On 30 July 2023, the UK Government announced noteworthy changes to the good character requirement for those applying to naturalise as a British citizen. These changes came into force on 31 July 2023.
Tougher rules will make sure serious criminals cannot claim British citizenship regardless of when or where the crime took place.
The government crackdown will come into effect (31 July), with the strengthened rules applying to new applications from anyone who has received at least a 12-month prison sentence. This re-affirms the government’s commitment to protecting UK borders and ensuring no one with a criminal record can abuse the British immigration and nationality system.
Home Secretary Suella Braverman, published under the 2022 to 2024 Sunak Conservative government.
We understand that the immigration process can be very complicated and stressful. That's why we take the time to understand your particular situation and give you the help you need.
James Ritchie -
Senior Solicitor
IMMIGRATION & VISAS
+44 (0)141 273 6933
james.ritchie@burnesspaull.com
What is the good character requirement?
When someone wishes to naturalise as a British citizen, they must first meet the requirements set out in Schedule 1 to the British Nationality Act 1981. Whilst not defined within the legislation, the provisions set out the requirement that an applicant must show that they are of “good character”, but what is meant by this? Rather than a specific box-ticking definition, the Home Office publish policy guidance which includes a variety of factors which a decision-maker would consider, such as:
- Criminality
- Deception and dishonesty
- Failure to comply with UK immigration requirements
- Financial soundness
- Immigration-related matters
- International crimes, terrorism, and other non-conducive activity
- Notoriety
\ What were the old rules?
The decision-maker processing the application will be required to review the applicant’s criminal history, and if any applicant has been convicted of a crime, it will be much harder to succeed in securing citizenship. Previously, an applicant seeking naturalisation as a British citizen would normally face a refusal if they have received:
- a custodial sentence of at least 4 years;
- a custodial sentence of at least 12 months but less than 4 years unless a period of 15 years has passed since the end of the sentence;
- a custodial sentence of less than 12 months unless a period of 10 years has passed since the end of the sentence; or
- a non-custodial sentence or out-of-court disposal that is recorded on their criminal record which occurred in the 3 years prior to the date of application.
\ What are the new rules?
Under the new post-31 July rules, which have been included in the latest Nationality policy, anyone seeking citizenship who has been convicted with a sentence of 12 months or more, or consecutive sentences totalling 12 months or more, would now normally face a refusal.
Exceptional cases are possible, but must be submitted with strong mitigating circumstances that would evidence sufficient rehabilitation, or as the policy puts it:
“it is possible that long residency or offending that happened a long time ago, may in some cases have enabled an applicant to accumulate enough strong positive factors to demonstrate they are now a reformed character despite earlier offending that would normally result in refusal under the sentence based thresholds”
Our immigration team are able to advise on naturalisation and registration as British and have experience in complex nationality matters.
We would be happy to discuss your British citizenship queries so please get in touch to see how we can help.
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