Further consideration for my naturalisation application

Hello,

I have just received a letter from Home Office regarding my naturalisation. I applied end of October 2014 and only got a this letter on the 8th of June.

Anyway - I stayed and worked in the country illegally between March 2003 and Feb 2009. I went back home in 2009 and got married to a British Citizen and was granted Leave from then.

They have said I need to answer the following questions in order for them to give this further consideration:

1.What steps did you take to regularise your stay during the period in question?
- I appealed once and was refused and didn't try again after this

2.Where did you live during this period and who else lived there

3.Who was responsible for paying your accommodation costs - provide any available supporting evidence e.g utility bills
-I paid for this myself till 2008 when I met my future husband who then paid for everything from then

4.When and where did you work during this period -provide evidence eg P60/P45
- I worked for the same company till 2008.I started working in this company from when I was legal.
- my fear is that they may contact the company regarding this even though I left a long time ago

5.When and where did you study during this period - provide evidence e.g letters from college, certificates etc
- two different colleges then I stopped. I doubt they still exist and did not keep the letters but have my ACCA certificate to show for it

6.What benefits did you receive during theis period?
- none

7. Did you receive funds from any other sources during this period? - provide evidence eg. statements, receipts
-yes from my husband. I have some evidence from when I applied for spousal visa

8. Is there any other information that you wish to provide that may be relevant to your application and the assessment of your ability to meet the good character requirement?
- I am struggling to think what to add here any ideas?
- I have paid my taxes the whole time I have been here, i now own a successful business which employs a couple of people occassionally,we have just bought a house, I haven't committed any other offences since being here???

All in all - is it worth responding at all given my answers, it looks really bad and I don't have most of the requested supporting evidence (they need me to get back by the 29th of June) or should I just wait and re-apply in 2019?

Also the letter says if I have any difficulty providing any information to email or write to then ASAP - does anyone know the email?

twostars wrote:Hello,

I have just received a letter from Home Office regarding my naturalisation. I applied end of October 2014 and only got a this letter on the 8th of June.

Anyway - I stayed and worked in the country illegally between March 2003 and Feb 2009. I went back home in 2009 and got married to a British Citizen and was granted Leave from then.

They have said I need to answer the following questions in order for them to give this further consideration:

...

All in all - is it worth responding at all given my answers, it looks really bad and I don't have most of the requested supporting evidence (they need me to get back by the 29th of June) or should I just wait and re-apply in 2019?

Also the letter says if I have any difficulty providing any information to email or write to then ASAP - does anyone know the email?

Your application is filed & paid for and now in progress;
you now have a hearing so may as well state your case and fight your corner as best & as much as you can.

Based on my experience of HO (over past 6 years for family immigration matters), suggest providing as much information & supporting evidence as you can. If you don't have exactly what they ask for provide the best you have.

On q.8 regarding good character, you can write your autobiography here, there must be positives to say
- you've mentioned building a business, you provide employment for others; maybe you have also done other good works, been involved in charity or community or religious work?
Talk about it all - what do you do & why, what's your ambition & your vision for the future.
- Show your commitment & involvement in this country.

You are law-abiding so emphasise it.
Do you know people of standing in the community or anyone else who can vouch for you and provide a testimonial or references?
(Business people, professional people, MPs or councillors, religious or community leaders - the skies the limit).
If so I suggest you gather them in & submit them as evidence.

There is a human rights (article 8 ) element to this too. Talk about your family life, commitments & involvements in local community life & British society as well as the family life you have invested in emotionally & built up in past years.
You have a right to enjoy your private life without undue interference from the state (as we all do) - show how much you value it and are invested in it.

Good luck.

Thanks for that noajthan.

You are right - it's paid for. I will give it my best shot.

twostars wrote:Thanks for that noajthan.

You are right - it's paid for. I will give it my best shot.

twostars,
Don't give up.

I had an 8-month battle with UKBA to win a visa to bring my step-daughter here - we won in the end.
Just had a 4-month battle with HO to get my wife a British passport (separate thread) - just been granted.
So keep plugging away.

As to contact details, they must be in the letter.
Anyway suggest deal with HO in writing, that way you are gathering concrete evidence of their responses to analyse (& available to show to lawyers etc).

It may be worth you considering obtaining legal advice too.
For my step-daughter's case I used MediVisas in London (ask for Victoria Sharkey).
I think they offer a quick, free (& no obligation) consultation before you have to decide on any fee-based work.

This thread might be of interest. It appears they are questioning how you meet the 'good character' requirement (rules changed in December 2014) and many people have recently been refused due to be overstayers and working with no right to work. HO have access to your tax and employment history from HMRC, so best be totally honest with anything you submit.

British Citizenship Good Character Requirement FAQs (Click)

And this thread

Refused British Citizenship Due to Being in the UK Illegally (Click)

However, it is highly possible that your application could be refused and you would be eligible to apply 10 years after you voluntarily left the UK, so yes, in 2019.

You could also try your local Citizen's Advice Bureau or a migrants support group for advice & support.

This from CAB on human rights:
https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/law-a ... mily-life/

noajthan wrote:You could also try your local Citizen's Advice Bureau or a migrants support group for advice & support.

This from CAB on human rights:
https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/law-a ... mily-life/

I don't see how human rights comes into effect for citizenship applications. British citizenship is a privilege not a right or entitlement and as OP already has ILR.

CR001 wrote:

noajthan wrote:You could also try your local Citizen's Advice Bureau or a migrants support group for advice & support.

This from CAB on human rights:
https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/law-a ... mily-life/

I don't see how human rights comes into effect for citizenship applications. British citizenship is a privilege not a right or entitlement and as OP already has ILR.

She still has her right to a private life and a family life based on what she has vested in the UK to date, that's how.

Furthermore to win her case, the lady clearly has to demonstrate commitment to her life, her family and this country in a major way.
She will have to demonstrate & convince the HO how important naturalisation is to her over & above staying on ILR 'indefinitely' (which as we know in HO terms is not a cast iron indefinite).

I believe awareness of her rights will help her to formulate her case in language HO officials will understand and will help her send the right message.

That's an approach that's worked for me anyways

If the OP has overtstayed and worked without the right to work, it is a breach of the rules and the OP will likely qualify for citizenship 10 years from 2009 after leaving the UK. The rules are clear on the new good character requirement.

convince the HO how important naturalisation is

A person is either in the UK with a valid appropriate visa, abiding by the immigration rules or they are not and are frustrating the immigration rules, particularly working when they are not permitted to. There is nothing to convince HO of when applying for citizenship, it is a privilege, not an entitlement or a right and a person either complied during their stay or they did not and HO has the right to refuse a citizenship application if it sees fit to do so.

If the OP is refused citizenship, it should not have any impact on the ILR status.

Thanks for your advise too CR001

Hi I wondered if you could help.

I wrote earlier asking for advise for my application below:

http://www.immigrationboards.com/britis ... 88303.html

So my application was refused.

I wrote about my life - how I have been a good citizen since my issues years ago, how I wouldn't want to be separated from my family as immigration rules are constantly changing but I guess it didn't help. I listed everything I had hoped would prove that I was of good character outside of working illegally to survive for a period of time.

My only other question is I handed in my naturalisation application end of October last year, before the new rules applied.

Had I known about the new rules, I would have waited until I was eligible to apply again.

Can I appeal on this basis? Has anyone else experienced this?

How does not being naturalised separate you from your family?

In any case Citizenship isn't a right so it's not possible to appeal.

twostars wrote:I wrote earlier asking for advise for my application below:

http://www.immigrationboards.com/britis ... 88303.html

Topics merged.

twostars wrote:Hi I wondered if you could help.

I wrote earlier asking for advise for my application below:

http://www.immigrationboards.com/britis ... 88303.html

So my application was refused.

I wrote about my life - how I have been a good citizen since my issues years ago, how I wouldn't want to be separated from my family as immigration rules are constantly changing but I guess it didn't help. I listed everything I had hoped would prove that I was of good character outside of working illegally to survive for a period of time.

My only other question is I handed in my naturalisation application end of October last year, before the new rules applied.

Had I known about the new rules, I would have waited until I was eligible to apply again.

Can I appeal on this basis? Has anyone else experienced this?

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Sadly, there is no right of appeal for naturalisation applicants. However, you can apply for judicial review, but this process is expensive, long and costly.

Gloriaa wrote:Sadly, there is no right of appeal for naturalisation applicants. However, you can apply for judicial review, but this process is expensive, long and costly.

There is no Judicial Review option for Citizenship refusals. There is only an option to ask for reconsideration which costs £80.

CR001 wrote:

Gloriaa wrote:Sadly, there is no right of appeal for naturalisation applicants. However, you can apply for judicial review, but this process is expensive, long and costly.

There is no Judicial Review option for Citizenship refusals. There is only an option to ask for reconsideration which costs £80.

Thanks moderator.

I did not state the reconsideration option as almost all applicants are informed by UKVI (UKBA prevously) about it.

Unless the parliament has recently changed the law, Judicial Review is available for any decision made by a public body, and naturalisation perfectly fits this definition.

Even though some people have brought JR processes in previous years, the fact that the OP worked when not having the right to work and overstayed for a substantial period between 2003 and 2009, this will not be seen in the OPs favour.

It is 4 years to wait to apply again and as the OP already has ILR, the OP is free to live and work in the UK without restriction.

CR001 wrote: There is no Judicial Review option for Citizenship refusals. There is only an option to ask for reconsideration which costs £80.

This can't be right. All decisions by civil servants can be subject to review, that's the point. Google turns up a number of results, including this one from 2012, which states:

There were more than 40 cases before the Administrative Court in which claimants were seeking judicial review of the decisions of the defendant secretary of state refusing to grant them naturalisation as British citizens under section 6 of the British Nationality Act 1981.

The court is able to more strictly define the requirements and order cases to be redecided, not to grant citizenship though.

Here was an example:

Accordingly, the Court quashed the SSHD’s decision and afforded Mr Thamby an opportunity to make representations in relation to his good character and address the issues which were raised by the Home Department in relation to his application for naturalisation.

Not that I think the OP has any chance with a JR, just they can bring one if they chose to.

This may be of interest regarding the second attempt by the Mr Al Fayed back in 1999, the billionaire former owner of Harrods to apply for British Citizenship. It goes to show money doesn't influence the decision.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/po ... 38287.html

There was a widely reported case concerning a Botswana national who was refused due to the good character requirement (court speeding offence). He eventually won his judicial review, but only for a re-consideration.

For the reasons I have set out above, I have concluded that the decision-making process was legally flawed, and that the Defendant should re-consider her decision, in accordance with the law.

I wonder if he was ultimately granted citizenship though?

t123456789 wrote:There was a widely reported case concerning a Botswana national who was refused due to the good character requirement (court speeding offence). He eventually won his judicial review, but only for a re-consideration.

For the reasons I have set out above, I have concluded that the decision-making process was legally flawed, and that the Defendant should re-consider her decision, in accordance with the law.

I wonder if he was ultimately granted citizenship though?

AFAIK he's still not a BC....