Immigrationboards.com

Hello,
Can I please get your opinions on this matter as I recently did a SAR request for my husband's citizenship application and I have seen that he had been given a police caution in 2014. It was for a minor domestic dispute that resolved itself and no other run in has happened with the police.
The problem is this caution had completely slipped our mind when we made this application and we did not declare it. This was not a deliberate deception as we genuinely forgot as it was 9 years ago. Do you feel that this could be grounds for our application to be rejected? Should I acknowledge this now? I will appreciate anyone to give advice, especially if there are examples of people who have been approved with a caution
Many thanks

Hello,

A police caution from 9 years ago, should not, in itself, cause a refusal of a British Citizenship application.

The problem is: you didn't declare it.

The Home Office will see it as they have access to all these records and usually check them when considering your application.

What would make me nervous in your situation, is the fact that they may see your silence about it as an attempt to deceive them. Which means, you hide it intentionally in order to improve your chances of getting the British Citizenship (which is not true because even disclosed, it shouldn't cause harm).

Thank you for your response. You are correct that it is a catch 22 situation as not declaring it harms me more than benefits me so deception in that sense would be pointless. Declaring it would be to our advantage as they are not allowed to take the caution into consideration if it is over 3 years old. I guess I will have to see if they ignore it or use it as grounds for refusal. I feel it is too late to offer any kind of clarification at this stage.

If the application is pending, then I think it’s probably best and not too late to declare the police caution. You may write a letter explaining the circumstances of the caution and why you did not declare it earlier. You may also include any supporting documents that you have. You can send the letter to the address on your application form or email it to the Home Office.