Refusal of British citizenship – reconsideration application
Appeal from British citizenship refusal is not available; however, there is an option to request review of the refusal decision by submitting reconsideration application. There are specific rules on how Home Office will assess such requests and what cases may qualify. .
Long term goal of many migrants moving to the UK is to ultimately obtain British citizenship otherwise called naturalization. The standard procedures require being in the UK continuously for at least 5 years to obtain Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) permanent residence. Subsequently they usually have to wait for 1 year to then submit citizenship. There other requirements to meet including good character.
Most common reasons for naturalisation British citizenship refusal
The most common reason for refusal is not meeting the good character requirements. Good character relates to applicant’s immigration history, criminal history, debts including council tax debt, CCJs, bankruptcy, company liquidations, etc.
The rules relating to good character criminality became stricter on 31st July 2023. The new approach is very different. In the new Good Character guidance there is no clear provision for discarding previous criminal convictions from the consideration for the citizenship irrespective how long ago was the offence. That means, simply speaking, that any sentence or criminal matter that the applicant had in the past will be taken into account in the good character assessment. No matter how long ago it was received.
Other common reason for refusal of British citizenship is failure to disclose relevant information which constitutes deception. To illustrate this, frequently applicants fail to reveal their previous negative immigration history or criminal conviction(s).
Another reason is exceeding permitted absences from the UK. Exceeding the allowed absence limits does not always mean that the application will be refused automatically. Exceeding the limits by 30 days or less falls into the Home Office discretion. Unless there are other reasons for refusal caseworker should overlook excessive absences up to 30 days. Those with higher numbers of days absent will need to consider their case carefully in light of the law before submitting their naturalisation application.
How applications for British citizenship are assessed
Applications for British citizenship come in two types. The first are entitlements to register as a British citizen. These include all applications from adults who already hold some sort of British nationality to apply for British citizenship. It also includes applications from minor children (under age 18) who have British parents or were born in the UK and are eligible to apply for British citizenship. The second group are those applicants who are applying for discretion to naturalise or those children who do not have an entitlement to apply but have established enough connections with the UK to comply with the Home Secretary’s policy on the exercise of discretion to grant citizenship to minors
Once enquiries and checks have been completed, applications are considered according to the following questions:
1. Are the statutory requirements set out in the British Nationality Act 1981 met? If not
2. Is there discretion not to apply the requirement or to vary the extent to which it is applied? If so
3. Are the additional criteria set out in the Home Secretary’s policy on the exercise of discretion met? If not
4. Has the Home Secretary previously granted citizenship to someone outside of the policy in the same circumstances? If not
5. Are the circumstances sufficiently compelling and different from others that have been refused to justify consideration to grant and create a further precedent?
Reconsideration of decisions to refuse British citizenship – Application procedure and fees
To ask Home Office for reconsideration of refusal of British citizenship you will have to complete a prescribed application form and pay £450 fee. The fees regularly change so you need to check what the fee is at the date of your application. There is no specific deadline set out for submission of reconsideration request application; however, you should aim to do it as soon as it is possible.
Who may apply for reconsideration of British citizenship refusal
It is up to the applicant to demonstrate that they do satisfy the requirements or additional criteria, or merit exceptional consideration. It is not for the Home Secretary to prove that they do not meet the requirements. If they cannot be satisfied that the requirements are met, then they are bound by law to refuse the application. Applications are not kept under constant review and a fresh application and fee must be submitted if an unsuccessful applicant wishes to become British. Home Office may reopen applications where:
• have not used the correct requirements or criteria to decide the application
• refused your application for lack of a response to enquiries when a response had been received but not linked with the application
• decided your application without allowing sufficient time for a response or completion of enquiries
• refused your application on character grounds due to a criminal conviction which was either later quashed on appeal or involved a case of mistaken identity (you were not the person convicted of the offence)
• have failed to take account of relevant documents or information in our possession This is not an exhaustive list.
When Home Office will not normally re-open refused application
Home Office will not normally re-open your application if it was refused because you did not respond to enquiries or arrange a citizenship ceremony, including if this was because of a mistake by the person representing you. However, we may decide to do so in exceptionally compelling circumstances (for example, if you did not receive our correspondence because of an unexpected absence or illness).
Home Office will not reconsider on grounds of:
• long residence, where the statutory requirements are not met
• convenience of holding a British passport for business or other reasons, but the requirements were not met • cultural reasons or reasons connected with ancestry
• past service in the armed forces.
