Obtaining and registration of citizenship of England

Great Britain is a country with a rich culture and a high standard of living. Here you can do serious business, get the best education in the world. The holder of an English passport has the right to live, study and work in any country in the world.

Who can apply for citizenship

In order to obtain British citizenship, you must have lived in this country for five to ten years.

The exceptions are:

• Significant investment;
• Marriage to an Englishman or Englishwoman;
• Birth of a child.

High-level specialists have the chances of obtaining citizenship, whose knowledge and experience in their field surpasses the qualifications of residents of the UK and the European Union and can bring real benefits to the country.

This is primarily about:

• Scientists;
• Doctors;
• Information technology specialists.

This path is attractive to young people. Knowledge can be acquired gradually, receiving education in the country, completing postgraduate studies here, defending dissertations, taking part in British scientific and social projects. Each time to obtain a visa or residence permit in the country, you will need to find compelling reasons (for example, a work contract), but the result may well be positive.

UK citizenship can be purchased with money. By investing several million dollars in the economy or state-owned enterprises, one can obtain an investor visa and thus begin the naturalization process. The period of residence in the country before obtaining a residence permit, and then a passport, in this case, can be reduced only if the investment is very significant.

Great Britain reserves the right to grant citizenship to people with special merit to the kingdom. Refugees from life-threatening countries, as well as those who have applied to the authorities for political asylum, can become residents.

Who is prohibited by law from becoming a citizen

A person applying for British citizenship must be respectable and mentally healthy, comply with the laws of the country, know its language and traditions.

To obtain citizenship, you must become a member of one of several government programs:

• Investment programs;
• Labor or business migration programs;
• Family reunification programs.

In other cases, Russian law does not provide for obtaining naturalization by Russians.

Methods for obtaining citizenship

The British respect their country, value their citizenship and make serious demands on applicants for it. There are several ways to obtain English citizenship. All of them are part of the naturalization process and take a lot of time.

Obtaining citizenship by birth and descent

Being born in the country is the natural way to get British citizenship. It is always provided to a child by law, regardless of whether the parents have citizenship.

Since he has the right to permanently reside in the country and cannot live without his parents, the Family Reunification program also gives them the opportunity to apply for British citizenship. This can be done according to an abbreviated program (in three years).

Specialists working in England on a contract basis have the right to bring a family with them, give birth to at least one of the children here, and after three years (subject to the availability of work and housing) apply for citizenship by all family members:

• A woman who has given birth to a child in a legal marriage with an Englishman and received a divorce can also apply for citizenship;
• Under the Family Reunification program, children and grandchildren of British citizens born outside the country can apply for citizenship.

Citizenship by marriage

Marriage provides an opportunity to begin a simplified naturalization procedure. For this, the wedding ceremony itself must take place in England. After marriage, you need to live together for three years, then apply for citizenship.

Some couples marry outside of the United Kingdom. For further residence in England, a spouse of a non-citizen can be issued a marriage visa, which gives the right to apply for citizenship at the end of the same period of family life.

The right to a family is respected by the state and cannot be violated, but before marrying in the UK, government officials will definitely check if it is fictitious:

• The relationship with the partner before marriage must be long enough;
• The spouse entering the country takes an examination on knowledge of language and culture;
• From the very beginning, it is worth paying close attention to all the evidence confirming the authenticity of feelings;
• Letters (including electronic ones), photographs, evidence of joint recreation, as well as interviews with employees of the migration service will help to successfully pass the check.

It is important for the spouse or spouse of a British citizen not to violate the requirements for emigrants, and not to leave the country for more than nine months during the three-year period of being legally married.

By naturalization

The naturalization process involves:

• Material independence (having a job or income);
• Housing availability;
• English proficiency;
• Knowledge of the culture and traditions of the country;
• Gaining a reputation as a law-abiding citizen and valuable specialist.

The complexities of the naturalization process usually do not frighten young people. Entering one of the English universities, they understand that they are getting a chance for citizenship. A university diploma in itself does not give such an opportunity, but an offer from an employer after graduation can be received. The date of employment becomes the start of the five-year period after which you can apply for citizenship.

By the end of this period, applicants are usually fluent in the language, have a permanent job, a stable positive reputation, a desire to live in the country and work for it.

Citizenship by Investment

In the UK, there is a government program that allows entrepreneurs to obtain citizenship by investing significant amounts of money or doing business in the country.

When placing investments in the UK, you must provide information about their origin:

• An investment of ten million or more pounds sterling gives rise to a residence permit in two years;
• An investment of five million - in three years;
• The same grounds appear if an entrepreneur develops his own business in the UK, and the turnover of funds amounted to five million within three years. The minimum investment in such a business should be two hundred thousand pounds;
• If two million pounds are invested in government securities, then after five years it will be possible to apply for a residence permit.

Having received documentary confirmation of the parents' financing of the naturalization of their child, the state can grant the right to become participants in the citizenship by investment program for young people who are here on a student visa.

In this case, funds can be invested in:

• Securities of British companies;
• Government bonds;
• Your own company.

Another way to emigrate to England is the "Sole Representative" program. If the state is interested in a company, which (in a single person) is represented by a citizen of another state, it can provide him with the opportunity to participate in the naturalization program.

Double citizenship

England recognizes the desire of its citizens to retain their former citizenship. Its legislation does not contain a ban on dual citizenship. To a citizen of the Russian Federation who received citizenship

Britain will not need to go through the procedure for renouncing first citizenship. He can have a Russian passport, but on the territory of the British Isles he will be under exclusively British jurisdiction.

Thus, we are talking about the second, but not about dual citizenship.

The procedure for obtaining citizenship

Obtaining British citizenship is a lengthy process:

1. It starts with an application to the British Visa Application Center, which gives permission to enter and stay in the country (the period of stay is three years plus three to four months required to extend the visa);
2. Then another statement is written (for two years), the extension is possible with full material independence (an unlimited contract, in the case of doing business or making investments), staying in the British territory for at least nine months every year, compliance with the laws;
3. When five years of stay in the country expire, a new application is submitted, and a permanent residence (unlimited visa) is issued, this gives the right to obtain a passport after another five years.

The citizenship of the rest of the states that make up the United Kingdom has some features:

• Scotland still issues Tier 1 visas to graduates of their universities, even those who do not yet have a contract with an employer;
• They are interested not only in qualified workers, but also in representatives of creative and blue-collar professions;
• The right to obtain permanent residence and British citizenship in the future can be obtained by persons purchasing real estate in Wales.

What documents are required for naturalization

To obtain a certificate, you will need an application form, filled out without errors and containing only reliable information, in particular:

• Name, date and place of birth;
• The address;
• Details of a partner in a previous marriage, reasons for divorce;
• Exact dates of departure from the country (from the passport);
• Place of work, position, address of the tax service;
• Data on convictions (criminal and civil cases);
• Guarantors-assistants, not relatives or lawyers who have known the applicant for three years or more, respected British citizens, professionals with good education.

To apply, you will also need:

• Passport, which contains all the necessary visas;
• Previous foreign passports;
• Certificate confirming successful passing of the exam (or passing the test) on knowledge of the language, laws, culture and traditions of the UK;
• The applicant's birth certificate;
• Certificates of marriage and birth of children;
• Documents regarding the basis on which citizenship will be granted.

Where to go when applying for citizenship, step by step instructions

The result of the naturalization process is the issuance of a certificate, on the basis of which a passport is issued.

This process consists of several points:

1. The cost of paperwork is paid;
2. An application form is issued and filled in;
3. All necessary documents are checked and attached to the application;
4. The package of documents is sent to the Immigration Department of the UK Foreign Office;
5. The application is reviewed by the migration department within a month;
6. At the end of the month, the period of verification, personal interviews, additions to the package or changes in documents containing inaccurate or inaccurate information begins;
7. In case of a positive result of the consideration of the application, the applicant is invited to undergo the naturalization procedure;
8. The time and place is agreed with representatives of state bodies;
9. Oath of allegiance to Great Britain is taken;
10. A naturalization certificate is awarded.

Cost and terms

The amount that must be paid before starting the examination of documents is about a thousand pounds. The immigration legislation of England is becoming stricter from year to year, the total period of permanent residence in the country before obtaining a certificate and exchanging it for a British passport is on average eleven years.

Reasons for refusals

Refusal to obtain citizenship is possible in case of attempts to mislead the British authorities, provide false information, especially regarding convictions and offenses, and use fictitious documents.

Violation of the law and the rules of the hostel during the naturalization process can lead not only to the denial of citizenship, but also to deportation.

According to experts' forecasts, no further tightening of the visa regime for Russians is expected in the coming years. At the same time, the rules for the work of the migration service are changing, and what will be the visa regime in England after the country's final exit from the EU is not yet known.