If one spouse has been in the UK for 5 years and qualifies for British Citizenship, can the other spouse apply at the same time, like with an ILR?

By 1st 4Immigration - #1 UK Immigration Experts -
This question seems to create confusion because there are different rules for including spouses in the ILR and Citizenship applications. With ILR applications some can include spouses, even if a spouse has only arrived in the UK ‘yesterday’ (Work Permit or Ancestral).

Applicants under the Points-Based System can include a spouse in an ILR application if the spouse has spent 2 years in the UK, this is if a Dependant visa was issued before 9 July 2012. In this case the main PBS applicant can apply for Citizenship 1 year after an ILR while the spouse would need to spend his/her own 5 years in the UK. In this case the Citizenship timing will be different for a dependant spouse from the point of application for an ILR.
However, PBS applicants can include a spouse in an ILR application if the spouse has spent the whole 5 years in the UK, if a Dependant visa was issued before on or after 9 July 2012. In this case husband and wife may have to apply up to 5 years apart for either an ILR or Citizenship. For example, if a Tier 2 migrant has spent 4.5 years in the UK and then got married and brought a wife to the UK, then the main Tier 2 migrant will get an ILR after ‘his’ 5 years in the UK while the wife will only get her ILR after another 4.5 years and then Citizenship a year after an ILR (unless the husband becomes British by then, she won’t have to wait for a year after an ILR).

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