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If you failed to report 8 years ago could citizenship application under 6(2) be refused based on that?

What was it you didn’t report and in which context?

So basically I was here on student visa in 2010 to 2012

2012 I applied extension got refused , I appealed through lawyer he told me it’s in process and I was waiting for the date but nothing was happening I didn’t even see the lawyer or any appeal submitted by them in my SAR ,

I received the letter from HO to leave the country


I left the country clandestinely in 2015 to Europe, because my parents paid so much money for my study to be completed and I was ashamed and scared to fly back home my college licence was revoked and I couldn’t get my certificate from them which is why I was refused in 2012 I had my DVLA licence with me which I lost there in sometime in 2016 and I report online to dvla from there and used the uk address




I came back here with eu family card in 2017 and I got settled status in 2023

Applied for naturalisation for 4 months ago not knowing what’s on SAR


HO emailed me in 2016 asking if I have left the country I told them that I have left the country (note recorded on the SAR)

I requested Sar and from there I find out that when I changed the dvla address it prompted the HO that I’m still here and they sent temporary bail paper to the address but I wasn’t aware of this as I wasn’t in the country so they asked me to report to the local police office and after there was no reporting they marked me absconder.

When I came back I didn’t have any problem

I have no other conviction and nothing else

If they marked you as absconder and it was within the last 10 years your application has a non zero chance of being refused. Your 10 year legal stay would start from when you obtained a proper visa/EUSS after you were marked an absconder, so if I understood your story correctly your legal stay started in 2017.

Absconding is disregarded when applying under section 6(2)

So you think it will be refused can’t they apply discretion ? My wife is British I have two children who are British , this would affect their life too for another couple of years I mean I would have to apply visa’s to go on holidays it’s been already a long process for them

Discretion mostly likely won be exercised.
Stay till 10yrs of legal status to apply or risk it, choice is yours.

RAJA9291 wrote: ↑

Sat Feb 17, 2024 9:26 pm

Absconding is disregarded when applying under section 6(2)

I can't find a reference to this in the official guidance. Good character requirements are the same for section 6(1) and 6(2). I appreciate this is not the answer you would like to hear, but the HO sets the rules. It is entirely your choice to apply but my advice is to wait until 2027 when it's been 10 years form your grant of status under EUSS. Of course you are welcome to do as you please.

RAJA9291 wrote: ↑

Sat Feb 17, 2024 9:38 pm

So you think it will be refused can’t they apply discretion ? My wife is British I have two children who are British , this would affect their life too for another couple of years I mean I would have to apply visa’s to go on holidays it’s been already a long process for them

It's having to apply for a visa to go on holiday for 3 more years vs risk of wasting £1580. The guidance is clear on this, you most likely would get your application refused. The impact on your family holidays is a consequence of your actions regarding immigration.

I applied already 4.5 months ago I didn’t know that they marked me absconder I only find out when I applied the SAR after 2 months waiting a because I told them in the email when they asked me if I have left all this came after signing me with the reporting and marking me absconder, if they refuse me and I should request reconsideration I have passport copy which issued abroad in that year time and may be other official document’s to prove my presence in Eu and insta photos showing the times when I posted them , I don’t know if they will consider

I doubt they will. If you have been an absconder in the last 10 years your caseworker won't be convinced of your good character and they will reject your application. Good character is a statutory requirement and from your timeline you have been an absconder in the last 10 years, so you most likely won't satisfy it. If your application is rejected I would just wait until 2027 and apply again then rather than try to ask for reconsideration.

It is what it is then, if my passport hard copy wouldn’t stasify them then nothing else would . Thanks for the Information

The problem isn't the hard copy of your passport, it's what you stated here

I left the country clandestinely in 2015 to Europe, because my parents paid so much money for my study to be completed and I was ashamed and scared to fly back home my college licence was revoked and I couldn’t get my certificate from them which is why I was refused in 2012 I had my DVLA licence with me which I lost there in sometime in 2016 and I report online to dvla from there and used the uk address

You didn't have a regular immigration state in the last 10 years, and that is a fact. Whatever you provide wouldn't convince them that this hasn't happened because it has and it is against their requirements for good character. Good news is, in case this application gets rejected, in a few years you'll be eligible.

To align with this change, illegal entry, absconding and overstaying can also be disregarded when assessing good character during the 10-year period, but only where all the following factors apply:

the person is applying for naturalisation as a British citizen, or registration as a British citizen under s.4(2), 6(1) or 6(2) of the BNA 1981 after 28 June 2022



What does this mean? New guidance is so confusing

Read https://assets.publishing.service.gov.u ... racter.pdf page 50

Absconders
A person given temporary admission, temporary release, bail or release on a
restriction order may be required to report at stipulated intervals to a port of entry or
to an immigration reporting centre. A person who fails to comply with any reporting
restrictions, thus no longer maintaining contact with the Home Office so that their
whereabouts are unknown, may become subject to absconder action.
Evidence of absconding may be apparent from Atlas or other relevant database
records, or Police National Computer records.
Where you are not disregarding immigration breaches relating to lawful residence, if
a person has previously absconded, it will normally be appropriate to refuse the
application for citizenship for a period of 10 years from the date they last brought
themselves or came to the attention of the Home Office after having absconded.
For further information see non-compliance and absconder process instructions and
Border Force absconder guidance.

As you have been marked as an absconder, your breach, who may be disregarded when considering lawful residence (that is what the text you wrote refers to, you find that at page 48 of the document I linked) may well cause your application to be rejected.

As you have applied, this is now out of your hands. You know that there is a risk of your application being rejected but you also know you could be able to apply in the future and be successful. Do report back on the forum so that other members can benefit from your experience.

I will report the outcome of my application , I spoke to the lawyer this afternoon he said absconding can be disregarded under S. 6(2) .


I was reading this somewhere

In relation to cases that were granted British citizenship, we found two where discretion had been applied to disregard breaches of immigration law during the qualifying period. The first case concerned an applicant who was granted British citizenship in March 2013, even though they had failed to comply with their reporting conditions for three years and three months during the qualifying period.
We were concerned

Your abscondment happened before the qualifying period, not during it. The breaches happening during the qualifying period are now more likely to be disregarded if the applicant holds ILR. ALl is left is to wait and see.

Yeah fingers crossed , it’s completely in the case workers hand and their chief's , month ago they asked me last 3 years addresses and I replied the same day.