Getting British Citizenship can be a life-changing decision for you. This is because it will grant you an ‘indefinite leave to remain’ status, which means that you can live and work in the UK for the rest of your life without having to worry about visa or immigration issues. There are many benefits of acquiring British citizenship which is why people from all over the world try to get it. One of the ways for you to become a naturalized citizen of the United Kingdom is via the UK Ancestry Visa Scheme. This scheme has been designed specifically for those who are eligible family members/spouses/children of citizens or permanent residents in the United Kingdom and have been residing there legally for at least five years.

What is naturalization?

Naturalization is the path that leads to British Citizenship. An individual who gained citizenship in the UK through naturalization is legally known as a “naturalized British citizen”. Naturalization is unrestricted permission to foreign individuals to work, study and settle in the UK. Naturalization is one of the most common ways for an individual outside the EU to settle life in the UK. According to statistics from 2011, about 14,500 people are granted British citizenship through naturalization each year.

British citizenship can be applied for through naturalization. The documentation requirements for applying change from time to time, which is why it is important to stay updated on recent changes. The UK allows different forms of citizenship and there are many eligibility rules and regulations for acquiring British citizenship. This article covers the main steps to becoming a citizen.

To get British Citizenship through Naturalization, you are required to be in the UK for 3 or 5 years and must not have left the UK at least 12 months before the submission of the application. They must also have been able to demonstrate good character during that time, such as not having any criminal convictions or outstanding criminal charges.

British Citizenship Eligibility

If you are interested in UK Citizenship through naturalization, you will need to fulfill several criteria. These vary depending on the length of your residency, age, criminal record, and English language ability.

* You must have been living in the UK with a valid visa and working legally or self-employed.
* You must have a fluent English skills level.
* You must not have criminal convictions recorded against you.
* You must have financial resources enough that you can afford a suitable lifestyle for yourself and your family without depending upon the public funds.

Exemption from English language requirement

You are exempted if:

* You are 65 years old or older.
* Suffer from a physical or mental condition.
* English language proof through degree or research.

Documents for UK citizenship

Authorities demand the following documents from the applicants of UK citizenship.

* Original passport.
* English proficiency certificate.
* Proof of residence and IRL.
* Travel document of last five years.
* Information of previous visas.

How much does it cost?

The government keeps the cost of UK citizenship high to discourage foreigners from acquiring the status. The fees to naturalize as a British citizen are currently over £1,000 and it increases from time to time.

According to the Home Office, the average fee for an application is £1,330. This includes £873 for the first adult applicant, £764 for any dependents (if applicable), and £80 citizenship fee. There are also non-refundable biometric fees of £19.20 per person.

Rejection of application

Your application can be rejected due to the following reasons:

* On basis of character.
* Employment history.
* Existing CCJ.
* Tax reasons.

Duration of British Citizenship application through naturalization process?

It takes almost 3 months to get the application processed for UK citizenship.

It’s the dream of many people to obtain a visa to remain UK. They want to enjoy a better lifestyle and facilities as compared to what they have in their Home country. The UK offers citizenship to many people from foreign countries based on different criteria. You can gain British Citizenship in many ways.

Also, getting citizenship through naturalization is a complex process so, to get things, you must seek help from expert immigration lawyers at Total.law. Rejection of your application can waste a lot of your time and money and you won’t do that especially if the reason for rejection is a simple one that could be avoided easily if you had proper guidance earlier. Contact the best immigration lawyers today and get a positive result on your British citizenship application.

It helps to prepare for anything that we know is imminent. Retirement is one of those things. It seems a long way off, then suddenly it is upon us.

One of the considerations we will make well in advance is about having a retirement plan and life insurance should we not make it that far.

In terms of how to fully prepare for retirement, which we all hope to have many years of, below are some tips.

Allow for Enough Money in Your Retirement Plan

When we say retirement plan, we mean in a financial sense now. We want to have saved enough money from when we were working to see us through retirement, whether we plan to stay where currently are, travel the world, or even consider retiring in New York City, or another buzzing city. The problem here is that we do not know exactly how much money that will mean. Do we save enough for ourselves or allow a portion for our children to inherit? This might depend on whether we own our property as well as have savings.

A retirement plan with our savings might be to go on a cruise or holiday of a lifetime or to buy the car of our dreams. We will want to allow enough money for this with our retirement plan calculations. For this reason, we can also consider taking the assistance of professionals, like those from B.I.G. Investment Services, for personalized guidance in creating a retirement plan. They can offer an in-depth analysis of our income and expenses, as well as our savings to create a comprehensive plan to help us enjoy our retirement years in peace.

Buy Life Insurance

We must have life insurance built into our retirement plan if we are to secure the financial future of our loved ones. A financial plan without that relies on the fact that everything goes to plan with our life and our health, and we make it to retirement in a healthy condition. Life can be unpredictable though, and accidents can happen. We owe it to our family to always consider the worst scenario when it comes to financial planning. Even those among us who have had a cancer scare in the past are able to get cover, as there are still providers out there who offer some of the best life insurance for cancer survivors and can give us peace of mind that our family will be taken care of financially once we are gone.

Timing

Knowing when to retire can be the key to a fulfilling retirement. The timing will ensure that we have enough funds to live off comfortably. Another way of looking at it is that we can eliminate the everyday stress of working by retiring earlier. It can depend on how we feel and how much money we have accumulated in whatever space of time.

We should learn that there is more to life than money but life without it can be restricting. Once we have a fixed income that is all we will receive. It helps with budgeting, but it cannot always be enough. It is a case of planning without knowing exactly what the economic situation will be. Financial planners can help us forecast to a certain extent.

Avoid Retiring in Debt

It is good to have paid off all your debts before retiring because otherwise they can be stuck with you through the whole of retirement when you can then only afford to pay off lesser amounts from a previous debt that has accumulated. If we have been unable to pay it off while working and earning an income, we are unlikely to have much of an impact on it when we retire.

If you’re planning to downsize on your retirement, then it’s best to start investing in a property as young as possible so you can get it paid before retiring.

Social Network

Be sure to have built up a network of friends before retirement. Then you will have people that you can meet up with and stay connected with to keep you physically and mentally active.

It is good to embrace technology if someone has not already done so. Friendships can be formed online as well as in person.

Have a Hobby in Mind

It is good to have found your hobby before retirement. You may not be as active as you were but there are sports suited to those who are older in years.

Seven sports that are suited to older people are walking, Nordic walking, swimming, golf, walking football, cycling, and squash. Nordic walking will combine cardiovascular exercise with vigorous muscle workouts to keep an aging body fit. By adding the Nordic poles, you are activating all of your muscles and not just the ones below the waist. Swimming is an excellent low-impact sport that will maintain fitness in later years. Like Nordic walking, it is a good all-around exercise for the body.

If we follow these tips then we will be heading for a retirement that will be much more enjoyable and relaxing. This will be because we have thought about it and not left everything to chance.