Becoming a British citizen is a major event in anyone’s life. This is because a British citizen can not only apply for a British passport, but also vote in local or national elections, stand for public office, and participate more fully in their local community’s life.  It is a privilege to become a British citizen.

You can be a British citizen by birth, or you may be able to acquire citizenship through naturalisation or registration as well. If you are an adult aged 18 or over with immigration status such as ILR (Indefinite Leave to Remain), ILE (Indefinite Leave to Enter), or Settled status under the EUSS (EU Settlement Scheme), you can apply for naturalisation after holding your ILR, ILE, or settled status for at least one year. On the other hand, if you are a Spouse (husband/wife) or civil partner of a British citizen, you can apply for naturalisation immediately after receiving ILR. 

Naturalisation is not an entitlement that you have but a matter of law as set out in the BNA (British Nationality Act) 1981. The Home Secretary may exercise discretion to naturalise you only if you satisfy a number of statutory requirements. The Home Secretary may, in particular, refuse to grant naturalisation where you meet the statutory requirements, but granting you citizenship would not be in the public interest. For example, the Home Secretary may decide to refuse your application where granting it could result in having an adverse impact on international relations.

Who qualifies for naturalisation?

Only if you are an adult aged 18 and over can you apply to naturalise as a British citizen. If you are under 18, you may be registered as a British citizen instead if you fulfil the relevant criteria. If you are under 18 (a child), you can make your application at the same time as an adult (your parent(s)) apply to naturalise. You must also be of ‘good character’ and ‘sound mind’. 

The “good character” requirement is a key rule used by the UK Home Office when deciding British citizenship applications (naturalisation and most child registrations over age 10). The requirement is to ensure that you follow the law, are honest in your dealings, do not pose a risk to the public, and have complied with UK immigration rules.

A sound mind is required to ensure that you have the capacity to understand the implications of your decision to naturalise as a British citizen. UKVI may use its discretion to overlook this requirement in certain circumstances, where they believe that doing so is in your best interests. An individual (A) applying on behalf of a person (P) who is not of sound mind and for whom A is responsible, A should, when they apply, submit relevant details of the medical condition of P and of their own role as their caregiver. 

The requirements to naturalise as a British citizen differ slightly if you are applying based on your marriage to, or civil partnership with, a British citizen.

Naturalisation and ‘Good Character’ requirement

The good character requirement for naturalisation applies to you if you are aged 10 or over when you apply for British citizenship. Good character national policy guidance sets out the types of your conduct that must be taken into account when assessing whether you have met the requirement to be of good character.

When you are seeking naturalisation, you will not normally be considered to be of good character by the UKVI if there is information to suggest that any of the following apply:

• If you have not respected (in the past) or are not prepared to abide by the UK immigration and wider law, for example, you have been convicted of a crime in the UK or overseas, or reasonable grounds exist to suspect, which means it is more likely than not, you have been involved in a crime

• If you have been involved in or associated with acts like terrorism, genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, or other actions that are considered as being non-conducive to the public good

• If your financial affairs have been poor - for example, you have accrued significant debt or failed to pay taxes you were liable for 

• If you are of notorious behaviour and cast serious doubt on your standing in your local and wider community

• If you have been deliberately dishonest or have used deception in your dealings with the UK government, for example, you have made a false claim to receive benefits

• If you have breached any immigration laws, for example, you overstayed your immigration permission in the UK 

• If you have previously been deprived of British citizenship

Please note that the list mentioned above is a non-exhaustive one.

If you do not clearly fall into one of the categories mentioned above, but there are still doubts about your character, UKVI may still refuse your application to naturalise. You may also be requested to attend an interview for an overall assessment.

There are some exceptions to the illegal entry for example you came in the UK as a child or were a victim of trafficking, etc. 

How to assess criminality for naturalisation applications made on or after 31 July 2023?

Criminality is the starting point of the assessment of your good character. If you apply for naturalisation on or after 31 July 2023, you will normally be refused by the Home Office if you:

• Have received no less than 12 months’ single custodial sentence in the UK or overseas

• Have consecutive sentences of no less than 12 months in total in the UK or outside of it

• Are a persistent offender (you have committed multiple offences over time, even if each offence is minor, the pattern matters), having a particular disregard for the law

• Have committed an offence in the UK or overseas which has caused serious harm, for example, physical harm (violence, assault), financial harm (fraud, large-scale scams), or psychological harm (harassment, coercion)

• Have committed a sexual offence (major safeguarding risk) or the police have recorded your details on a register like the Sex Offenders Register

Suppose one of the refusal categories mentioned above is triggered in your case. In such a situation, a caseworker can then move to consider whether an “exceptional grant” to you is suitable if there are mitigating circumstances.

You, on the other hand, must be refused naturalisation on the basis of the ‘good character’ requirement if you have received:

• A custodial sentence that is of less than 1 year

• A non-custodial sentence - you were convicted of an offence, but you were not sent to prison (for example, a suspended prison sentence), or an out-of-court disposal was recorded on your criminal record

And on the balance of probabilities, the case worker is not satisfied that you are of good character.

The new guidance in 2025 on British citizenship through naturalisation, the ‘Good Character’ requirement

If you make an application for British citizenship after 10 February 2025 that includes your illegal entry to the UK, your application will ‘normally’ be refused, regardless of when you made the illegal entry.

Previously illegal entry that had occurred in the preceding 10 years could be disregarded by the Home Office when considering a naturalisation application, where you had been granted ILR (also known as ‘settlement’) and no concerns regarding your character had come up since you were granted settlement.

How can Visa and Migration help?

Naturalisation is a process to obtain British citizenship if you are in the UK, aged 18 or over, and hold ILR or EUSS - Settled status. Along with the other requirements, such as passing the ‘Life in the UK’ test, you must also meet a critical requirement known as the ‘good character’ requirement.

We assess whether you can qualify for this requirement, and if there are any minor issues, we can help you address them so that UKVI may grant you citizenship.

For expert advice and queries on naturalisation and ‘Good Character’ requirement, you can call us at +44 (0)20 3411 1261 or write to info@visaandmigration.com