Applicant Conviction Information revealed to Referees??

[lizzieville234]

Good afternoon

I am asking if anyone has any knowledge or experience where a case worker for your Citizenship Application has contacted a referee to confirm they know you.

I am wondering about whether they are allowed to ask if the referee has knowledge of a conviction that an applicant has - as part of assessing the "Good Character" of the applicant.

I am worried that if the referee doesn't know about the conviction and they are asked about it - it may look as if the applicant is being deceptive rather than protecting their own privacy.

Maybe Data Protection Laws answer this but I don't know whether it applies to the importance of the HOME Office

Any information appreciated.

[contorted_svy]

You need to disclose your convictions to UKVI, not to your referees. They would only be asked the nature of their relationship to you and your ate of birth/address. Referees get contacted very infrequently anyway.

[alterhase58]

As far as we know referees are rarely contacted - reports of this are extremely rare, certainly during my time on this forum.
Referees give a declaration, they will not be questioned about your character, etc (again as far as we know).
If it turns out that an application was made fraudulently then I would expect that referees will be questioned as to their role in such a scenario.
Best not to overthink!