Meghan Markle is still waiting to become a British citizen even though she moved to England 2 years
- Britain's Duchess of Sussex may be married to the Queen's grandson, but that doesn't mean she gets to cut corners when applying for her British citizenship.
- Even though Prince Harry's communications secretary said Meghan Markle intended to become a British citizen after their engagement in 2017, Markle is yet to receive her citizenship.
- "It might seem extraordinary, given that she's been married to the Queen's grandson for 18 months, but she accepts that it's a slow process," a friend of the duchess told the Mail Online.
- According to official government guidelines, you have to have lived in the UK for three years before applying for citizenship, on the grounds that your spouse is a British citizen.
- If the duchess is following this procedure, that means she might not be eligible to apply until 2020.
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The Duchess of Sussex is still waiting to become a British citizen, even though she moved to the UK two years ago.
After Meghan Markle's engagement to Prince Harry in 2017, his communications secretary Jason Knauf said the former actress would be "compliant with immigration requirements at all times."
He added that the process will "take a number of years."
Since then, there has been no official update from Buckingham Palace on the status of Markle's application, or whether she has even started the application process at all.
A friend of the duchess' told the Mail Online this week: "Meghan is not yet a British citizen.
"It might seem extraordinary, given that she's been married to the Queen's grandson for 18 months, but she accepts that it's a slow process."
According to the official government guidelines, you are eligible to apply for citizenship on the grounds of your spouse being a British citizen if you have lived in the UK for at least three years before the date of your application.
It is believed Markle officially moved to London after she finished filming "Suits" in November 2017. Therefore, if Markle is following this procedure, she may not even be eligible to start her application process until late 2020.
She will also legally be required to take the Life in the UK Test, which covers a number of topics on local customs and traditions, the history of the UK, laws, and the political systems that govern the country.
This is a completely different process to the one she will have to follow to give her son, Archie Harrison, dual citizenship.
Although Archie was born in the UK, Harry and Markle are entitled to apply for American citizenship for their son at the US Embassy in London.
According to the US Embassy & Consulates in the United Kingdom, a child born in the UK is eligible to apply for a US citizenship, as long as "the US citizen parent has been physically present in the United States or one of its outlying possessions for a period of five years, two of which were after the age of fourteen."
They will need to present a number of important documents, including the child's birth certificate, their marriage certificate, and evidence of Markle's US citizenship in person at the embassy.
However, it is yet to be confirmed by Buckingham Palace whether Harry and Markle have submitted an application for Archie.
Buckingham Palace did not immediately respond when contacted by Insider for comment.
Read more:
Meghan Markle won't be a British citizen for a few years — here's why
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's new son may have dual citizenship, but it won't be granted at birth
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