenship law that became effective as of January 13th 2010.

These are the changes effective as of this date:

1.    Children born overseas to parents in the armed forces
After January 13th, if a child is born outside the UK, he or she can be registered as a citizen if:

-    He or she was born to a Foreign and Commonwealth member of the United Kingdom armed forces,

-    The parent was serving outside the United Kingdom when he or she was born,

-    Both parents agree with the registration.

2.    Children born outside the United Kingdom to British citizens by descent
These children can be registered after January 13th, 2010 under section 3(2) of the British Nationality Act 1981, as long as the request is made any time before the child turns 18 years old.

3.    British nationals who are overseas with no other citizenship or nationality
These people can be registered under section 4B of the British Nationality Act 1981 as long as they don’t have another citizenship or nationality.  A BN(O) will not enter in this category if he or she has done something, after March 19th 2009, which made him or her lose another nationality.

4.    Children of British mothers
Any person whose mother is British, will be able to register as a British citizen under section 4C of the British Nationality Act 1981 if he or she would have become a United Kingdom citizen when they were born if women had been able to pass on citizenship as men were.

Even more, the new law supports automatic citizenship for any person born in the United Kingdom after January 13th 2010, to a parent in the armed forces.  The children born to such a parent but who were born before this date also have the right to citizenship; however, this change leaves no doubt in this respect.

In case of questions or doubts, consult with a UK immigration lawyer to clarify your situation.

If you liked this article, tell all your friends about it. They’ll thank you for it. If you have a blog or website, you can link to it or even post it to your own site (don’t forget to mention www.ukmigrationlawyers.co.uk as the original source).

Please note that these articles and the information contained herein are purely for general guidance and do not constitute a professional legal or any other opinion as to the merits of a particular application or whether specific immigration requirements have been met of a particular category. This information is generic and should not be relied upon as a definitive guide to fulfilling specific category requirements. However should any individual do so it is at his or her own risk for which UK Migration Lawyers Limited cannot be held responsible in any way.

The first part of this reform was established in July 2009, and there is currently public consultation going on that considers including new points based elements in the qualifying criteria sometime before approving the naturalization of a foreign person.

The reforms present important restrictions to the activities of migrants who want to become citizens and most probably will impact whether these people will be ready to travel for business or other reasons in representation of a UK company.

The second part of the reform asks for several changes in UK citizenship law, and includes the new ‘path to citizenship’.  Most of the detail of this new path will appear in future immigration rules and guidance, but it includes the following points:

-    The indefinite leave to remain will be substituted by the probationary citizenship, which is really an extra period of limited leave to remain before applying for either citizenship or permanent residence.

-    Migrant workers could be required to be in uninterrupted employment during the probationary citizenship period.

-    The migrants on probationary citizenship will not be able to access certain public funds and will not be regarded as settled under immigration UK law and for nationality law purposes.

-    The period of the probationary citizenship stage will be between one and three years for the migrants who later apply for citizenship, and between three to five years for the ones who later apply for permanent residence.

-    The period of the probationary citizenship stage can be reduced if the migrant meets an ‘activity requirement’ that deals with getting involved in voluntary activities, nevertheless, the details on how to do this are not known yet.

-    The migrants who want to apply for permanent residence or citizenship must hold leave/status in specific qualifying immigration categories.

-    The maximum permitted absence time during each year of the qualifying period will be ninety days, however, there can be extenuating reasons that will have to be studied.

The new ‘path to citizenship’ is planned to begin in July 2011, with transitional protection of as far as two years for the migrants who have applied for indefinite leave to remain by the time it starts.

Migrants and employers should be concerned, because the policy regarding treatment of excess absences will most probably not be available before mid 2010, and no one knows if the policy will be applied with hindsight.

Migrants who want to protect their eligibility to apply for probationary citizenship, naturalization, and/or permanent residence may have to avoid leaving the UK for more than ninety days per year until the policy is finalized.  This will certainly impact the hiring decisions of UK employers that need to send employees abroad to work on global projects, or who offer international work positions or programs.

If you liked this article, tell all your friends about it. They’ll thank you for it. If you have a blog or website, you can link to it or even post it to your own site (don’t forget to mention www.ukmigrationlawyers.co.uk as the original source).

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For some people it is the fulfilment of a lifelong dream to become a citizen of the United Kingdom.  For some it means returning to their ancestral roots and for others it is the anticipation of a new and different lifestyle.  For anyone considering citizenship, it means announcing their commitment to becoming a loyal and contributing member to the UK way of life.

There are really very few steps to finalizing UK citizenship.  Here is a short guide that highlights the main procedure.

The first step to becoming naturalised as a UK citizen is to determine if you are eligible. A person is considered eligible if he/she is 18 and has been living in the UK for the last five years or three years as a spouse to a UK citizen. You may also be eligible to apply if your spouse is in designated service to the crown outside of the UK.

Your next step is to obtain and fill out an application.  Forms are available through government agencies or you can enlist the help of a UK immigration lawyer to help you obtain and fill out your application.   The application will provide information on where to send it when completed and what fees and documents you must submit with it.

Once your application has been submitted, you can expect some waiting time before you hear if it has been approved.  The British authorities make every attempt to process applications within six months. You should receive notice that your application has been received, and the government will contact you if they are in need of any other documents.

Before submitting your application you will need to either take the Life in the UK test or pass a relevant ESOL course to prove your knowledge of life in the UK. The former is a test of 24 multiple choice questions based a wide range of topics chosen from the book “Life in the United Kingdom…A Journey to Citizenship,” which you are required to read. There are many web sites that offer some pre-test quizzes that you can take in preparation.  There is a fee to take the test which is payable for each time you try the exam, so it pays to study well and pass on the first try!

When you finally receive the good news that your application has been accepted, you will also receive an invitation to attend a citizenship ceremony.  Details of the ceremony and how to prepare for it will be included with the invitation.  At the ceremony you will say an oath and pledge your allegiance to the Queen and country or make an affirmation.  Upon completion, you will receive your long awaited certificate of British citizenship.

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Also, go ahead and browse our blog for more interesting articles on UK immigration.

Disclaimer: Please note that these articles and the information contained herein are purely for general guidance and do not constitute a professional legal or any other opinion as to the merits of a particular application or whether specific immigration requirements have been met of a particular category. This information is generic and should not be relied upon as a definitive guide to fulfilling specific category requirements. However should any individual do so it is at his or her own risk for which UK Migration Lawyers Limited cannot be held responsible in any way.

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