Citizenship good character requirement and non-permitted work during Student Visa

[nadr_b]

Hi all,

In 2019, me and my partner did some courier work with Just Eat not knowing it was self employment and non permitted under Tier 4 visa rules. we only did it for 3 months or so. They had even accepted our applications directly without issues. We didn’t use a proxy account or anything. We never suspected it was self employment.

We recently got ILR through 5 year skilled worker and dependant.

Should this be declared in my citizenship application and will it be refused because of it?

We have not broken any rules since.

[contorted_svy]

I don't know if this is something that, if declared, would have led to refusal of your ILR - you'd need to ask in the relevant subforum.

For citizenship,

Immigration breaches
An immigration breach is where a person has failed to comply with immigration requirements, for example:

failing to comply with conditions attached to a grant of permission to enter or stay in the UK
accessing public funds when prohibited from doing so
failing to report without reasonable excuse, when required to do so
assisting illegal immigration
working in the UK without permission to do so (illegal working)
hiring illegal workers
failing to comply with the requirements of the Immigration (European Economic Area) Regulations 2016 (EEA Regulations 2016), as saved
Failing to comply with immigration requirements within the 10 years before the date of decision will normally be a reason to refuse an application for British citizenship on the grounds of not meeting the good character requirement.

Abuse of immigration requirements may also occur if a person enters or remains in the UK for a purpose other than that for which they were given leave to enter or remain. For example, where a person is found to be working full time in the UK having entered the UK as a Tier 4 student and having failed to undertake or complete the course of study for which the leave was given.

I would advise you wait until 2029 as what you did is classified as illegal working and if it came to light it would lead to a refusal as you did it in the last 10 years.

[nadr_b]

I am aware that this is technically a breach, however it is such a minor issue in which I was genuinely non-aware and it was very brief. I was mostly busy with my studies.

In hindsight it was shady because of how easily they accepted my application. But in the years since it never came about and I haven't done anything else wrong and have been very diligent. Could this be overlooked if I declare it and explain my situation. I certainly did not kill anyone or come to the UK to work illegally.

[razergd1]

Did you adhere to the time limit on your visa?

The self-employed bit can be questioned.
Technically, if you work for a single employer and that employer controls the when, what how you do your work and there is mutual obligation for the working hours then generally you are an employee.

Did you submit tax return for that work? How did you get paid?

[contorted_svy]

I am aware that this is technically a breach, however it is such a minor issue in which I was genuinely non-aware and it was very brief. I was mostly busy with my studies.

In hindsight it was shady because of how easily they accepted my application. But in the years since it never came about and I haven't done anything else wrong and have been very diligent. Could this be overlooked if I declare it and explain my situation. I certainly did not kill anyone or come to the UK to work illegally.

It doesn't matter that in was in good faith and that in your opinion it wasn't so serious - the guidance states what I pasted above and it is up to the HO to make their own rules. It is up to you whether you choose to apply.
There is no discretion on the guidance relating to good character. The safest option is to wait 5 more years, or you can apply anyway if you wish.

[mmicky5050]

I am not advising you to lie, just wondering how will they ever find out? At most, they have under an hour to go through your application. Unless, this got flagged automatically during HMRC checks, how will anyone ever find out?

[contorted_svy]

This is not up to us to know. If OP have somehow been registered by the company as a contractor HMRC may have records on them.

[nadr_b]

That’s true, sometimes HMRC can have a record even if you never actively registered yourself. Such as a company reported you as a contractor, those details can end up linked to your NI number. They also get information from banks and such.

But in this case we are talking about 2019 Just Eat who we know now were exploiting the system. I thought I did my due diligeance when I ask them if they employed Tier 4 Visa holders and they said yes. Stupid me assumed it was all fine. I started working before my NI number arrived and I'm not sure I ever had the chance to give it to them since I stopeed working for them possibly before it arrived.

In the end, the only way to know for sure is to check what’s on HMRC systems through an official route like a Subject Access Request or phoning the Helpline. If it comes up clean then I don't see how the HO would know but I guess that would be a risky undertaking and not worth the hassle.

[contorted_svy]

Ultimately it is up to OP to decide if they want to gamble the money of the naturalisation application.

[lolo2]

I started working before my NI number arrived and I'm not sure I ever had the chance to give it to them since I stopeed working for them possibly before it arrived.

How did you start working without a NI number?

I'm genuinely curious, I also came to the UK with a student visa, and when I applied for part-time jobs in 2018 I was not allowed to start working without a NI number.

[zxyzhgp]

You can.
They can issue you a temporary NI number

[nadr_b]

Ultimately it is up to OP to decide if they want to gamble the money of the naturalisation application.

I am not at all worried about the money, it is a refusal with a 10-year ban from further application that would be soul crushing.

[contorted_svy]

Unfortunately that is difficult to predict. You may want to consult a solicitor to pick their brain.