Tips for a successful route to British citizenship

The route to British citizenship needs, however, to be carefully planned and administrated. Careful preparation will ensure that one fulfils all the requirements for Indefinite Leave to Remain, and then ultimately citizenship.

Breytenbachs Immigration Consultants recommend that persons who are on their route to citizenship, keep in touch with their BIC consultant. This will ensure that a check is done on their UK immigration status regularly, and your route to British Citizenship is never compromised. Where deemed necessary, your consultant will assist in finding an alternative well in advance.  

Tips to keep in mind on your route to British citizenship

Documentation

You will make our own life much easier if you keep records of your life in the UK. When the time comes to apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain and later British citizenship, you will not need to scramble around to find records or have to reapply for them from different authorities.

We recommend that you keep records of your proof of residence in the UK. Up to four items of correspondence for every year should be sufficient.

Make sure that you have all your original documents in a safe place, and at hand. Ensure that you always keep original documents such as; birth certificates, marriages certificates, degree certificates and other relevant original documents safe. Even in cases where you have provided this documentation to the Home Office before, you still have to ensure that you have them at hand.

The little bit of trouble of keeping records, and having originals at hand far outweighs the hassle of having to reapply for records.

Planning your travels out of the UK

It is extremely important that future British citizen applicants keep careful records of their travels out of the UK. Furthermore, you should be well aware of the travel restrictions that you have to adhere to.

Persons NOT married to a British national should ensure that they do not travel out of UK for more than 450 days in the five years preceding the date that you plan to lodge your British Citizenship application.

Furthermore, you should not travel out of the UK for more than 90 days in the period preceding the date that you plan to lodge your British Citizenship application.

Keeping a good character on your route to citizenship

It is important to keep in mind that you will have to fulfil a requirement of ‘good character’.

Criminal convictions will affect your application, depending on the date of conviction, amount of convictions and the sentence issued. You must always keep the relevant documents, that comes with it and be truthful and honest about any convictions. It is not possible to hide such convictions, as the Home Office does extensive checks on all applications. Double checks are also done with other UK government departments, to ensure that the records you have provided are consistent.

It is very important to ensure that you fulfil your obligation to pay income tax and that your National Insuracare contributions are up to date. This is also one of the checks done by the Home Office to ensure that applicants fulfil the good character requirement for British citizenship.

You will also have to provide details of all civil judgments which have resulted in a court order, as well as any civil penalties under the UK Immigration Act. Details of family law proceedings are not required. Details of bankruptcy charges must also be provided, and where an applicant is an undischarged bankrupt, it is unlikely that the application will succeed.

It is extremely important that you fulfil your visa requirements. Non-compliance may affect your Indefinite Leave to Remain and British Citizenship applications. Check with your consultant that you know what they are and that you follow these up to the point of application, and continue to do so if you extend a visa.

Please note that the information in this article does not constitute professional advice. It is provided for general information purposes, without giving any warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied.

Requirements for Immigration change and evolve regularly. We understand that there is lots of information to take in and lots of requirements to meet, and it can be very overwhelming. Why not arrange a consultation with Breytenbachs and allow us to ease the burden and help you with the application? We offer a professional, friendly, and exemplary service that will put your mind at ease and ensure that the application process is smooth and efficient.

You can contact Breytenbachs Immigration Consultants at www.bic-immigration.com or send an email to info@bic-immigration.com Alternatively, please fill out the form below.