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Freemovement.org - Bad news for overstayers in latest hardening of British citizenship policy

A recent change in the Home Office’s good character policy for citizenship applications is set to have a significant impact on people with a history of overstaying.

The department expressly states for the first time that any overstaying in the last ten years will see an application for British citizenship refused, with some minor exceptions.
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The new version (of the Good Character requirement guidance) now makes absolutely clear that where someone has overstayed at any point in the ten years before the application, they will be refused British citizenship. The only exception will be if this is the “sole adverse factor weighing against the person’s good character” and one of the following is true:

• the person’s application for leave to remain was made before 24 November 2016 and within 28 days of the expiry of their previous leave, or

• the person’s application for leave to remain was made on or after 24 November 2016, and the application did not fall for refusal on the grounds of overstaying because an exception under paragraph 39E of the Immigration Rules applied, or

• the period without leave was not the fault of the applicant, for example where it arose from a Home Office decision to refuse which is subsequently withdrawn or quashed or which the courts have required the Home Office to reconsider.

is there no way this regulation could be challenged especially if you've been here legally when the regulation was introduced even though you've been an over stayer in the past. because, in actual sense,this shouild affect those overstaying from the day the regulation comes into effect and not those who have the right thing long before and either left the uk and back or gained legal residence before the introduction of this regulation.

Does it apply to people who sent their applications before 14th of January 2019 and it was received by the Home Office?

Hi,

I have permanent residence as an family member of eu national and my nationality is due on this July 2019 as I will complete my 6 years as an family member , just to make it clear I am non eu national but happily married to eu national.

In April 2010 I had tier 2 work permit refusal for extension and in July 2010 I left country voluntarily and reported to home office that I an leaving and wants to withdraw my appeal but hope office didn’t get back to me and I left UK.

When I went back and I applied for Tier 4 route within 1 month time from back home, UKBA refused my application saying that I had work permit refusal and I didn’t lodge appeal and I was overstayed and left country voluntarily on your own expense so we refuse your application and also under the Z27B paragraph you can’t apply for UK 1 year in any immigration category since the date you left.

I sent them cover letter explaining that I didn’t know that and I never wanted to be overstayer and my solicitor didn’t lodge appeal and it’s nit my fault but after administration review answer was same and I was banned for 1 year.

I did wait 1 year , applied again and got the tier 4 visa and come to UK and then got married in 2013 and now I have Permanent Residence.

My question is if I apply for Nationality will it affect me according to Good Character ? , as I didn’t stay continuously 10 years , I stayed in my country 1 year and back then come back to UK and now I been here since 2011 and have PR.

Is it law that home office consider overstaying if I were living 10 years continuously then they can say that you had overstay so we refuse ?

Or home office will consider my 6 years eu family member rule or law and will not go back to my that overstaying ?

Can someone clarify to me please?

I should be grateful for help and advice.

Kind Regards,
Raza

Raza789 wrote: ↑

Tue Apr 30, 2019 9:32 pm

In April 2010 I had tier 2 work permit refusal for extension and in July 2010 I left country voluntarily and reported to home office that I an leaving and wants to withdraw my appeal but hope office didn’t get back to me and I left UK.

When I went back and I applied for Tier 4 route within 1 month time from back home, UKBA refused my application saying that I had work permit refusal and I didn’t lodge appeal and I was overstayed and left country voluntarily on your own expense so we refuse your application and also under the Z27B paragraph you can’t apply for UK 1 year in any immigration category since the date you left.

Something doesn’t make sense. If you had to withdraw your appeal, then you must have lodged an appeal before withdrawing it? If you did not lodge an appeal, then there would have been no appeal to withdraw?

Hi Vinny thanks for your response, yes you are right but I did trust at Solicitor and he said he has lodge the appeal and waiting for court confirmation and I kept asking him and he said he is still waiting and in the meantime I left country in July 2010.


Then I got to know after getting refusal that my appeal wasn’t lodged.


So Vinny do you think that home office will go back 10 years and will say that you had overstay for couple of months in 2010 and you are not eligible until July 2020?


Or my eu route as I been here since 8 years on legal route from student to permanent residence , home office will only consider 6 years eu route for nationality ?


And I have explained to Home office since 2010 and in all my previous applications that it wasn’t my fault , it’s my solicitor in 2010 who cheated to me ????



Regards

Raza789 wrote: ↑

Wed May 01, 2019 9:30 am

So Vinny do you think that home office will go back 10 years and will say that you had overstay for couple of months in 2010 and you are not eligible until July 2020?

Unfortunately so.

Hi vinny


Thanks again .


So it means it doesn’t matter that I left country in 2010 and stayed there for 1 years and come back in 2011 hole office will still refuse my nationality application that I was overstayer in 2010?


Or because I left country and come back on study visa and then become family member of eu national and they will not consider this eu route since 6 years ???


If you can make it clear to me please ? That do I need to wait for the right time???

Raza789 wrote: ↑

Wed May 01, 2019 2:53 pm

Hi vinny


Thanks again .


So it means it doesn’t matter that I left country in 2010 and stayed there for 1 years and come back in 2011 hole office will still refuse my nationality application that I was overstayer in 2010?


Or because I left country and come back on study visa and then become family member of eu national and they will not consider this eu route since 6 years ???


If you can make it clear to me please ? That do I need to wait for the right time???

Did you click on the link vinny provided (clue = it is the word 'so' blue underlined in his last post).

ANY period of overstay is taken into account, regardless of whether you left the UK or not.

Thanks for your response and I really appreciate both of you



Regards

If you had left the UK before overstaying for more than 28 days, then they may use discretion to disregard the overstay.

Hi everyone ,
I don’t mean to hijack this good man thread but I have a quick question : are you considered an overstayer after marrying an eea national ? I’m asking because I’m planning to apply for BC soon but with the recent changes in good character , I’m not sure anymore if I start counting the 10 years from the date of marriage or from when I got my RC ?
Any help will be appreciate.

Skibiridim wrote: ↑

Mon May 27, 2019 6:27 pm

Hi everyone ,
I don’t mean to hijack this good man thread but I have a quick question : are you considered an overstayer after marrying an eea national ? I’m asking because I’m planning to apply for BC soon but with the recent changes in good character , I’m not sure anymore if I start counting the 10 years from the date of marriage or from when I got my RC ?
Any help will be appreciate.

10 years from when Home Office granted you leave to remain.

Nerazzuri wrote: ↑

Mon May 27, 2019 9:00 pm

Skibiridim wrote: ↑

Mon May 27, 2019 6:27 pm

Hi everyone ,
I don’t mean to hijack this good man thread but I have a quick question : are you considered an overstayer after marrying an eea national ? I’m asking because I’m planning to apply for BC soon but with the recent changes in good character , I’m not sure anymore if I start counting the 10 years from the date of marriage or from when I got my RC ?
Any help will be appreciate.

10 years from when Home Office granted you leave to remain.

Thanks for your reply mate I neee a second opinion to be 100 % sure , preferably from the forum experienced members or admins.

Ten years from

Skibiridim wrote: ↑

Mon May 27, 2019 6:27 pm

are you considered an overstayer after marrying an eea national ?

No. Currently, your right to reside in the Uk is automatic after marrying - in a marriage recognised by the law. Islamic marriages in the UK may not count - an EEA citizen. After your marriage to an EEA citizen, you are no longer an overstayer.

However, obviously, if you were an overstayer before your marriage, your subsequent marriage does not render that lawful.

sorry, is it 10 years from marrying an EEA citizen or 10 years since HO issued a residence document

marcin wrote: ↑

Thu May 30, 2019 10:50 am

sorry, is it 10 years from marrying an EEA citizen or 10 years since HO issued a residence document

Marriage to EU citizen if you married within the UK.

CR001 wrote: ↑

Thu May 30, 2019 11:04 am

marcin wrote: ↑

Thu May 30, 2019 10:50 am

sorry, is it 10 years from marrying an EEA citizen or 10 years since HO issued a residence document

Marriage to EU citizen if you married within the UK.

many thanks for your reply!

Many thanks for the clarification. All the best

Hi respected members! There is no statutory definition of “Good Character” and therefore no statutory Guidance as to how this should be interpreted. However, on 11 December 2014 the Home Office quietly and significantly changed their Guidance on how they would assess Good Character. In most cases, a period of overstaying will already have been considered and accepted by the caseworker who handled the previous leave to remain or asylum applications and so HO must not reconsider this for naturalisation or citizenship Application. 
Overstaying is now included as conduct that will lead to refusal of an application. The guidance suggests that discretion to overlook this breach will only be considered if it is the sole adverse factor relating to a person’s character and it has been disregarded in line with provisions in the Immigration Rules to do so during a ‘grace period’ or the person was not at fault for becoming an overstayer.
Please I don’t understand that In 2016, a regulation was introduced as part of the good character feature of applying for British citizenship. This regulation said a person who was in breach of immigration in the last ten years can’t be a British citizen even if that breach was a short period. It means that people who have overstayed their visas will have to wait 10 years from the day they regularized their residence before they qualify to apply for a British citizenship. This is a fair regulation but I believe the regulation shouldn’t have affected those who have already regularized their status when the regulation came into effect. For examples, if you were an over-stayer before and then regularized your stay before 2016 when this regulation came into effect, you shouldn’t be affected by it. This regulation is supposed to deter overstaying but for those who have regularized their stay before then, it’s more of a punishment. Families are straining as a result of this regulation.

Does this affect a child born in the UK who is now 10, applying for registration as british citizen and had overstayed because the child's previous leave to remain has expired and the sesquent application was refused along with the parents' applications?