British Citizenship & Naturalisation

Key areas of work undertaken include:

British Citizenship and Naturalisation

Naturalisation and Registration are the two main ways of applying for British Citizenship. Complications may occur if an applicant is unable to fully fulfil the residence requirement or the good character requirement. This is particularly in view of Section 140 and 141 of the Legal Aid Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 which came into force on 1 October 2013. This excludes immigration or nationality decision making from the operation of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. This means that no conviction is ever treated as spent for immigration and nationality purposes. In some instances, it may be possible for the Secretary of State to exercise discretion in accordance with the terms of their policies to waive some of the residence requirement.

British Citizenship Applications by EEA nationals and their family members, and by A8 and A2 Nationals

Naturalisation is the main way in which EEA nationals and their family members, as well as A8 and A2 nationals can apply for British Citizenship. Under EU law, the right of residence exists irrespective of possession of any residence document. There is therefore no need for permanent residence to be evidenced by the possession of a permanent residence card or a document certifying permanent residence before applying for naturalisation.

This type of application involves detailed analysis of the documentary evidence and advice on whether the EEA national and their family members or A8 and A2 nationals have acquired permanent residence through residing and exercising their Treaty rights in the UK for a consecutive period of 5 years in accordance with Directive 2004/38 and the EEA Regulations 2006. For A8 nationals, there is the additional complexity of whether the applicant fulfilled the requirements of the Workers Registration Scheme, which ended on 30 April 2011. Similar complexity applies to A2 nationals who had to apply for an accession workers card before commencing employment.