Travel constraints during application

contorted_svy wrote: ↑

Mon Feb 10, 2025 4:25 pm

Yes, you can choose someone who is British and lives overseas. Is the professional refree working in the UK, just out of curiosity? an expired British passport for a referee would not be necessarily an issue, if would just potentially take a bit longer for the HO to check their identity.

non EEA spouse/EUSS kids - do they need to provide additional documentation?
all supporting EUSS documentation showing relationship, maintenance of conditions during 5 years etc needed?

contorted_svy wrote: ↑

Sat Mar 29, 2025 6:35 am

Do you have a job abroad? How many days of absence overall and in the last year? Do you own property abroad?

Future intentions requirement
This section tells you about the future intentions requirement for those applying for naturalisation under section 6(1).

The main purpose of the requirement is that those wishing to be naturalised as British citizens should not already have decided, or intend, to break their links with the UK. The clearest indicator of this will be past behaviour. If that suggests that the requirement is met, and there is no reason to think this will not continue, the applicant’s statement about future intentions may be taken at face value.

A person must intend, if naturalised, to either:

have their principal home in the UK

enter into, or continue in either:

Crown service under the government of the UK

an international organisation of which the UK or HM Government is a member

a company or association established in the UK

Principal home in the UK
If applicants say their intention is to have their principal home in the UK, you should accept that they meet the requirement if they:

meet the residence requirements, without the need to exercise any discretion over excess absences other than up to 30 days

have an established home here

have been, or intend to be, absent from the UK for not more than 6 months

the absence was, or will be, clearly temporary

if it is an intended absence, we are satisfied they intend to return to the UK

they have maintained an established home here where any close family who have not accompanied them abroad have continued to live

there is no information to cast doubt on their intention, for example, either:

a partner who is or intends to live outside of the UK

a recent absence from the UK for a period of 6 months or more

Where it is proposed to exercise discretion to waive excess absences, you must be satisfied that the applicant has an established residence, family and a substantial proportion of any estate here. You should normally accept that situation will continue, and that the future intentions requirement has therefore been met, unless you have information that, since the date of the application, the applicant or their partner no longer has an established residence here or is planning to move abroad.

Where it is not certain that a residence has been established you must make enquiries to see whether there is evidence of a principal residence outside this country including whether the:

applicant or their partner owns property abroad

applicant’s family live abroad, either in the family home or elsewhere

Where there is such evidence, or your doubts cannot be resolved satisfactorily, you must refuse the application.

Information may also come to our attention that HMRC regard an applicant as domiciled abroad for tax purposes. In such cases, you must request the applicant’s permission to contact the HMRC. You should then ask the HMRC to provide us with a copy of the applicant’s completed ‘Domicile Enquiry’ questionnaire, which may throw some light on future intentions. If the applicant refuses permission, you must refuse the application.

The fact that an applicant’s spouse or partner is not applying for citizenship should not, of itself, be taken as evidence that the requirement is not met. In such a case, however, you should make enquiries of the applicant - whether the spouse or partner is resident abroad or whether there is any evidence that the spouse or partner intends to move abroad. The fact that a spouse or partner is living, or will shortly be living, abroad should not normally be taken as evidence that the requirement is not met if any of the following apply:

the couple are separated

the spouse or partner has applied for, and is awaiting, an entry clearance

you are otherwise satisfied that the spouse or partner intends to join the applicant here

it is clear the couple are content to live apart for the foreseeable future

If none of these reasons apply, and the information suggests that any applicant maintains, or intends shortly to maintain, their principal residence abroad, spends substantial periods with their spouse or partner and children abroad, the application should normally be refused.

Applicant intends to live outside the UK
If applicants make it clear that, while they intend to live in the UK for a period, they have made firm plans to establish their principal home abroad at some future date the application must be refused. You must not refuse an application solely on the suspicion that the applicant will reside outside of the UK.

If the applicant is abroad or is about to go abroad for a continuous period of more than 6 months, you should normally refuse the application and advise the applicant to re-apply, on their return to the UK, for permanent residence. An exception may be made to the general rule, however, where any of the following apply:

the applicant is undertaking voluntary work such as with the Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO)

the applicant is undertaking studies, training, or employment abroad which is necessary to pursue a UK based profession, vocation or occupation

the absence forms part of an established pattern, such as in relation to employment at sea and the applicant is primarily based in the UK

Where an applicant has more than one home and their principal home is outside of the UK at the time of application you must refuse the application.