Coming into force on 13th May 2014, the Citizenship (Armed Forces) Act 2014 has made it easier for Commonwealth citizens serving in HM Armed Forces to obtain British citizenship by naturalisation. A new Act has made it easier for Commonwealth citizens in HM Armed Forces to become naturalised as British.

by Bruce Mennell | | Blog

Coming into force on 13th May 2014, the Citizenship (Armed Forces) Act 2014 has made it easier for Commonwealth citizens serving in HM Armed Forces to obtain British citizenship by naturalisation. A new Act has made it easier for Commonwealth citizens in HM Armed Forces to become naturalised as British. It is normally a requirement for naturalisation that the person was physically present in the UK on the first day of their qualifying period (normally 5 years, but 3 years if the applicant is married to a British citizen). However, Commonwealth citizens serving in the armed forces might be prevented from meeting this requirement only because they were performing military service overseas on the relevant date. Where a person applies for naturalisation, the Home Office will consider what they were doing at the start of the qualifying period. Ministerial statements in the Commons indicate that absence on account of military service will be overlooked. Notably the Act (introduced as a Private Members' Bill) only benefits members of the armed forces, and does not appear to deal with Crown service (or service of a Community institution) generally, as elsewhere in the 1981 British Nationality Act.

Alexander Finch Senior Adviser,
Passportia
© Passportia Limited

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