Category: British Citizenship

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Refugees prevented from being granted citizenship

February 11, 2025: Refugees prevented from being granted citizenship – Refugee Council response

The Home Office published updated guidance yesterday that seems to prevent anyone from being granted citizenship if they arrived in the UK through a dangerous journey. You can see more in this guidanceOpens in a new window and the reference, on page 51, to those arriving by small boat.

In response to this news, Enver Solomon, CEO of the Refugee Council, said: 

“This change flies in the face of reason. The British public want refugees who have been given safety in our country to integrate into and contribute to their new communities, so it makes no sense for the Government to erect more barriers.

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Good character guidance amended to block refugees from naturalisation

11 February 2025: Freemovement: Good character guidance amended to block refugees from naturalisation

There have been some important additions to pages 50 and 51 of the Good Character guidance (a comparison of the new and old versions is here) that have the potential to block a large number of refugees from naturalising as British citizens, effective immediately. This is described in the changes section as a “clarification” rather than a change, although the fact that it is to be applied to applications made from 10 February 2025 seems to undermine this somewhat.

This has been added to page 50:

Any person applying for citizenship from 10 February 2025, who previously entered the UK illegally will normally be refused, regardless of the time that has passed since the illegal entry took place.

Any person applying for citizenship before 10 February 2025 where illegal entry is a factor, will continue to have their application reviewed to determine whether that immigration breach should be disregarded for the purpose of the character assessment.

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