British Citizenship – Good Character Requirement FAQs

[aqib.khan]

thanks for your reply.

ideally it should count as self defence but since i have not been in this situation before I am not aware how it all works.

the reason i asked this question is to try and avoid any impact even if I have to do out of court settlement and create an understanding with other party to take back their charges, so if you say out of court settlement may still get me a simple caution which will effect it for 3 years then it will be better to fight for it and see the results whether its positive or negative.

[Amber]

Insofar as you were not given a custodial sentence. Moreover, the filtering arrangements for convictions and cautions are different for the purpose of DBS certificates required for some employment.

[aqib.khan]

so in summary what would be the best options for me here...

I understand fighting to be innocent is one thing.. but apart from that would settlement with other party and dropping charges make things better ?

[Amber]

That's up to you and your solicitor.

[rojo86]

Dear members, i am new on this forum and reason came here is is to get some advice(based on opinion and experience). I was convicted in april 2008 for fare evasion, paid fine which was issued by the court. later checked my crb eveything came clear propably due to the fact that it non recordable offence now my question is would they take this into account when assesing good character requirement?.
My second issue is related 1st course of conduct warning which i recieved in this may, this is not one those warning which becomes part of PNC AS THEre is no admission of guilt. Please let me know if i can apply for BC next month.

[Amber]

What is the warning you received, who administered it?

[rojo86]

Thank you very much for quick reply. Police gave me that warning fo my conduct(have'nt commited any offence) which was unwanted text message to my ex. police is trying to convince me that it not an issue as long as you don't contact that person again. its not part of pnc as there is no admission of guilt and this not a warning which is recorded on pnc. Most people are saying that you dont even need to disclose this. Again, it is not a criminal offence, there isn't any statutory basis nor there is any precedent under common law, purely police discretion without any procedure.

[Amber]

Depends whether it was a formal warning, did you sign anything?

[rojo86]

yep piece of paper which states that if you continue this conduct you could be prosecuted under Harrasment Act.
The following are not convictions, cautions, final warnings or reprimands and will not be disclosed on a standard DBS check. As local records, they may be disclosed on an enhanced DBS check at the discretion of the Chief Constable:

Harassment warnings: only becomes a criminal matter if breached
Anti-social behaviour orders (ASBOs): only becomes a criminal matter if breached
Community resolution orders
Cannabis warnings (usually issued on the street)
Fixed penalty notices (FPNs)
Penalty notices for disorder (PNDs)(http://www.nacro.org.uk/what-we-do/rese ... NAP.html#8)

Other cautions or warnings
These do not form part of an individual’s Police National Computer record and do not need to be disclosed:

Verbal/street warnings
Harassment warnings
Cannabis warnings
Cautions issued by authorities other than the police (e.g. local council). (http://www.nacro.org.uk/what-we-do/rese ... NAP.html#8)

[Amber]

See also, Nationality Policy Guidance and Casework Instruction Chapter 18, Annex D: The Good Character Requirement (click).

[rojo86]

It says
A caution (simple or conditional), warning or reprimand are all examples of an “out of court
disposal that are recorded on a person‟s criminal record” (i.e. line 4 in Table 2.1).

mine is not a conviction not even on pnc why would they consider it? am i eligible to apply?
Thanks

[Amber]

It would depend if the warning you received was treated as an out of court disposal.

[amazer_nu]

Hi,
Can any one give me the suggestions about my naturalisation application!! I am about to apply for naturalisation and I had on alert on my credit file saying that I have been issued a CCJ with my previous address. I actually moved out of that house 10 months back and I didn't know that there has been proceedings for ccj. But on the last day of 30 days judgement period I managed to contact the bank and cleared the full amount and they said they will inform the court that the amount has been settled within the time limit so that it won't go into the records. When I called the CCBC they said the same thing that it won't go into the register as its been paid within the time period which was yesterday. I am planning to apply for naturalisation next week. Here my question is do I need to mention that CCJ on my form even though it is cleared within a month... or can I tick 'No' to the question 3.8 that says 'do you have any civil judgements against you or any civil penalty under the uk'. as it wont be recorded in the register. Can any one give me a suggestion please... Many Thanks..raj

[Amber]

Declare it and provide proof it's settled.

[amazer_nu]

Thanks for the quick reply. Another small doubt, if we declare CCJ and if Home Office didn't find that CCJ in records (as its been settled within the time period ) would that effect my application under good character section. Regards raj..

[Amber]

No.

[melina1989]

Hi,
My question/ need for advice pertains to my husband. He got convicted (went to court, paid a 300 pound fine, 6 points on his license was disqualified, but was not banned so he immediately reapplied for his license and was licensed again in a month). His conviction was in May 31 2011 for driving without insurance (IN10). It's his only conviction; he's a soldier in the British army (since June 2009) and wants to apply for British citizenship. What are the chances he will be successful? Am I correct to think that since his conviction was 3 years ago this May then he will be successful, if we were to proceed now with his application? Thanks for the advice.

[Amber]

He should be successful, the conviction will need declaring.

[melina1989]

Thanks for the quick reply. Yes we will declare it. We will go ahead then. Fingers crossed

[kareemelgamed]

Hi there
I would appreciate your help with my decision that I need to make.
Am due to apply for the citizenship in august
But earlier this year I committed a traffic offence by unlawfully using a disabled person badge in relation to park my vehicle it was a big mistake and I regret it
I went to court they gave me a fine I paid the fine
But I still don't know how bad will that affect my application and if it worth it to apply in time this year or do I need to wait
I know its a tricky one cuz it's not mentioned anywhere but I would appreciate any help or advice
Thank you

[melina1989]

I think since this is classed as a non custodial offence, meaning you did not go to prison but you went to court and you were convicted -plus you paid a fine as a result , I would wait 3 years from the conviction date. If you apply now there's a good chance you won't be successful. If you do decide to apply -whether now or in 3 years time, you must declare this conviction because they will find out anyway; concealing this information is classed as deception and will cause your application to be denied and or barr you from applying again for another 10 years, amongst other punishment.

[mrsmcha]

Hi Amber,

My partner accepted a caution in April 2011 for assault on a constable which we declared in his application submitted in June this year. I've been scouring this website to see if anyone has had their application rejected as a result of a caution for assault and I can't find any. He also received a FPN for being on his mobile while driving in 2008 but the NCS said we didn't need to declare it. Have you heard of anyone having their application rejected for a violent caution? I know its too late now as we've already submitted it (wish I'd found this forum first) but I'm so anxious.

Oh and he's been here since he was 10 (18 years ago) and received his indefinite when he was 15.

Any advice would be highly appreciated.

Thanks in advance

[Amber]

He should be ok.

[Starlite]

I recently applied for citizenship having been granted ILR. However since my application was submitted one of my referees has been charged with a criminal offence and is awaiting trial. The case against them is weak but what happens if they get convicted and can I change the referee after submitting the application?

[LukeSkywalker]

Hi all,

Registered just now sorry if I am writing this to the wrong place I was arrested on suspicion of misunderstanding back in 2010 and released after about 1-2 hours later after given fingerprints and had a chat with a senior police officer, in the first year when I came to the London to study English before going up north to Scotland to do masters. What happened was that I put my bike with pictures on gumtree trying to sell my Scott USA bike, no longer manufactured in the US very good bike, to upgrade and I had a call from a guy asking if he can see the bike and met him after about an hour and the guy turned out to be the original owner of the bike and the bike found to be stolen. Well obviously I didn't steel it, I bought it from a guy on gumtree in the first place. I bought and sold several bikes after. I am an avid cyclist and planning to buy a Cannondale super six in the near future So my question is would this be any of an issue if I ever wanted to become a British Citizen?

Many thanks in advance.