A couple of questions before applying for naturalisation

[ohara]

First of all I would like to thank all contributors to this forum as your advice is absolutely excellent and provided for free. This is no doubt the best resource for UK immigration matters and I don't know what I would have done without finding it and I'm sure many others hold the same views.

Now onto my questions. I have posted here recently with a few questions, but not knowing my ancestry completely. After a few weeks of research I have cleared things up though and have solid information so wanted to get some straight answers. I intend to become a British citizen one way or the other!

History:

* Born in Finland, 1989.
* Father is Finnish (have not seen him since I was 2 years old).
* Mother is British citizen by descent. She was born in Finland to a Finnish mother and British father, and brought to the UK by her father at a young age. She grew up with him and a sister in London, went to school here etc. She moved back to Finland at the age of about 18 and gave birth to me at the age of 25.
* Moved here with my mother just before my 2nd birthday, have lived in the UK permanently since then. I am now 26 years old.
* Mother got married here in the UK to a dual British/Swiss national in 1994. She gave birth to her second child (my sister) in 1995.
* Mother was a student for a short period around the time of her marriage but went into full time work soon after. She worked until approximately 2009 when she became ill and no longer could. Unfortunately she died in 2013.
* I did my entire education here, primary school all the way through to 3 years of further education. I did not go to university, and have worked full time since 2008 with no gaps. I did not have CSI during my education as I was unaware of this requirement, basically because nobody told me, I just went through the system like any British person would.
* On the advice of very helpful forum members I applied for permanent residency confirmation document on 09/12/15 on the basis of qualified person (worker). I certainly exceed the requirements so I have no reason to believe my application will fail.

Now regardless of PR status, which I believe I hold and have applied for certification anyway, is there any better route I should/can take to British citizenship other than naturalisation? I have near enough completed the AN form, and am lining up the English language test and Life in the UK tests for January. Other than the tests and getting my PR document, the only thing I need to do before actually sending the AN form is renew my passport which I can't do until early February so I hope they don't change the form before then

Anyway, I seem to meet all of the criteria required although I have a couple of questions:

* I was arrested and received a police reprimand in 2002. I believe that a reprimand is not a conviction and I did not go to court or anything for it. A reprimand is 'spent' immediately, although I am aware that the rehabilitation of offenders act does not apply to naturalisation applications, and I will declare it even though it is likely the police no longer have any record of it (in 2002 there was no proper system regarding the retention of records for reprimands, many simply got deleted after they "expired").

* I had a benefit overpayment between 2013 and 2014 (I was advised to take over the claim of child benefit & child tax credit for my sister when my mother died), I gave all correct information to HMRC who awarded me the full claim but failed to tell me that I was not actually entitled to this as my sister was entitled to some other social security benefit in her own right, which they began paying to her. I was not aware of this (she was temporarily living elsewhere whilst I sorted the housing situation out, which I also informed HMRC of twice to confirm I was still eligible). After 14 months when I phoned to inform them that my sister had finished school and therefore the claim should end, that they said thanks and it will stop in September. In October I got a letter telling me to pay the whole lot back, about £3500, which I appealed on the basis that they have surprised me with this despite me giving them the information that they would have used to come to this conclusion ages ago. The appeal was refused, so I asked to pay it back over 2 years (approx £150 per month), I have now paid over half back and fully intend to pay the rest off.

* Since I have not returned to Finland since 2002, I have not completed military service which is legally required of all Finnish males between the ages of 18 and 30. This has put me in a somewhat tricky situation, as I now believe that if I enter the country I will be arrested and put straight into conscription. My Finnish passport expires in 2016 and the embassy have told me that until I have completed military service, they will only give me a new passport which is valid to the end of the year of my 28th birthday (which would be 2017). After that and until the age of 30, they would provide me only with the means to travel to Finland in order to complete the service. This means that if I am not successful with my British citizenship application, I will essentially be stuck in the UK for 2 years with no passport. I have been in contact with the military in Finland and have filled out an application for an exemption based on my circumstances, mainly that it would not be viable for me to leave the UK for 12 months to complete service in Finland. I will receive a decision at the end of January. In Finnish law, employers are required to allow their employees to complete military service during their employment, but no such protection exists in the UK so I would lose my job. I would also not be able to pay my rent on the small allowance given during service, and would also lose my home and no doubt all of my possessions. I only ask about this as there is a section on the EEA(PR) form asking about absences from the UK and it has a specific checkbox for military service, so I assume the HO expects foreign citizens to return to their home country to complete this and they allow for the absence.

Now I know the guidance says that the HO will normally ignore reprimands received over 3 years before the date of the application, and mine was 13 years ago. But will that, combined with the benefit overpayment and failure to fulfil my duties in Finland, be enough to tip the scales for the good character requirement? I don't want to think I was trying to con them; I have never claimed any public funds in my life before or since that, and it was only necessary as the extra financial burden of my sister required it and I was advised to by a financial adviser who helped me after my mothers death, and HMRC said I was entitled.

Aside from the above, I have nothing against me - an unblemished driving record since 2007, no debts etc, never been out of work. All of my family is here (other than my father, who I have no memory of) - my mother's two sisters and their children who I am in regular contact with and normally spend Christmas with, and obviously my sister who I am the only close family for (her father lives and works outside the UK). I know it is not required but I am going to include a covering letter explaining that my whole life has been in the UK, I have no recollection of my short time in Finland and I don't speak any of the language, as far as I'm concerned I am British I just don't have the paperwork to prove it.

Thanks for reading and for any advice you give

[noajthan]

First of all I would like to thank all contributors to this forum as your advice is absolutely excellent and provided for free. This is no doubt the best resource for UK immigration matters and I don't know what I would have done without finding it and I'm sure many others hold the same views.

Now onto my questions. I have posted here recently with a few questions, but not knowing my ancestry completely. After a few weeks of research I have cleared things up though and have solid information so wanted to get some straight answers. I intend to become a British citizen one way or the other!

History:

* Born in Finland, 1989.
* Father is Finnish (have not seen him since I was 2 years old).
* Mother is British citizen by descent. She was born in Finland to a Finnish mother and British father, and brought to the UK by her father at a young age. She grew up with him and a sister in London, went to school here etc. She moved back to Finland at the age of about 18 and gave birth to me at the age of 25.
* Moved here with my mother just before my 2nd birthday, have lived in the UK permanently since then. I am now 26 years old.
* Mother got married here in the UK to a dual British/Swiss national in 1994. She gave birth to her second child (my sister) in 1995.
* Mother was a student for a short period around the time of her marriage but went into full time work soon after. She worked until approximately 2009 when she became ill and no longer could. Unfortunately she died in 2013.
* I did my entire education here, primary school all the way through to 3 years of further education. I did not go to university, and have worked full time since 2008 with no gaps. I did not have CSI during my education as I was unaware of this requirement, basically because nobody told me, I just went through the system like any British person would.
* On the advice of very helpful forum members I applied for permanent residency confirmation document on 09/12/15 on the basis of qualified person (worker). I certainly exceed the requirements so I have no reason to believe my application will fail.

Now regardless of PR status, which I believe I hold and have applied for certification anyway, is there any better route I should/can take to British citizenship other than naturalisation?

...

Anyway, I seem to meet all of the criteria required although I have a couple of questions:

...

Thanks for reading and for any advice you give

The forum FAQs on good character & also the published HO guidance may reassure you:
See british-citizenship/british-citizenship ... 36725.html
&
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/s ... _D_v02.pdf

[ohara]

Thanks, I have read all the guidance, I was just worried they would consider it as deception. Will the fact that I have lived in the UK for 24 years, my whole life, give any weight to the application?

[noajthan]

Thanks, I have read all the guidance, I was just worried they would consider it as deception. Will the fact that I have lived in the UK for 24 years, my whole life, give any weight to the application?

I don't think it will add weight as such as (afaik) caseworkers go by the rules instead of weighting applications.

But you appear to have little to worry about.
All I see in your timeline is a reprimand received as a young teenager and a technical benefits-related glitch (which is being sorted out).

The UK will not be interested in whether you have completed military service in another country (as its just regular service for a democratic nation);
it is not the Home Office's job to force you to Finland to do that.

So on the face of it, all good.

Suggest print off a few copies of application form & see how it all looks when its filled in.

You can add a brief paragraph to explain things in the 'additional/further info' section of the form if you wish.
For example, if you re involved in the local community or a church (etc) &/or do voluntary work you could mention that; it's a way of showing your 'good character' & your participation in UK life.
(It's not compulsory & it may not even be looked at but it cannot hurt).

Make sure you keep copies & scans of everything, including the form & the separate payment form.

Applying via NCS (at your local council) is a good idea.
For a small fee, (around £50), they will sanity check your application, copy everything & return original docs to you, and send the bundle off to HO for you.

Best of luck.

[ohara]

Thanks for the reply noajthan, the reassurance is very helpful. I'm sure I will be accepted, I just worry a lot about things that I probably shouldn't and this is quite significant especially considering it is costing me the best part of £2000.

I know the HO can't force me to do national service, my concern was more that they would look at the fact that I haven't done it even though required by the law in my homeland, and might think that I am someone who tries to escape my responsibilities. I have not willingly avoided it, it's just due to my circumstances that it would have been extremely difficult for me to do it at 18 (when I got my call-up), and certainly impossible now.

I am filling in the application electronically, to avoid any potential misreading of my writing etc. I did this on the EEA(PR) form too and they have taken the payment so it seems it is OK. There is nothing to say that it MUST be handwritten.

I will be using NCS, that is a certainty. The cost here is £70 which I guess is small in the grand scheme of things. Hopefully by the time I apply in February they will have the combined AN & passport checking and application service. If you do use NCS, can you pay by card in a machine at the office? Or do you still have to fill a payment form and send it with application?

I was actually going to use a solicitor to help with the AN application but after discovering this forum I've realised it would be a waste of £800.

Thanks again. Will keep everyone updated on my progress when I have made some. It's a very big journey for me.

[noajthan]

...

I will be using NCS, that is a certainty. The cost here is £70 which I guess is small in the grand scheme of things. Hopefully by the time I apply in February they will have the combined AN & passport checking and application service. If you do use NCS, can you pay by card in a machine at the office? Or do you still have to fill a payment form and send it with application?

I was actually going to use a solicitor to help with the AN application but after discovering this forum I've realised it would be a waste of £800.

No you don't pay by CC directly at the NCS;
you would submit the payment form together with whatever form of payment you choose to use (cheque or card).

If methodical and organised you can certainly apply for the privilege of citizenship without the services of a legal or immigration representative.

[ohara]

If methodical and organised you can certainly apply for the privilege of citizenship without the services of a legal or immigration representative.

Yes you are right. When I first started looking into naturalisation, I was scared by the length and depth of the application form. I wanted to make 100% sure that I did not mess it up in anyway and have my application refused and lose £1000 for some silly mistake. This is why I was going to use the services of a specialist immigration solicitor to do the application on my behalf. The few I looked into charge around £800 for this.

However, after a few weeks of reading this forum and doing the EEA(PR) form, I have realised that it's not actually difficult at all, it's simply a case of meeting the requirements (which I do) and getting all of the correct documents together. I have 3 potential referees lined up (an extra just in case), PR document should arrive soon, then once I've done LitUK and English test and renewed my passport I will have everything ready. I also talked to a colleague whose wife had naturalised a couple of years ago and he said using a solicitor was pointless, which I now agree with.

Another question though, once I have naturalised and have a British passport, am I still OK to use my Finnish passport to exit/enter the UK? Or would they rather me use the UK passport? I know there's no advantage of using one EEA passport over another at the moment, but in the event that we do exit the EU (which has spurred me onto doing all of this) there will obviously be a huge advantage in having another EEA passport.