British Citizenship - references

[kkarank]

Hi there,

I have just completed 5 yrs in the UK ( 3 on work permit , 1 on HSMP and 1 on PR ) and have also passed my citizenship test.

I now want to apply for citizenship but the form says i need to provide two references from UK passport holders ? My problem is that i dont know anyone with a UK passport would want to provide their reference !!

is this a manadatory requirement for the application ?

just checking

thanks,
kk

[John]

Yes referees must be supplied. And those two referees must be British Citizens who meet the conditions specified on the form and in the guide. In particular they must have known you for at least 3 years.

Lots of possibilities .... work colleagues? ... indeed ex-work colleagues .... neighbours ... ex-neighbours ... people at your religious gathering place (if any)?

The point is that as long as the person first met you over 3 years ago there does not necessarily need to have been constant contact since then. When my wife made her application in April 2004 one of the referees was a Christian Missionary she first met in Thailand 22 years earlier, who had since returned to the UK and by co-incidence lives only a few miles away from us now.

The other referee was the Pastor of our Church here in Birmingham, who I have to say did this "by the book", and absolutely correctly! My wife first entered the UK on 14.04.01 and first went to Church here the next day. The Pastor was approached about signing the form AN(NEW). He said yes but also made it very clear that he would not do so before 15.04.04, the 3rd anniversary of when he had first met my wife. So appointment made to see him on 15.04.04, he signed the form ... after which the envelope containing the application and supporting papers was taken straight to the Post Office and posted by Special Delivery.

And it all worked out fine ... application granted ..... wife a British Citizen on 09.06.04 ... less than 38 months after first entering the UK.

So kkarank I suspect that when you really think about it you will agree that "My problem is that i dont know anyone with a UK passport" is not actually a correct statement. Lots of possibilities! People from your town/village who preceded you to the UK, for example?

[Christophe]

I now want to apply for citizenship but the form says i need to provide two references from UK passport holders ? My problem is that i dont know anyone with a UK passport would want to provide their reference !!

The referees have to be British citizens (as the guidance notes say (http://www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk/6353/1 ... eannew.pdf)), but I don't think they have to be British passport holders. Although the form asks for a passport number, it also has a space "I am unable to give details of my passport ... because ...", in which the referee can say that he or she does not have a passport. I don't think that this will cause any particular problems with the application - it is not compulsory to have a passport.

And as John says, the referee does not have to be someone with whom you are intimately acquainted: work colleagues, other people you know professionally, neighbours, people from church or club, parents at your child's school - all of these and many more are possibilities.

[ppron747]

Actually, Christophe, the guidance notes do specifically discourage "professional" acquaintances, but I go along with the general sentiment you express - the referee doesn't have to be your best buddy...

[Christophe]

Actually, Christophe, the guidance notes do specifically discourage "professional" acquaintances, but I go along with the general sentiment you express - the referee doesn't have to be your best buddy...

I rather took that to mean people such as your doctor or dentist or accountant, but it could mean people that you actually work with. But the way I said it (in the post above) could be taken both ways too! Perhaps the guidance notes do mean both?

[Marco 72]

So kkarank I suspect that when you really think about it you will agree that "My problem is that i dont know anyone with a UK passport" is not actually a correct statement. Lots of possibilities! People from your town/village who preceded you to the UK, for example?

I think it's possible not to know anyone who could be a referee. If you don't go to church, if you move around a lot, or if you tend to live in areas with a high concentration of foreigners, you may find yourself in the position of not having a referee. It probably takes more than a superficial relationship for an ordinary person to agree to be a referee. The only advice I can give to the OP is to think very carefully about old friends and acquaintances: look at old lists of phone numbers and something may come up, perhaps a person you used to be close to but have totally forgotten about. Or maybe you haven't forgotten about them but somehow your mind hasn't made the connection. This is what happened to me.

[Ravi2013]

Applying for citizenship, regarding refrees I work for Royal Mail does my manager be the first professional refree will he be classed as a civil servant
Second refree is friend of mine who I know more than three years who is my colleague in Royal Mail

Can anyone please advice me can I use them as my refrees , desperately waiting for the answer

[John]

Why are you posting into a topic over six years old? Having posted this, I am going to lock this topic.

I suggest you have a look at this active topic.