Government changes the rules on citizenship applications

On 10 February 2025, the Home Office amended its guidance on how it assesses whether someone is of ‘good character’ to be granted naturalisation as a British citizen.

A comparison of the previous guidance and the new guidance published on 10 February 2025 is available here.

The main change affects people who entered or arrived in the United Kingdom ‘illegally’. The guidance now says that for anyone applying for naturalisation from 10 February 2025, if they entered or arrived in the UK illegally, however long ago this happened, ‘normally’ their application
will be refused.

Under the previous good character policy (in place since June 2022), illegal entry and other immigration breaches relating to lawful residence that had occurred in the preceding 10 years could be disregarded by the Home Office when considering the naturalisation application, where the person had been granted indefinite leave to remain and no concerns regarding the person’s character had arisen since the grant of settlement.

Also, it had been Home Office’s practice to disregard illegal entry where the person was considered to have ‘come directly’ from the place where they fled persecution. This reflects Article 31 of the Refugee Convention, which says that refugees should not be penalised for breaching immigration
laws where they have come directly from a place where they fear persecution.

The amended guidance contains no reference to Article 31. Nor does it refer to Article 34 of the Refugee Convention, which says that states ‘shall so far as possible facilitate the assimilation and naturalisation of refugees’.

In Parliament the government has said that where people entered or arrived illegally apply for naturalisation on or after 10 February 2025, ‘the presumption is that they will be refused… unless there are compelling, mitigating circumstances’. It was also said that ‘children will be considered sympathetically’.

What should you do if you are affected by this policy?

We consider there are good arguments that the guidance published on 10 February 2025 is unlawful. We are discussing potential judicial review challenges with people. If you would like to discuss this informally with us, you can email public@wilsonllp.co.uk.

Our immigration team are also able to advise and assist people with naturalisation applications. Even if you have entered illegally, it may be possible to argue that this new rule should not apply to you – for example, if you arrived as a child, or you did not have a choice about how you travelled to the UK, or if there are reasons why you should be considered to meet the good character requirement even though you arrived in the UK illegally. If you would like to contact our immigration team about advice and assistance with a naturalisation application, you can email immigration@wilsonllp.co.uk.