Final Check-British Citizenship Application

Redstar222 wrote: ↑

Fri Mar 17, 2023 9:24 am

My husband just received ILR and we are thinking ahead to applying for British citizenship, as we plan to apply exactly a year from now. Recently, however, he received several minor traffic tickets (e.g. being in a bus lane, parking in wrong spot, etc). There are no speeding tickets or anything for reckless/dangerous driving, and we're going to see if we can get some taken off and, if not, will pay the fines promptly.

I keep reading that several tickets in a row can be an issue for good character. What can we do to prevent this being a problem, or will he need to wait longer now to apply for citizenship? He has a clean driving record other than this and has had his UK license over two years now. All tickets were in the city centre where we don't normally drive and they unfortunately have a lot of cameras so not a lot of room for minor errors if you get turned about or lost.

Thanks for any help!

Redstar222 wrote: ↑

Mon Mar 31, 2025 11:36 am

Asking for help one last time from the lovely community at Immigration Boards. I am applying for British Citizenship for my husband and I. Both children already have citizenship but we got delayed in applying for ours for various reasons, despite being eligible to apply for over a year.

I had a few questions regarding the application:

1) Traffic violations-What's the best way to report these? I cannot even recall when and how many we had in our younger years in the US as this was over 20 years ago. We have one ticket (bus lane) which was promptly paid. All other UK tickets were removed after appealing and my understanding is there is no need to report these as a result.

Inaccurate - you have to declare traffic offenses if you received a FPN for any of them, also the ones you paid. No worries for the very old ones.

2) There is a question about dependents not applying with you. Do I tick YES because I have two children who are not applying (again, they already have British citizenship and are both minors). Tick No.

3) Is there any other information about your character or behaviour which you would like to make us aware of? [I answered NO, but not sure if I should say YES and use this as a space to provide detailed info about previous traffic violations]. You should say Yes and provide details about the traffic violations or elaborate in a cover letter

4) For the question, If you do not meet the statutory requirements to become a British citizen, are there any special circumstances why you think the Home Secretary should still grant your application? I put NO as it was required to respond and I had said NO to any special circumstances already. This is Ok

5) Tax office reference number. Husband is self employed. Do I just put his National Insurance Number? You shouldn't provide this for your husband if you selected he is self employed. Check the answers you gave previously. In any case it is not applicable to your husband.

6) Continuous residency requirement. Any other evidence required? Would our passport be enough as we arrived in 2017 and our tax payments can be checked using our NI numbers? Stamped passport is enough

Thank you for any help! I have read previous threads on some of these but I've stalled so long on this application that my previous one from 2024 was deleted, and I worry that some requirements may have changed since I last did the research.

Redstar222 wrote: ↑

Wed Apr 02, 2025 1:34 pm

but all but the one bus lane ticket have valid circumstances (hence why they were successfully appealed) so I will just make a note of it.

Receiving one does not form part of a person’s criminal record. A fixed penalty notice will not normally result in refusal unless the person has failed to pay or has unsuccessfully challenged the notice and there were subsequent criminal proceedings resulting in a conviction

contorted_svy wrote: ↑

Wed Apr 02, 2025 3:03 pm

Add a cover letter to explain any details about good character. If your husband declared he is self employed, he needs to present evdience of that, his SA302 and full tax return for last year. He can add his UTR to a cover letter, but there is no point adding the UTR to the tax reference number field - as that is not what is beiing asked. You should not see that box if you selected your husband is self employed.

contorted_svy wrote: ↑

Thu Apr 03, 2025 6:40 am

If one selects self-employed the SA302 and full tax report is required for all applicants. There is no concept of dependant for naturalisation, regardless to your husband's visa path to ILR. I would enclose these tax documents just to be sure. The online form is sometimes clunky.

Redstar222 wrote: ↑

Thu Apr 03, 2025 9:00 pm

Thanks! I made it through the first step and submitted the online application and paid the application fee. I have an appointment to do biometrics on 14 April. Based on the previous responses, here's what I think I should upload, which goes a bit beyond what the document checklist covers (not surprising, these tend to be a bit too basic):

1) Passport (all pages) for myself and husband (works for multiple checks--identity, proof of English, etc given we are US citizens) OK
2) Proof of living (definitely read in the application that non-EEA nationals can use the passport for this too BUT I'm going to add my P60s for the past 5 years and my husband's SA302 + last tax return). This doubles to prove his status as self-employed. I will include a cover letter with his details again (tax ref, URN, and NINO), just in case and explain about the other docs being provided for further verification. OK but as you state probably not needed
3) Signed and dated referee forms. I know these can be digital but going to do good old-fashioned handwritten signatures and printed photos. OK
4) Print out of Life in the UK email with pass info/unique ref number. Not needed, you provided the ref number in the application.
5) Copy of BRPs (front and back). The non-expired ones are digital via sharecode. Do I get the sharecode and print out the form? I can also upload a copy of the old cards alongside the sharecode form. expired ILR BRP should be enough
6) Marriage License. Why do you need this? Not necessary at all. omit it.
7) Cover letter about good character (explanation of previous US driving tickets and UK PCNs). OK

Plenty of other proof I could provide, like copies of yearly council tax bill. However, the application states that all docs previously submitted are still on file so no need to re-upload. Some of the above stuff will therefore be duplicated (e.g. marriage license), so just want to check what genuinely needs to be uploaded to make the application as straightforward as possible and avoid possible delays on a decision.