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British Citizenship – Good Character Requirement FAQs

A section for posts relating to applications for Naturalisation or Registration as a British Citizen. Naturalisation

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alsanober
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Re: British Citizenship – Good Character Requirement FAQs

Post by alsanober » Thu Jan 03, 2019 9:23 pm

Hi Guys,

I am planning to apply for Citizenship soon. Just got one question in my mind regarding Character.

My Father in law accused me of assault but then couple of hours later took the statement back and said he doesn't want to take it further. Police interviewed me got my statement in which i made it clear that i took action in self-defense. I got a phone call from police few days later that no action will be taken because he took the complain back.

I didn't get any warning/caution or anything like that.

Should i mentioned that in application.

Thanks

alsanober
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Re: British Citizenship – Good Character Requirement FAQs

Post by alsanober » Fri Jan 04, 2019 11:18 am

Just to make clear that it was voluntary police interview.

DocKnow
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Re: British Citizenship – Good Character Requirement FAQs

Post by DocKnow » Fri Jan 04, 2019 12:10 pm

alsanober wrote:
Fri Jan 04, 2019 11:18 am
Just to make clear that it was voluntary police interview.
My personal opinion (and I am not an immigration advisor) is that you can mention it in the additional information section.

You could also do a SAR to see your record on the PCN and local police force (where you were interviewed). This just for your peace of mind. You should expect to see a "No further action" on either of those reports.

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Re: British Citizenship – Good Character Requirement FAQs

Post by alsanober » Fri Jan 04, 2019 12:22 pm

DocKnow wrote:
Fri Jan 04, 2019 12:10 pm
alsanober wrote:
Fri Jan 04, 2019 11:18 am
Just to make clear that it was voluntary police interview.
My personal opinion (and I am not an immigration advisor) is that you can mention it in the additional information section.

You could also do a SAR to see your record on the PCN and local police force (where you were interviewed). This just for your peace of mind. You should expect to see a "No further action" on either of those reports.
Thanks for replying.

My thinking was does it need mentioning if nothing is showed against your record? i have applied for SAR and see what it comes back with. I thought i should post it here and see what you guys think, just for re-assurance to be honest.

AnotherUUID
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Re: British Citizenship – Good Character Requirement FAQs

Post by AnotherUUID » Fri Jan 04, 2019 12:38 pm

My general rule of thumb, as confirmed by a Nationality Enquiries rep, is if you have any doubts whether you should disclose something or not, then the safest option would be to do so. If they find it irrelevant, they simply won't consider it. And if it's relevant then you will have disclosed it anyway.

Though in my case I also tend to get application anxiety when it comes to such important applications, which often doesn't help in remembering things that I would deem completely unimportant (like parking tickets). So I had to send two further correspondence letters after having sent the application to make sure I have disclosed everything...

So better play it safe than sorry. Retrospectively, I should have done a SAR as well, so thumbs up for doing this yourself!

alsanober
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Re: British Citizenship – Good Character Requirement FAQs

Post by alsanober » Fri Jan 04, 2019 12:50 pm

AnotherUUID wrote:
Fri Jan 04, 2019 12:38 pm
My general rule of thumb, as confirmed by a Nationality Enquiries rep, is if you have any doubts whether you should disclose something or not, then the safest option would be to do so. If they find it irrelevant, they simply won't consider it. And if it's relevant then you will have disclosed it anyway.

Though in my case I also tend to get application anxiety when it comes to such important applications, which often doesn't help in remembering things that I would deem completely unimportant (like parking tickets). So I had to send two further correspondence letters after having sent the application to make sure I have disclosed everything...

So better play it safe than sorry. Retrospectively, I should have done a SAR as well, so thumbs up for doing this yourself!
Paid parking tickets? you disclosed that as well. I had one last year when i parked where the curb was dropped and i was literally 3 inches away from safety but still got ticked and paid on same day. Shall i mentioned that in application?

Thanks

DocKnow
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Re: British Citizenship – Good Character Requirement FAQs

Post by DocKnow » Fri Jan 04, 2019 12:52 pm

If I were you, I would probably not even declare it for the reason that you have:

a) Not been convicted of a criminal offense in a court of law.
b) Not received an out of court disposal in relation a criminal offense where you have admitted guilt(e.g. Caution, warning)
c) Not received a penalty in relation to a criminal offense where there is no admission of guilt (e.g. FPN or PND)

I can't see where you would put it on the form except the additional information section or may be a covering letter.

I even think that your PNC record will come back clean as this event is likely to be on your local police database.

Again, the above is my personal opinion only.

DocKnow
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Re: British Citizenship – Good Character Requirement FAQs

Post by DocKnow » Fri Jan 04, 2019 1:38 pm

alsanober wrote:
Fri Jan 04, 2019 12:50 pm
AnotherUUID wrote:
Fri Jan 04, 2019 12:38 pm
My general rule of thumb, as confirmed by a Nationality Enquiries rep, is if you have any doubts whether you should disclose something or not, then the safest option would be to do so. If they find it irrelevant, they simply won't consider it. And if it's relevant then you will have disclosed it anyway.

Though in my case I also tend to get application anxiety when it comes to such important applications, which often doesn't help in remembering things that I would deem completely unimportant (like parking tickets). So I had to send two further correspondence letters after having sent the application to make sure I have disclosed everything...

So better play it safe than sorry. Retrospectively, I should have done a SAR as well, so thumbs up for doing this yourself!
Paid parking tickets? you disclosed that as well. I had one last year when i parked where the curb was dropped and i was literally 3 inches away from safety but still got ticked and paid on same day. Shall i mentioned that in application?

Thanks
I don't think it matters either way. I personally didn't declare a PCN that I received 3 years ago because I completely forgot about it. I haven't sent them any correspondence letters to declare these either. This is because I am yet to come across an official nationality document that requires PCNs to be declared. There is no place to declare them on the form either.

Note that I haven't received my approval yet so may be I will pay a heavy price for not disclosing them. :?

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Re: British Citizenship – Good Character Requirement FAQs

Post by AnotherUUID » Fri Jan 04, 2019 3:06 pm

alsanober wrote:
Fri Jan 04, 2019 12:50 pm
AnotherUUID wrote:
Fri Jan 04, 2019 12:38 pm
My general rule of thumb, as confirmed by a Nationality Enquiries rep, is if you have any doubts whether you should disclose something or not, then the safest option would be to do so. If they find it irrelevant, they simply won't consider it. And if it's relevant then you will have disclosed it anyway.

Though in my case I also tend to get application anxiety when it comes to such important applications, which often doesn't help in remembering things that I would deem completely unimportant (like parking tickets). So I had to send two further correspondence letters after having sent the application to make sure I have disclosed everything...

So better play it safe than sorry. Retrospectively, I should have done a SAR as well, so thumbs up for doing this yourself!
Paid parking tickets? you disclosed that as well. I had one last year when i parked where the curb was dropped and i was literally 3 inches away from safety but still got ticked and paid on same day. Shall i mentioned that in application?

Thanks
For the parking ticket I would say, since you remember having it, you should declare it.

@DocKnow, this is not entirely true. As I mentioned earlier, Section 3 on Good Character Requirement of Guide AN (December 2018) explicitly states that fixed penalties including parking tickets must be disclosed, even though they would not usually be taken into account unless they have made it to court or it shows a pattern contradicting the "good character".

If you genuinely cannot remember (I mean, for silly parking offences how often does one actually do?), then I would personally say that you cannot really disclose anything you haven't remembered and the application still holds true that "to the best of your knowledge" the information you have provided is true and correct.

Yet it's still up to the caseworker to decide. The caseworker guidelines do mention that they should also take an overall picture of the applicant and not cling onto specific actions of the applicant (unless otherwise instructed for certain actions). I totally agree with you and I too had genuinely forgotten about the two PCNs I had received and paid the same day, to the point where I had to go through 10y of bank statements to figure out the dates. But now that I remembered, I presumed it would not hurt to follow up and disclose them. This way, hopefully, they won't go against the GCR as opposed to the caseworker having found out about them and them not having been declared.

I agree that the application form, especially the online one, has very little space for one to include such details especially if you have to cover the circumstances around them. But that's the whole point of providing a covering letter.

Frankly, I am not a big fan of the way GCR is considered as some clauses are so vague that almost anything seemingly unimportant that one had genuinely forgotten about could be considered as "use of deception". But I have faith that the caseworkers are people just like us and try to make the best of what they can with the applications at hand. In that line of thoughts, some PCN due to silly parking really shouldn't (at least morally) affect an otherwise good application, disclosed or not.

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Re: British Citizenship – Good Character Requirement FAQs

Post by alsanober » Fri Jan 04, 2019 5:08 pm

I know i wasnt convicted, i am only worried by thinking that police interviewe was a cautiou. But one of my colleague is ho used to work As a prision officier said they need to give me caution verbally and i should also receive it in writing and of course no letter was sent to me. I only got a phone call (after interview) that court will not take the case further because the complain has been withdrawn.

DocKnow
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Re: British Citizenship – Good Character Requirement FAQs

Post by DocKnow » Fri Jan 04, 2019 5:28 pm

alsanober wrote:
Fri Jan 04, 2019 5:08 pm
I know i wasnt convicted, i am only worried by thinking that police interviewe was a cautiou. But one of my colleague is ho used to work As a prision officier said they need to give me caution verbally and i should also receive it in writing and of course no letter was sent to me. I only got a phone call (after interview) that court will not take the case further because the complain has been withdrawn.
As per law, a caution needs to be signed by the person - basically admitting guilt for the criminal offense. If you haven't signed it, there is no admission of guilt. This is the reason FPNs (unless numerous) are not considered for naturalisation as there is no admission of guilt.

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Re: British Citizenship – Good Character Requirement FAQs

Post by Rozstone74 » Mon Jan 07, 2019 12:38 am

Thank god I discovered this forum. I am in desperate need of advice.
I think I totally screwed my Home Office application. So…I was convicted as a minor, outside the UK, for non-violent offenses and was given a custodial sentence of 9 months (of which I only served 7 months). This happened over 10 years ago. I always believed I do not need to disclose this conviction anywhere because I was a minor at the time and convictions for minors, after a short period of time, are spent, so there is no need to disclose them. Some lawyer that I met randomly when I first came to the UK also said that minors in the UK that get convicted, have their offences spent (according to the Rehabilitation act), after 1-2 years or something like that. This probably reinforced my belief that I do not need to disclose it, because the conviction (and my subsequent release) took place more than 1-2 years ago (in fact my release from custody took place more than 10 years ago), hence it is spent which is why on the application I sent to the HO, I did not disclose it as part of the “Good character” requirement.

I had no intention to deceive or lie or anything to that nature….I just totally believed that the Rehabilitation Act allowed me to legally not disclose spent convictions….that disclosure is not required.
As I’ve been reading this forum after I sent my application, I’m beginning to realise that I have unknowingly made a MASSIVE mistake on my Home Office applications by not disclosing my foreign conviction, even if it was “spent” after so many years. I still haven’t heard back from them with a decision but want to make sure I am 100% honest and transparent with the Home Office regarding my foreign conviction, no matter what their decision is.

I have made one dumb mistake when I was a minor (that I continue to regret to this day), I’ve been completely rehabilitated (with no offences since), I live a normal life in this beautiful country I am now happy to call my home and who I’m so grateful for given me a second chance, been doing things by the book since I was released, and I’m not about to do anything remotely wrong now….so no matter what their decision is, I have to disclose this. In any case, based on the recent research I’ve done here and online, it looks like my application would still be eligible for approval given that more than 5 years have passed since my release from custody (I saw somewhere that if you have a custodial sentence of less than 12 months you can apply after 5 years if you were a minor, or 10 years if you were an adult when convicted).

What’s the best way to disclose this? I’m thinking of writing a cover letter explaining everything and send it recorded to same address I sent my original application.

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Re: British Citizenship – Good Character Requirement FAQs

Post by Mama26 » Mon Jan 07, 2019 3:08 am

I need help with my case, i was convicted for 8 months emprisonnement sentence for using someone else identity to seek employment in 2008. I don’t know if it’s the right time now to do my naturalisation because its 10 years now since my sentence.I need advice plz

alsanober
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Re: British Citizenship – Good Character Requirement FAQs

Post by alsanober » Mon Jan 14, 2019 10:07 am

DocKnow wrote:
Fri Jan 04, 2019 12:10 pm
alsanober wrote:
Fri Jan 04, 2019 11:18 am
Just to make clear that it was voluntary police interview.
My personal opinion (and I am not an immigration advisor) is that you can mention it in the additional information section.

You could also do a SAR to see your record on the PCN and local police force (where you were interviewed). This just for your peace of mind. You should expect to see a "No further action" on either of those reports.
i got my SAR back this morning and i am so glad that PNC doesn't not hold any data about me.

Should i request report from local police as well?

What level of checks do home office do?

Thanks

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Re: British Citizenship – Good Character Requirement FAQs

Post by Adam12 » Tue Jan 15, 2019 8:02 pm

Hi,

Hope anyone can help.

In the past, about 5 years ago I regretfully theft an item well under £200 mark and had been caught. I admited and was taken to the police for interviewed and released with a warning. No arrest was made and no fine was given.

My questioned would be;
1. Would I need to claim/state this in the application. As it has been 5 years, would it not be cleared.
2. Would this affect me to apply for my citizenship.

Can anyone guide me as I do not want to be rejected.

If I was to apply and had been rejected, how long after could I re-apply.

Also My partner and child are British, would this make my case stronger for rejection.

Thanking you in advance

Adam

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Re: British Citizenship – Good Character Requirement FAQs

Post by alterhase58 » Tue Jan 15, 2019 8:55 pm

Adam12 wrote:
Tue Jan 15, 2019 8:02 pm
Hi,

Hope anyone can help.

In the past, about 5 years ago I regretfully theft an item well under £200 mark and had been caught. I admited and was taken to the police for interviewed and released with a warning. No arrest was made and no fine was given.

Have wyou reviewed the guidance for AN application?
https://www.gov.uk/government/publicati ... en-form-an
Guidance for case workers on "Good Character": https://assets.publishing.service.gov.u ... idance.pdf


My questioned would be;
1. Would I need to claim/state this in the application. As it has been 5 years, would it not be cleared.
2. Would this affect me to apply for my citizenship.

As I understand it you need to declare - all such events need to be declared irrespective if they have expired or not. Unless you are a repeat offender it should not be an issue. If you don't disclose you may fall foul on account of withholding such information.

Can anyone guide me as I do not want to be rejected.

If I was to apply and had been rejected, how long after could I re-apply. Doubt this would be grounds for rejection.

Also My partner and child are British, would this make my case stronger for rejection. Your application is individual to yourself so this would not be relevant in any case.

Thanking you in advance

Adam
This is just my opinion as a member of this forum and does not constitute immigration advice.
Please do not send me private messages asking for advice.

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Re: British Citizenship – Good Character Requirement FAQs

Post by OHT2019 » Fri Jan 18, 2019 5:19 pm

HI,
I have been a silent observer , and I believe this forum is very helpful, I am applying for my naturalisation in less than 3 months , I am very disappointed as i got caution / common assault in 2016 due to misunderstanding of my son at school , there was no charge , I've just discovered this today when I got my DBS today ,
Does this affect my good character? Therefore my citizenship
your help is very much appreciated

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Re: British Citizenship – Good Character Requirement FAQs

Post by Aerebus » Wed Jan 23, 2019 4:19 pm

Hi guys,

Good afternoon!

Im just so worried about what I have done; I have been cautioned by the police last 21st of January 2019 because me and my wife had argument on the street. Public saw us that I unitentionally pushed her and slapped her on the arm without brutal force. They called the police and I have been arrested, my first contact with the police. They cautioned me for common assault because my wife didn’t press charge as because this is first time happened to us.

I’m able to apply citizenship this September 2019. Do you think I’m able to apply with my cautioned of common assault?

Im not a bad person, I just feel betrayrd and so angry because I get so jelous.

Thank you guys!

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Re: British Citizenship – Good Character Requirement FAQs

Post by alsanober » Wed Jan 23, 2019 6:56 pm

Aerebus wrote:
Wed Jan 23, 2019 4:19 pm
Hi guys,

Good afternoon!

Im just so worried about what I have done; I have been cautioned by the police last 21st of January 2019 because me and my wife had argument on the street. Public saw us that I unitentionally pushed her and slapped her on the arm without brutal force. They called the police and I have been arrested, my first contact with the police. They cautioned me for common assault because my wife didn’t press charge as because this is first time happened to us.

I’m able to apply citizenship this September 2019. Do you think I’m able to apply with my cautioned of common assault?

Im not a bad person, I just feel betrayrd and so angry because I get so jelous.

Thank you guys!
Did you sign on anything? A caution is you get it in writing, if yes then i am afraid you will have to wait for 3 years before you can apply and also in future you need to disclose the info. :(

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Re: British Citizenship – Good Character Requirement FAQs

Post by Aerebus » Wed Jan 23, 2019 6:59 pm

Yes, I did.

Do you think after 3 years and I disclose it to them they will approve it or still a gonna get refused?

If citizenship get refused, can you re-apply or you need to wait for years again?

Thank you!

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Re: British Citizenship – Good Character Requirement FAQs

Post by AnotherUUID » Wed Jan 23, 2019 7:20 pm

Aerebus wrote:
Wed Jan 23, 2019 6:59 pm
Yes, I did.

Do you think after 3 years and I disclose it to them they will approve it or still a gonna get refused?

If citizenship get refused, can you re-apply or you need to wait for years again?

Thank you!
You can reapply as many times as you want, and yes you will have to disclose it irrespective of how far back you were issued with a caution.

As citizenship is discretionary, there is no guarantee that your application will be approved or not. However, if your application is refused, you will be given a reason - as part of your refusal letter - explaining the circumstances that lead to the caseworker's decision. The letter will also state whether and how long you will need to wait before a subsequent application has a chance of being successful. This will usually be based on any ongoing periods of rehabilitation for offences as well as any evidence of fraud, deception, etc which has not been declared but has been discovered as part of the background checks. The latter may lead to a 10y bar on applications from the date on which the offence was first discovered, or from the date of decision for offences that were first discovered during the application process.

Provided you have no future offences in these three years that may lead to questioning whether you are of good character, there should be no reason to refuse your application on the grounds of your single caution. You can take a look at the GCR guidance notes for caseworkers for more information on what could impact the GCR. This includes the guidance rehabilitation periods for various offences.

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Re: British Citizenship – Good Character Requirement FAQs

Post by Aerebus » Wed Jan 23, 2019 7:36 pm

I have ILR that valid until 2024, just in case my Citizenship would get refused, am I able to re-apply ILR?

Thank you!

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Re: British Citizenship – Good Character Requirement FAQs

Post by CR001 » Wed Jan 23, 2019 7:44 pm

Aerebus wrote:
Wed Jan 23, 2019 7:36 pm
I have ILR that valid until 2024, just in case my Citizenship would get refused, am I able to re-apply ILR?

Thank you!
Your ILR BRP card expires, you simply renew the card (similar to a drivers licence), you don't apply for the whole ILR process again.
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Re: British Citizenship – Good Character Requirement FAQs

Post by Aerebus » Wed Jan 23, 2019 8:56 pm

How to renew it sir and how much it cost?

Thank you so much!

Im getting depress now about my future, to be honest! Because of one single incident happened everything is falling apart. :(

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Re: British Citizenship – Good Character Requirement FAQs

Post by CR001 » Thu Jan 24, 2019 9:08 am

Aerebus wrote:
Wed Jan 23, 2019 8:56 pm
How to renew it sir and how much it cost?

Thank you so much!

Im getting depress now about my future, to be honest! Because of one single incident happened everything is falling apart. :(
Please ask this question in the General Immigration sub forum as it is NOT relevant to this topic in the British Citizenship sub forum!!!
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