More than 90 days absence in last 12 months before applying for British citizenship

[Shoaib_msd]

Hi board members,

I need some advise on good character requirement for naturalisation application please.
I recently been granted settle status under Surinder Singh and now want to apply for British citizenship but not sure if I meet good character requirement.

I first came to UK in 2005 as a student and in 2009 my student visa extension application was refused due to deception and I was served with IS151A form. I then left UK voluntarily in July 2010 with one year re- entry ban on any future entry clearance applications.I then got married in 2011 and I applied for spouse visa in June 2011. I did declare all UK immigration history in my application however it was refused under 320 7B as 1 year period was not passed. I applied again in August 2011 but it was rejected again. My wife then appealed in UK but it was also rejected.

So in 2015 I applied for EEA family permit as my wife moved to Europe to excercise treaty rights and it was granted and then EEA2 was issued in 2015 as well for 5 years and now I have been granted settle status.

My understanding is if I apply in July 2020 the 10 years period starts from July 2010 and as I left UK in July 2010, I will meet good character requirement. But my question is whether those 2 entry clearance applications, made in 2011 for spouse visa , which were rejected will have any impact on this 10 years period and can it cause any complication in good character requirement. Also I must add I did mention in both applications about my immigration history and no wrong information was provided.

Can you please share your understanding of the above matter please. Thanks

[Djsuccess]

Hi board members,

I need some advise on good character requirement for naturalisation application please.
I recently been granted settle status under Surinder Singh and now want to apply for British citizenship but not sure if I meet good character requirement.

I first came to UK in 2005 as a student and in 2009 my student visa extension application was refused due to deception and I was served with IS151A form. I then left UK voluntarily in July 2010 with one year re- entry ban on any future entry clearance applications.I then got married in 2011 and I applied for spouse visa in June 2011. I did declare all UK immigration history in my application however it was refused under 320 7B as 1 year period was not passed. I applied again in August 2011 but it was rejected again. My wife then appealed in UK but it was also rejected.

So in 2015 I applied for EEA family permit as my wife moved to Europe to excercise treaty rights and it was granted and then EEA2 was issued in 2015 as well for 5 years and now I have been granted settle status.

My understanding is if I apply in July 2020 the 10 years period starts from July 2010 and as I left UK in July 2010, I will meet good character requirement. But my question is whether those 2 entry clearance applications, made in 2011 for spouse visa , which were rejected will have any impact on this 10 years period and can it cause any complication in good character requirement. Also I must add I did mention in both applications about my immigration history and no wrong information was provided.

Can you please share your understanding of the above matter please. Thanks

In recent cases, I think it is 10 years from when you made a successful application. If this is the case, you might have to wait till 2025

[London22]

Hi board members,

I need some advise on good character requirement for naturalisation application please.
I recently been granted settle status under Surinder Singh and now want to apply for British citizenship but not sure if I meet good character requirement.

I first came to UK in 2005 as a student and in 2009 my student visa extension application was refused due to deception and I was served with IS151A form. I then left UK voluntarily in July 2010 with one year re- entry ban on any future entry clearance applications.I then got married in 2011 and I applied for spouse visa in June 2011. I did declare all UK immigration history in my application however it was refused under 320 7B as 1 year period was not passed. I applied again in August 2011 but it was rejected again. My wife then appealed in UK but it was also rejected.

So in 2015 I applied for EEA family permit as my wife moved to Europe to excercise treaty rights and it was granted and then EEA2 was issued in 2015 as well for 5 years and now I have been granted settle status.

My understanding is if I apply in July 2020 the 10 years period starts from July 2010 and as I left UK in July 2010, I will meet good character requirement. But my question is whether those 2 entry clearance applications, made in 2011 for spouse visa , which were rejected will have any impact on this 10 years period and can it cause any complication in good character requirement. Also I must add I did mention in both applications about my immigration history and no wrong information was provided.

Can you please share your understanding of the above matter please. Thanks

Hi Shoaib
I think you should apply now &will hopefully be granted citizenship as refusal of old applications doesn't directly have a link with good character .It would be intelligent to seek legal advise from an intelligent lawyer.

[Shoaib_msd]

Thanks London 22 and Djsucess for your input.

Djsucess I understand your point but my understanding of the good character guidance is that if an applicant has in the last 10 years prior to submitting their citizenship application has breached any of the immigration rules IN UK, they will not meet good character requirement.

In my case I left UK in July 2010 and since then I was not present in UK until 2015 when I received my EEA family permit and was not in any breach of immigration rules between 2010 to 2015 so I don’t think home office can refuse my application on good character basis but as you said in recent cases, can you please share the links so that u can look into the case history as well please?

Thanks

[Djsuccess]

Thanks London 22 and Djsucess for your input.

Djsucess I understand your point but my understanding of the good character guidance is that if an applicant has in the last 10 years prior to submitting their citizenship application has breached any of the immigration rules IN UK, they will not meet good character requirement.

In my case I left UK in July 2010 and since then I was not present in UK until 2015 when I received my EEA family permit and was not in any breach of immigration rules between 2010 to 2015 so I don’t think home office can refuse my application on good character basis but as you said in recent cases, can you please share the links so that u can look into the case history as well please?

Thanks

Here is a similar case
british-citizenship/application-refused ... l#p1883493

[Shoaib_msd]

Thanks a lot Djsucess.

This is very similar to my case. In above case the applicant left UK voluntarily at his own expense on July 2013 and in this case HO impose one year re entry ban so in my understanding that is why in the refusal letter they asked applicant to apply on 2 July 2024. It would have been helpful if applicant would have put the day as well of his departure.

But what makes it confusing is that the applicant got his appeal allowed on 01 July 2014 so this will leave some thinking HO relied on the actual entry clearance application date.

Because applicant leaving date and appeal approval dates are in July, it makes it difficult to understand how HO decided to go with 2 July 2024 date.

This is only my understanding, correct me if am wrong please.

[Shoaib_msd]

Hi All,

I have a query regarding excess absence in last 12 months before applying for british citizenship. I have been granted settled status on 25 August 2019 under Surinder Singh route. I was eligible to apply for British citizenship straightway as my wife is a British national. However due to work transfer, I had to move to slovakia on 4 September 2019 and I returned back to UK on 27 January 2020. It was nearly 5 months I was outside of UK, however since then I have been living continuously in UK till now.

Now I have been living in UK for more than 9 months so my question is can I apply now as we are allowed to stay 90 days outside of UK and since 27 January 2020, I have been living in UK for more than 9 months OR do I need to wait until 27 January 2021 to apply for British citizenship?

Please suggest.

[CULLINAN]

You should not have more than 270 days outside UK in the last 3 years and no more than 90 days outside UK in the last year.
HO is strict when it comes to last 1 year absences. Normally 90-100 days are disregarded. See Page 12:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.u ... uly_20.pdf