Applications for naturalisation are easy. What can possibly go wrong?
I was recently helping a client with an application for permanent residence. When the application was approved, the client qualified to apply for British citizenship, and I asked if we could help with this next application. To my dismay, he told me that citizenship is easy – why would he need legal help? Or do I think it is complicated?
Is British citizenship precarious? Capparrelli (EEA Nationals – British Nationality) –
British citizenship has never been a question of black and white, yes or no, British or not British. There have always been subtleties and nuances and, if we think of Citizens of UK Colonies (CUKCs) or British Overseas Citizens, one may even suspect some form of duplicity about the concept.
Are your kids British? … Are you sure?
Children born in the UK to migrants who have indefinite leave to remain or to EEA nationals with permanent right of residence are British by birth. But what if the parent’s right of permanent residence is unconfirmed?
British citizenship for EU national children – entitlement or a matter of discretion?
Not every child born in the UK is a British citizen by birth. But every child can be registered at the discretion of the Secretary of State. The Home Office should not be confused as to the basis for exercise of discretion. It is not “exceptionality” that has to be addressed, but the child’s best interests and the child’s most probable place of residence in the foreseeable future.
Brexit from an immigration lawyer’s perspective
Brexit will affect us all, independently of background, migrants or not, Europeans or Africans. From an immigration lawyer’s perspective, my strong recommendation for EU nationals is to apply for a document certifying permanent right of residence. It was not, and still is not, mandatory to have this document. However, it became of considerable value in November 2015 when a new rule made it mandatory to hold this document before applying for British citizenship.
To be or not to be British? Disadvantages of UK citizenship
This post is out of date as of November 2017 following the decision of the judgment of the ECJ (Grand Chamber) in Toufik Lounes v Secretary of State for the Home Department C-165/16 of 14 November 2017. Not long ago this question would simply not arise. Now it has become an integral part of […]
How criminal record affects applications for indefinite leave to remain and nationality
Applicants for indefinite leave to remain in the UK may fall foul of the mandatory grounds for refusal on the basis of criminality, while applicants for British citizenship have to meet the new statutory requirement of good character. Immigration Solicitors from a London based firm Kadmos Consultants explain the effect of criminal convictions in the context of immigration.