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Retired professional referee [British citizenship]
Posted: Tue Apr 15, 2025 5:01 pm
by ILRTOCTX
Hi,
Does anyone know for sure if a retired professional can be accepted as a professional referee ? So most of my friends are British and over 25 years but their jobs are not on the list of approved occupations. The only person I know closely who's job is on the list is retired & also British. When I try to google it, multiple websites of immigration lawyers mentioning that a retired person can only be considered as the second referee and not as a professional referee. But in this case I will end up with multiple British & over 25 referee and no professional referee at all. I don't know what should I do in this case.
Re: Retired professional referee [British citizenship]
Posted: Wed Apr 16, 2025 9:33 pm
by ILRTOCTX
anyone knows ??
Re: Retired professional referee [British citizenship]
Posted: Thu Apr 17, 2025 1:49 pm
by lolo2
The professional referee can be of any nationality, it is not required to be British.
The second referee can be British and retired of any profession, no need to be in the list.
Re: Retired professional referee [British citizenship]
Posted: Fri Apr 18, 2025 1:26 pm
by ILRTOCTX
lolo2 wrote: ↑Thu Apr 17, 2025 1:49 pm
The professional referee can be of any nationality, it is not required to be British.
The second referee can be British and retired of any profession, no need to be in the list.
I understand this and I have no issue with the second referee. The professional referee is the issue as the only person I know who's job is on the list is retired.
Re: Retired professional referee [British citizenship]
Posted: Sat Apr 19, 2025 4:57 pm
by contorted_svy
What is their former job, and are they still a member of a chartered body?
Re: Retired professional referee [British citizenship]
Posted: Tue Apr 22, 2025 9:50 am
by lolo2
ILRTOCTX wrote: ↑Fri Apr 18, 2025 1:26 pm
I understand this and I have no issue with the second referee. The professional referee is the issue as the only person I know who's job is on the list is retired.
That shouldn't be an issue.
For example, during passport application the referee confirming applicant's identity can be working or retired from the "recognised" profession
https://www.passport.service.gov.uk/hel ... g-identity
Recognised professions
You must work in or be retired from a recognised profession and know the applicant personally.
This is not explicitly said in the guidance for nationality referees but I think it could be extrapolated. For the passport, we normally use the same professional person we used in the nationality application. A retired person just stop doing their day to day job, they're not stripped of the profession.
If you're still in doubt, I'd suggest emailing
nationalityenquiries@homeoffice.gov.uk.