Good character questions

Hi all. I've recently been forming some questions regarding the good character requirement for citizenship. I felt bad for hijacking other people's threads, so I thought I'd start my own.

So I've already got ILR - which I was sure was also subject to the good character requirement. I remember when I was applying for it, there was a lot of discussions about old and recent speeding tickets. And it was said that if you get a speeding ticket in the UK w/in 2 years of applying for ILR or citizenship, then it would be denied as it would disqualify you based on the good character requirement. Also, just kind of basics of paying taxes and no problems with immigration or police.

So I was and still am really really careful about these things. And my old American traffic offenses, detailed in my ILR application, posed no problem for that or any application. But I've been seeing around the forum that the citizenship application usually poses more scrutiny for good character, and I was just hoping to get some advice for them.


-Not a single driving offense since being in the UK, just my old ones that made it through ILR. I did just remember that I had a very small fender bender in my mom's car while in America while my US license was still valid I think maybe 5 years ago. It was tiny and we knew each other, and it resulted because a stop sign was missing at an intersection, so it was handled privately with their and my parent's insurance. No police called, so nothing on my driving record or anything. I just paid my mom back for her excess. I don't remember if I put it on the ILR application. Should I include this for citizenship? Seems like it would end up being a very complicated explanation and I don't have any evidence for it.


- Student debt - . Its been advised in recent threads that while its not important to disclose for ILR, it is for citizenship. So I've been looking at the guidance given to the decision makers. I see that it won't be an issue, but how much detail should I put into this? Should I list all my providers? Say the current balance? Detail monthly payments? Talk about my income so I can prove I can keep paying? (And any insight into why its crucial for citizenship but wasn't necessary to disclose for ILR? Still seems weird and wish I had read that guidance for ILR. Do I need to mention that I did not know to talk about it in my ILR application? Cause a section of the guidance says "Where false or deliberately misleading information was provided in an earlier immigration application, you must consider whether it is also appropriate to refuse on grounds of deception." And goes on to talk about deception/omitting in previous applications.)

- HMRC - I have often had multiple jobs or changed jobs a lot cause I am an archaeologist and there is often no work in the winter. Due to this, I usually overpay taxes and get a refund every year. Once, I was contacted that I owed £372, which I promptly paid. Should I talk about any of this? Or just let them check the records? I never mentioned it in any previous applications.

-NHS debt - so while I visited my husband as a tourist before we were married, his father told us that he had asked their GP what I could do if I had a medical issue while I was here and was told they could register me at the GP. We found out while I was filling out my first spousal application that this was WRONG and that to stand a chance, I needed to get any services invoiced and paid. We did and thankfully my application was approved. (Thanks to the wonderful people on this forum guiding me.) I don't remember if I ever mentioned it on any other applications. Since that debt no longer exists, do I need to talk about it in the citizenship application??? If so, do I need to include all the old letters and receipts? (The letter is from the GP stating that they refuse to charge me. In reality, they didn't want to deal with the paperwork.)

In regards to things that I should disclose in citizenship, but didn't for ILR - is it possible that they will revoke my ILR?

2 unrelated questions:
 1- my husband wants to get his cypriot citizenship....should he wait till I've got my British and/or will I need to also provide his cypriot passport in my application if he gets his first?
2 - is switching jobs while the citizenship application is out a bad thing? i know there is no income requirement, but do they want to check your employer?

So I've already got ILR - which I was sure was also subject to the good character requirement. I remember when I was applying for it, there was a lot of discussions about old and recent speeding tickets. And it was said that if you get a speeding ticket in the UK w/in 2 years of applying for ILR or citizenship, then it would be denied as it would disqualify you based on the good character requirement. Also, just kind of basics of paying taxes and no problems with immigration or police.

Where are you reading these things about the good character requirement?

Speeding tickets will have no affect on the application, regardless of when they happened. I believe they should be declared, but as they are not criminal convictions, they will have no bearing on the decision.

The only time a speeding ticket could possibly cause a refusal is if you did not pay the fine and you were taken to court and convicted of a crime.

I've been on this forum for almost 16.5 years and I don't recall ever seeing a single UK citizenship application be refused.

So I was and still am really really careful about these things. And my old American traffic offenses, detailed in my ILR application, posed no problem for that or any application. But I've been seeing around the forum that the citizenship application usually poses more scrutiny for good character, and I was just hoping to get some advice for them.

Essentially, as long as:
- you have been paying your taxes
- you have not declared bankruptcy
- you have no unspent criminal convictions

You will pass the Good Character Requirement.

-Not a single driving offense since being in the UK, just my old ones that made it through ILR. I did just remember that I had a very small fender bender in my mom's car while in America while my US license was still valid I think maybe 5 years ago. It was tiny and we knew each other, and it resulted because a stop sign was missing at an intersection, so it was handled privately with their and my parent's insurance. No police called, so nothing on my driving record or anything. I just paid my mom back for her excess. I don't remember if I put it on the ILR application. Should I include this for citizenship? Seems like it would end up being a very complicated explanation and I don't have any evidence for it.

If you did not receive a ticket from the police, then you don't need to include it.

- Student debt - . Its been advised in recent threads that while its not important to disclose for ILR, it is for citizenship. So I've been looking at the guidance given to the decision makers. I see that it won't be an issue, but how much detail should I put into this? Should I list all my providers? Say the current balance? Detail monthly payments? Talk about my income so I can prove I can keep paying? (And any insight into why its crucial for citizenship but wasn't necessary to disclose for ILR? Still seems weird and wish I had read that guidance for ILR. Do I need to mention that I did not know to talk about it in my ILR application? Cause a section of the guidance says "Where false or deliberately misleading information was provided in an earlier immigration application, you must consider whether it is also appropriate to refuse on grounds of deception." And goes on to talk about deception/omitting in previous applications.)

I'm just looking through the citizenship application form now (https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1085690/form-an-06-2022.pdf), and there are no questions about debt.

There is one question that asks if you have ever declared bankruptcy (tick Yes or No). If you tick No, you don't need to give any further information, you just move on to the next question

I've never heard of anyone mentioning student debt on a citizenship application before, so personally, I don't think it needs to be included at all.

- HMRC - I have often had multiple jobs or changed jobs a lot cause I am an archaeologist and there is often no work in the winter. Due to this, I usually overpay taxes and get a refund every year. Once, I was contacted that I owed £372, which I promptly paid. Should I talk about any of this? Or just let them check the records? I never mentioned it in any previous applications.

No. They will just check your tax records/P60.

-NHS debt - so while I visited my husband as a tourist before we were married, his father told us that he had asked their GP what I could do if I had a medical issue while I was here and was told they could register me at the GP. We found out while I was filling out my first spousal application that this was WRONG and that to stand a chance, I needed to get any services invoiced and paid. We did and thankfully my application was approved. (Thanks to the wonderful people on this forum guiding me.) I don't remember if I ever mentioned it on any other applications. Since that debt no longer exists, do I need to talk about it in the citizenship application??? If so, do I need to include all the old letters and receipts? (The letter is from the GP stating that they refuse to charge me. In reality, they didn't want to deal with the paperwork.)

No, you do not need to mention it.

If it was an issue, your first visa application would have been refused and you wouldn't have been able to move here in the first place... and you wouldn't be in a position to apply for citizenship now.

In regards to things that I should disclose in citizenship, but didn't for ILR - is it possible that they will revoke my ILR?

No. The only way to lose ILR if you live outside the UK for more than 2 years (or if you are deported from the UK).

Citizenship is not a visa and it is completely unrelated to ILR. They will have no knowledge of what you put on your visa applications.

Also, citizenship has almost no requirements compared to your other visas, and is much, much easier to apply for than ILR, so you've already done the hard part. Applying for citizenship should be a piece of cake now.

The only documents you need to include for citizenship are:
- US passport
- BRP card
- spouse's UK passport
- marriage certificate
- Life in the UK test reference number
- 2 referee forms
- If you are self-employed, your latest tax return

That's it.

2 unrelated questions:
 1- my husband wants to get his cypriot citizenship....should he wait till I've got my British and/or will I need to also provide his cypriot passport in my application if he gets his first?

You only need to include a scan of his UK passport for UK citizenship, though I would check what he needs to include for his Cypriot citizenship application, because you don't want to find you need the same documents for both applications, and then you can't access them when you need them.

2 - is switching jobs while the citizenship application is out a bad thing? i know there is no income requirement, but do they want to check your employer?

No, they don't check anything and it makes no difference if you are employed or not for a citizenship application.

The only thing they will check is that if you are employed, you have been paying income tax and NI contributions.

Where are you reading these things about the good character requirement?

Speeding tickets will have no affect on the application, regardless of when they happened. I believe they should be declared, but as they are not criminal convictions, they will have no bearing on the decision.

The only time a speeding ticket could possibly cause a refusal is if you did not pay the fine and you were taken to court and convicted of a crime.

I've been on this forum for almost 16.5 years and I don't recall ever seeing a single UK citizenship application be refused.

Once again, my brain has smooshed different things together. I remember having a freak out about this years ago when I thought I may have gotten a ticket. And I was looking online at other groups who mentioned a ticket alone could deny you ILR. But I found my question from the time on here and the folks on this group had corrected me that its only if you challenge it and you fail. But like many things having to do with my immigration journey, I've gotten it all fuzzy. Apologies, and thank you for clarifying the actual situation.

I'm just looking through the citizenship application form now (https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1085690/form-an-06-2022.pdf), and there are no questions about debt.

There is one question that asks if you have ever declared bankruptcy (tick Yes or No). If you tick No, you don't need to give any further information, you just move on to the next question

I've never heard of anyone mentioning student debt on a citizenship application before, so personally, I don't think it needs to be included at all.

Thanks for this. I never would have thought to talk about it at all. Even after reading the good character guidance, it seems like it would be a situation where you only bring it up if there is something negative attached to it, like you've defaulted or something.


Ah, thank you so much again for everything :-) Apologies I keep getting old facts mixed up in my head.

I'm just looking through the citizenship application form now (https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1085690/form-an-06-2022.pdf), and there are no questions about debt.

So I started having a look at this. I know that its not the exact one that I will be filling out online, but I've come across a question already. It asks for employment details. I actually usually have 2 jobs. I've got one long standing casual job, and I do archaeology in the spring/summer. I'm actually starting a new job on May 9th and will probably only be with that company for a month by the time I complete my application. So, I'm just wondering - what/who should I put for the employment? I would like to use the longest standing one, but its not usually where I make the most of my money. And sadly, there is only space for one entry :-(

And is the tax reference number the same as you national insurance number?

And is the tax reference number the same as you national insurance number?

It appears not?

"get a Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR) when you:

    register for Self Assessment
    set up a limited company

It’s a 10-digit number. It might just be called ‘tax reference’.

You’ll get your UTR by post 10 days after you register. You can usually see it sooner in your Personal Tax Account or the HMRC app."
https://www.gov.uk/find-utr-number

So I've already got ILR - which I was sure was also subject to the good character requirement.

That was just the requirement under the Immigration Act. ILR is part of the immigration laws.

The Good Character requirement is for British citizenship. British citizenship is under the Nationality Act.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/good-character-nationality-policy-guidance

It appears not?

"get a Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR) when you:

    register for Self Assessment
    set up a limited company

It’s a 10-digit number. It might just be called ‘tax reference’.

You’ll get your UTR by post 10 days after you register. You can usually see it sooner in your Personal Tax Account or the HMRC app."
https://www.gov.uk/find-utr-number

I think that's something different. I've been looking and what I can find says its a number specific to your employer and should be found on your payslip or P60. I've found something, but not sure if its what I'm looking for. It says Employer PAYE Reference

I think that's something different. I've been looking and what I can find says its a number specific to your employer and should be found on your payslip or P60. I've found something, but not sure if its what I'm looking for. It says Employer PAYE Reference

If you are employed, I believe they are asking for your PAYE Reference Number (3 numbers / numbers or letters), which identifies your tax office (first 3 numbers) and your employer (second half with the numbers and/or letters)

If you were self-employed, you would have a 10-digit UTR instead.


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If you are employed, I believe they are asking for your PAYE Reference Number (3 numbers / numbers or letters), which identifies your tax office (first 3 numbers) and your employer (second half with the numbers and/or letters)

If you were self-employed, you would have a 10-digit UTR instead.


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Yea, thats what my search online is leading me to believe. I suppose it would be best to use my long standing employer, as in the most recent tax year I only have a P60 from them and I'll have only worked a month for the new company by the time I apply. I will continue to work for the longterm job, so I will still be getting payslips through them.

Is the secondary employment something I should mention in any explanation section??? There is a section asking for the national insurance number, so they will be able to see all my other jobs.