Home Office guidance on Nationality: good character requirement was updated on Monday to clarify that citizenship applications that include illegal entry will normally be refused, regardless of when the illegal entry occurred.
The Good Character guidance explains the rules that Home Office staff use to assess whether someone applying for British citizenship (sometimes referred to as ‘naturalisation’) has met the ‘good character requirement’. This means that they do not have a history of behaviour resulting in things like criminal convictions, immigration breaches, etc.
Any person applying for British Nationality from 10 February 2025, who previously entered the UK illegally will normally be refused, regardless of the time that has passed since the illegal entry took place. A person who applies for citizenship from 10 February 2025 who has previously arrived without a required valid entry clearance or electronic travel authorisation, having made a dangerous journey will normally be refused citizenship.
Previously an immigration breach would normally result in refusal of citizenship for 10 years after the last breach. The guidance now states that arriving in the UK “illegally” would “normally” mean they do not meet the “good character” requirement for British citizenship, regardless how long has elapsed since they entered the country illegally.
Many refugees are right to be concerned, as despite being granted asylum or Humanitarian Protection, they are now prohibited from ever reaching the final destination: British citizenship. The guidance does state that applications should ‘normally’ be refused, which allows us to believe some discretion may be exercised, potentially where applicants have been granted refugee status or Humanitarian Protection, and had no choice but to make such dangerous journeys. The guidance proceeds to explain that an ‘exceptional grant’ of citizenship may be appropriate in certain circumstances.