Online CPD course 7 hours, British Citizenship - a Dream for Many!

For our colleagues Immigration Advisers and Solicitors: Our online training course is accepted by The OISC and SRA, CPD ref number EJE/14IM.

British Citizenship - a Dream for Many! 7 hours CPD credit.

The course includes criminality changes from 13 December 2012 and rules for EEA nationals including Bulgarian / Romanian (A2) whose first applications can be submitted in 2013. 

Download from our website, study in your own time on any computer, iPad or iPhone, complete the test and we will award your CPD hours and send you a certificate.

Visit website now:  

http://www.1st4immigration.com/training/british-citizenship-a-dream-for-many-cpd.php 

The course is offered by our company, 1^st 4Immigration Ltd, which is a practising immigration company, registered by The OISC at a highly respectable Level 2, based at the Royal Mint in Central London. We’ve had 100% success rate in 2012!

1^st 4Immigration Ltd, OISC no F200800152, SRA ref EJE/14IM.
4 Royal Mint Court, Tower Hill, London, EC3N 4HJ.
www.1st4immigration.com and www.1st4immigration.com/training

 

CONTENTS:

 

INTRODUCTION  

 

PART 1 – NATURALISATION

 

4 types of rules - 4 groups: Spouses and civil partner of British citizens, EEA nationals, family members of EEA nationals and 'Everyone else'.

 

SECTION 1: We start from the most common group – ‘Everybody else’.

 

ELIGIBILITY CONDITIONS:

Condition 1: No ILR – No Citizenship! | Common mistake: ‘skipping’ an ILR | TIP -The main challenge on the way to Citizenship is to qualify and secure an ILR  | Example: A client asks “I have an Entrepreneur visa, when can I apply for a British passport?” |

 

Condition 2:Having an ILR for at least 12 months | CASE STUDY: Canadian national holds and ILR and is married to another Canadian national who holds a Spouse visa | TIP - Spouses and civil partners of the UK citizens don’t need to wait for 12 months after an ILR.

 

Condition 3: Five years of continuous legal residency in the UK and being present in the UK on a day 5 years before receipt of application by the UKBA | 3.1) Legal residency | Exemption from immigration control | Being in any place of detention or prison | Illegal residency | 28 days of overstaying is not ‘overstaying’.  | 3.2) Continuous residency | CASE STUDY – from Tier 1 General straight to Citizenship? | 3.3) Being present in the UK on a day 5 years before receipt of application by the UKBA

 

Condition 4: Good character | 4.1) Paying taxes | TIP – Unemployed clients | CASE STUDY – Chinese national who doesn’t have a job | 4.2) Criminal convictions, civil judgments, driving offences, fines, fixed penalty notices, cautions | Before 13 December 2012 - Spent and Unspent criminal convictions | From 13 December 2012 - Criminal convictions | TIP – applicant’s offence may have happened after he obtained an ILR | Table of offences and impact on applications | TIP – changes under 4. in the above table (non-custodial sentence) actually means ‘good’ news for many | Single conviction for a minor offence | Driving offences: drink-driving, driving without insurance, driving whilst using a mobile phone and similar | Fixed Penalty Notices | Fines | More than one sentence | TIP – It is the prison sentence that counts, not the time served | TIP  - Suspended sentence | TIP – Admonished sentence (in Scotland) | Charged with offence and awaiting trial or sentencing | Terrorism | CASE STUDY – Russian national with a ‘spent’ drink-driving offence | 4.3) Bankruptcy.

 

Condition 5: English language and Knowledge of Life in the UK | Examples of applicants who still need to meet English and/or Life in the UK requirements, even though they did not need it for Settlement | And those who are exempt altogether | 2 ways of meting this condition |  Life in the UK Test | TIP -Life in the UK Test does not have expiry date | On a humorous note | ESOL with Citizenship course.

 

Condition 6: Absences from the UK (rules are not the same as for an ILR!) | Date of Application (and how far back absences are counted) | Basic rules on absences | Differences from the ILR rules (and will be confusing for your clients) | Exceptions when more absences are allowed during the 5 years | Exceptions when more absences are allowed during the last 12 months | CASE STUDY – Indian executive with frequent global travel | TIP – last 5 years before Date of Application are assessed | Why is it important? Because you will have clients who get an ILR and then take up a lucrative job offer abroad | What’s the solution? | TIP – absences while application is being considered |

 

FLOWCHARTS: common paths to Citizenship, various examples -  9 scenarios

 

FOR ALL 4 GROUPS - MAKING AN APPLICATION:

Do we need to send original passports? | ID document used for a Life in The UK Test | Referees | Who can be a Referee? | TIP – Can a representative of the applicant act a Referee? | Common question – “I don’t have anyone who’ve known me for 3 years and who is British or a professional” | Full List of Acceptable Professional Persons | Processing time | CASE STUDY - a Greek doctor | CASE STUDY - Lithuanian national who was a worker and a student | Is same-day service available?

 

THE OUTCOME:

Citizenship ceremonies | TIP - Date of ceremony | TIP -This is where he/she becomes a British Citizen! Not when he/she gets a British passport

 

‘British by descent’ and ‘British otherwise than by descent’ – the difference | British ‘otherwise than by descent’ | Who is British otherwise than by descent? Common examples | ‘British by descent’ | Who is British by descent? Common examples.

 

SECTION 2: Spouses and Civil Partners of British citizens.

ELIGIBILITY CONDITIONS, WHICH ARE THE SAME AS 'EVERYBODY ELSE' generally but some details are different.

Condition 1: No ILR – No Citizenship!

Condition 2: Good character.

Condition 3: English language and Knowledge of Life in the UK.

 

ELIGIBILITY CONDITIONS, WHICH ARE UNIQUE TO SPOUSES AND CIVIL PARTNERS OF BRITISH CITIZENS:

Condition 4:  Three (3) years of legal continuous residency in the UK| Anomaly in this requirement | Before 9 July 2012  |
Transitional arrangements | From 9 July 2012 | Even more common mistake – skipping an ILR or skipping extension application | The right route now is | Alternative right routes.

 

Condition 5:waiting 12 months after an ILR (not actually applicable).

 

Condition 6:Absences from the UK | Basic rules | Exceptions when more absences are allowed during the 3 years | Exceptions when more absences are allowed during the last 12 months.

 

FLOWCHARTS: common paths to Citizenship for Spouses and Civil Partners of British citizens  - 8 scenarios

 

SECTION 3: European (EEA) nationals

Rules are the same as for ‘everybody else’ but applied differently | Who are EEA nationals? | TIP - EEA is not the same as Schengen area | How to count residency | Most EEA nationals – from 30 April 2006 | You can count residency of the following nationals from 1 May 2004 | You can count residency of the following nationals from 1 January 2007 | European citizens often don’t have visa stamps in their passports (they don’t have to) | A growing number of Greeks and Italians are applying for British Citizenship.

 

General rules:

Condition 1: 5 years of residency in the UK

Condition 2: Good character and criminality | ‘Criminality’ rarely prevents from Permanent Residency under the EU law… | … but does apply under the British Nationality law.

 

Condition 3: English language and Knowledge of Life in the UK | EU/EEA citizens don’t have to meet this rule for Permanent Residency… | … but have to meet for Citizenship:

 

Condition 4: Absences from the UK | Absences are not the same as for Permanent Residency | Exceptions.

 

Condition 5: No permanent residency status – No citizenship! | Same condition but with a difference | So, how does one get an ILR if one doesn’t get any visa stamps? | Examples of exercising Treaty rights | Worker | Self-employed person | Student | Self-sufficient | Jobseeker | Worker or Self-employed person who has ceased activity due to Retirement | Worker or Self-employed person who has ceased activity due to a work accident | Exercising Treaty rights in the UK continuously qualifies an EU citizen for Permanent Residency (with a ‘visa stamp’ or without) | Not ‘continuous residency’ but ‘continuous exercising of Treaty rights’ | Date when this point has been reached | TIP - Date of issue on the visa document is not relevant.

 

BULGARIAN AND ROMANIAN (A2) NATIONALS

TIP - Romanian/ Bulgarian nationals do have restrictions on working in UK but not on qualifying for an ILR | A2 nationals who had UK visas before Bulgaria/Romania joined the EU in 2007 | CASE STUDY - Romanian national who has been working since 2004 | Summary of restrictions and documents for A2 nationals | Restrictions in place from 1 January 2007 – 31 December 2013 | What about when restrictions on workers are lifted?

 

EASTERN EUROPEAN (A8) NATIONALS

Again the same rights but again with a difference | Unique rule for the A8 nationals - Workers Registration Scheme | WRS was relevant for an A8 national for the first 12 months of working in the UK | What counted as ‘continuous 12 months’? | WRS was stopped in May 2011 but is still important for your applications | What if an A8 applicant didn’t register under WRS? | CASE STUDY – Hungarian national who has never registered under WRS.

 

Condition 6: waiting for 12 months after permanent residency | If your client does not have a Permanent Residency document | If your client has a Permanent Residency document

 

EUROPEAN NATIONALS WHO ARE ALSO MARRIED OR CIVIL PARTNERS OF BRITISH CITIZENS

CASE STUDY – dual Dutch/Brazilian national who is a civil partner of a UK national

 

SECTION 4: FAMILY MEMBERS OF EUROPEAN (EEA) NATIONALS.

European family members of European nationals, such as ‘Polish married Polish’ | Non-EEA family members of EEA nationals, such as ‘Canadian married to German’ | TIP - Direct and extended family members, why does it matter? 

 

DIRECT non-EEA family members of EEA nationals | This is what most non-EU nationals have | And this is what the law allows | Date on a 'visa stamp' does not matter | Example 1: a Canadian meets a German while both are in the UK and a German is working | Example 2: German national is working in the UK and he meets his partner in Canada | Example 3: German national and his Canadian spouse are both living in Canada | CASE STUDY – Russian national married to a Belgian | But bear in mind those who retained residency rights | And bear in mind Surinder Singh route | Spouses and civil partners of the UK citizens under Surinder Singh route | Other family members of the UK citizens under Surinder Singh route.

 

EXTENDED non-EEA family members of EEA nationals | Here dates on ‘visa stamps’ matter!

 

PART 2: REGISTRATION  OF CHILDREN UNDER 18 y.o.

 

SECTION 1: IMPORTANT DATES AND ACTS TO REMEMBER.

British Nationality Act 1981 | From 1 July 2006.  

SECTION 2: CHILDREN BORN IN THE UK.

1) If child's mother is British | 2) If child’s father is British | 3) If child's parent (one or both) is not British but has permanent residency in the UK | 4) If the child's parents hold a limited leave to remain, ie Tier 1, Tier 2, Work Permit, Ancestral visas etc | 5) If the child's parents are European citizens | 6) Children who spent the first 10 years of their life in the UK.

7) Difference between 'British by birth' and 'not British but can be registered as British'?

 

SECTION 3: CHILD BORN OUTSIDE THE UK TO NON-BRITISH PARENTS AND WHOSE PARENTS IMMIGRATED TO THE UK.

Example 1: Indian family who came to the UK together | Example 2: Indian national came to work while his family joined much later | Example 3: Russian step-child of a UK citizen.

 

SECTION 4: CHILD BORN OUTSIDE THE UK TO BRITISH PARENT(S)

Example 1: British parent was born in the UK but his child was born outside the UK | It is possible that both parents are British but only one can pass nationality | Example 2 | Example 3.

 

PART 3: REGISTRATION FOR ADULTS

 

SECTION 1: People born before 1983 to British mothers

Those born before 1983 to a British mother can now register as British.... | ... but only if all other requirements have been met also | CASE STUDY – South African national on Ancestral visa but who is eligible for a UKM application.  

 

Our website: www.1st4immigration.com/training or course page: http://www.1st4immigration.com/training/british-citizenship-a-dream-for-many-cpd.php