Criminal records may not necessarily be a reason for refusal of your ILR and citizenship applications, but they may definitely impact both applications. Hence, you must disclose your criminal record to the UKVI in the first place. Honesty is the best policy.
Indefinite leave to remain and becoming British citizens are both in a way privilege the United Kingdom offers for people who have been in the UK for a long time and meet the relevant requirements of the Immigration Rules or the British Nationality Act 1981.
Criminality covered under both the immigration rules and also under the ‘good character’ requirement for British citizenship. Not having a criminal background is essential for both ILR and citizenship applications. A criminal record can be from a simple caution to imprisonment.
The serious the criminality the greater impact it has on your application for either ILR or British citizen means that you have not respected or are not prepared to abide by the law. For example, you have been convicted of a crime in the UK or overseas, and hence you have received a custodial sentence for a certain period, or you have been involved in crime. For an ILR application, a criminal record refers to any convictions in the past, cautions, or police records that indicate an individual has committed a crime. The Home Office, when deciding whether to grant ILR, will assess the severity and nature of the offense, as well as the time elapsed since the offense.
If you have been involved in a criminal activity (in the UK or overseas) for which you have been convicted or there is a pending decision on the conviction, you must disclose it to the UKVI before you apply for ILR or citizenship. You may have received a custodial or non-custodial sentence. The Home Office treats any overseas conviction or non-custodial sentence in the same way as one imposed in the UK. The Home Office will assess the severity of the crime committed and the length of the custodial or non-custodial sentence. Depending on these factors, they may or must refuse your application.
You will need to disclose all offences and penalties thereafter from both the UK and other countries. The ILR application form will make clear where you must disclose criminality. You will also be warned that if you fail to declare any criminality, it may lead to a refusal or be considered as false representation. Anything material must be disclosed in an application; otherwise, it could result in an allegation of deception, for which you may face a 10-year ban from the UK.
The Home Office must refuse your ILR application if applications made before 01 December 2020:
If you are applying after 01 December 2020 then your application must be refused if you have been convicted of a criminal offence in the UK or overseas for which you received 12 months or more. The risk of refusal continues even if you are a persistent offender or have committed offences which cased serious harm.
The criminality issues also continue into suitability requirement and you can be considered not conducive to public good.
You also must disclose all non-custodial sentences and out-of-court disposals on the application form. The Home Office must refuse an ILR application if the applicant's criminal record within the 24 months preceding the date of decision of the application decision shows that they have received a non-custodial sentence or other out-of-court disposal.
If you are going through court proceedings for criminal offence, you should declare this on the application. This will allow the decision-maker to take this into account.
Demonstrating ‘good character’ to the Home Office is an important requirement for them to evaluate your naturalization application. This assessment encompasses various factors, out of which criminal convictions are a critical one.
As per the current guidelines, effective from 31 July 2023, if you have received a custodial sentence of 12 months or more, irrespective of when or where the crime occurred, the Home Office will normally refuse your British citizenship. It’s important to note that the Home Office will assess your application based on the total length of the sentence you received, not the time you actually served. Additionally, unless the behavior in question would not be considered an offense under UK law, these rules apply equally to convictions from both within the UK and abroad.
You should provide full disclosure of all criminal convictions, including those that occurred overseas, as part of your naturalization application. If you fail to do so, it may result in the refusal of your application on the grounds of deception.
The general rule of thumb about a criminal conviction and your citizenship application is that you should make a full disclosure, including pending convictions. You may face multiple issues if you fail to disclose criminal convictions. Some of those issues are the following:
You should note that the Home Office can deprive an individual of British citizenship even if they discover deception later after the citizenship process has concluded, under BNA 1981 section 40.
Our ILR and British citizenship application services address all issues, including criminal records. Our caseworkers generally consider applicants as a whole, looking at their criminal records to make an assessment of whether they meet the good character requirement for citizenship and ILR.
The good character, especially the criminal record, is a complex and evolving area. Our UK immigration specialists have the experience and expertise in handling your circumstances. If you are concerned about the impact of a criminal conviction on your ILR or British citizenship application, you can contact us at +44 (0)20 3411 1261.
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