Top 3 Tips to apply for British Citizenship

What you need to think about before you apply for British citizenship

In our video, Spencer Bienvenue, a Trainee Solicitor in Gherson’s immigration team, talks about how absences and criminal convictions including driving fines can affect your application, as well as what you need to check in relation to your original nationality.

Here are Gherson’s top three tips:

1. Have an accurate record of your absences from the UK. Whether you are required to evidence a five-year period of residency with absences of no more than 450 days within that period, or you are married to a British national and are required to evidence a three-year period of residency with no more than 270 days of absences in that period, be sure that you have an accurate understanding of these dates before beginning the process, as this will dictate much of the application process. Additionally, for both categories, you should have no more than 90 days of absences in the final 12 months of your relevant residency period.
2. The good character requirement is quite far-reaching, it includes any criminal and civil convictions anywhere in the world. It also includes parking fines, traffic offences, or fixed penalties, and even issues such as parking tickets. You should disclose all of these in your application. If you do not, and the UK authorities uncover them during their evaluation process, they may refuse your application.
3. Before beginning the process, be sure you have checked with the relevant authorities from the country of your current nationality that dual citizenship is permitted. Not all countries allow dual citizenship, or if they do, they may require you to obtain official permission before applying for a second or third nationality. It is your responsibility to comply with the legal requirements of your current nationality before making an application for British nationality.

How Gherson can assist

Gherson’s Immigration Team are highly experienced in advising on UK visa matters. If you have any questions arising from this blog, please do not hesitate to contact us for advice, send us an e-mail, or, alternatively, follow us on Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn to stay-up-to-date.

The information in this blog is for general information purposes only and does not purport to be comprehensive or to provide legal advice. Whilst every effort is made to ensure the information and law is current as of the date of publication it should be stressed that, due to the passage of time, this does not necessarily reflect the present legal position. Gherson accepts no responsibility for loss which may arise from accessing or reliance on information contained in this blog. For formal advice on the current law please do not hesitate to contact Gherson. Legal advice is only provided pursuant to a written agreement, identified as such, and signed by the client and by or on behalf of Gherson.

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