British citizenship – illegal entrants – ‘dangerous journey’
Home Office has recently made changes to the Good character guidance for British citizenship applicants. In essence, the changes clarify that applications made after 10 February 2025 that include illegal entry will ‘normally’ be refused citizenship, regardless of when the illegal entry occurred.
The good character requirement applies to a person who is aged 10 or over at the date of application. Consideration must be given to all aspects of a person’s character, including both negative factors, for example criminality, immigration law breaches and deception, and positive factors, for example contributions a person has made to society. The list of factors is not exhaustive.
Illegal entry
Any person applying for citizenship 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. Any person applying for citizenship before 10 February 2025 where illegal entry is a factor, will continue to have their application reviewed to determine whether that immigration breach should be disregarded for the purpose of the character assessment.
Arriving having made a dangerous journey
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.
A dangerous journey includes, but is not limited to, travelling by small boat or concealed in a vehicle or other conveyance. It does not include, for example, arrival as a passenger with a commercial airline.
First legal challenge
The first legal challenge is being brought by a 21-year-old Afghan refugee who arrived in the UK aged 14, after fleeing the Taliban and being smuggled to Britain in the back of a lorry. He was granted refugee status and after five years was granted indefinite leave to remain. He was due to apply for British citizenship on 1 March.
House of Lords debate 12th February 2025
House of Lords debate took place on 12th February 2025 where Lord Hanson responded to questions from the Lords. Extracts from his responses are quoted below.
“My Lords, we have strengthened measures to ensure that anyone who entered the UK illegally faces having British citizenship refused. We take our international obligations very seriously, and the good character policy is compliant with those obligations. The Government will continue to consider positive factors, such as the contribution a person has made to society, as well as negative factors, such as breaches of immigration law. The policy provides for applications to be granted where mitigating circumstances mean it would be appropriate to do so.”
‘I am grateful to my noble friend for the work he did on citizenship when he was Home Secretary some years ago. He will know that the proposals today are about illegal entry to the United Kingdom and do not affect rightful citizenship applications for people who are entering legally. On those who are stateless and at risk of losing citizenship, there is a stateless leave provision for people who qualify, and they can apply for that; children will be considered sympathetically under existing legislation.’
‘People entering the United Kingdom or applying for asylum using a viable and legal route are not affected. Individuals who come here through illegal routes will be subject to the criteria in the guidance, which are that they can apply for British citizenship, but the presumption is that it will be refused unless they bring forward mitigating circumstances, which can be considered.’
