Unsuccessful Naturalisation application - worked illegally

[bleach]

Hello all, I am hoping someone can help me here as I am at a loss.

I applied for Naturalisation in Jan 16 and got a refusal letter today stating
"You have confirmed on page 10 of you're (as written in the letter) an form that you were employed at XXXXX from 01.07.06 to 30.04.09. As you have declared information which is clearly shows that you were working here without permission and you cannot there satisfy the criteria at Chapter 18, Annex D, Paragraph 9.7c of the Nationality Instructions. Your application is therefore been refused"

In summary I got married in 2008, 5year residency gained in 2008 and permanent residency gained in 2013.

I would appreciate any help.

Thank you

[noajthan]

To avoid confusion & jumbled responses, I have moved your question to its own thread (this one).

[noajthan]

Hello all, I am hoping someone can help me here as I am at a loss.

I applied for Naturalisation in Jan 16 and got a refusal letter today stating
"You have confirmed on page 10 of you're (as written in the letter) an form that you were employed at XXXXX from 01.07.06 to 30.04.09. As you have declared information which is clearly shows that you were working here without permission and you cannot there satisfy the criteria at Chapter 18, Annex D, Paragraph 9.7c of the Nationality Instructions. Your application is therefore been refused"

In summary I got married in 2008, 5year residency gained in 2008 and permanent residency gained in 2013.

I would appreciate any help.

Thank you

Breach of immigration regulations will result in a 10-year ban on naturalising as you have not met the good character requirement.

[jaweb]

Hi,

Which nationality do you hold? Are you from any EU country? If yes then you needed to register with HO for WRS

[Noetic]

Hi,

Which nationality do you hold? Are you from any EU country? If yes then you needed to register with HO for WRS

Um, what? WRS only applied to certain countries that joined the EU in 2004, not all EU countries.

However the question about OP's nationality is valid, and under what circumstances (visa, EEA nationality etc) they were originally here in the period HO seem to consider illegal.

[jaweb]

Hi,

Which nationality do you hold? Are you from any EU country? If yes then you needed to register with HO for WRS

Um, what? WRS only applied to certain countries that joined the EU in 2004, not all EU countries.

Thats why I asked which nationality he holds...

[Noetic]

Thats why I asked which nationality he holds...

My comments relates to you claim that being from "any EU country" means WRS is a requirement.

[vinny]

If you were illegally working in the UK within the last 10 years prior to the naturalisation application, then the refusal is correct under their current Good Character requirements.

[secret.simon]

Your posts indicate that you married your Irish spouse in the UK in July 2008. What was your status in the UK before then?

When did you arrive in the UK and what were your subsequent immigration statuses in the UK?

[bleach]

I am a 33yr old Angolan. The time the HO refer to as working illegally, I was still under an outstanding family application at the time. Although I was 22/23 in 2006, I was still named in a family application and it was later in 07/08 that I removed my name from the family application as I applied to be allowed to be married and then applied for residency as a spouse of EU national.

Unfortunately things did not work out with the relationship and I decree nisi was received in 2015.

Not sure if this has any bearing but I did pay adequate tax and national insurance during all my time in employment.

I would be grateful if anyone thinks/could provide me with information on whether an appeal is advisable and if so, on what grounds?

I thank you in advance of your effort and taking time to read and/or reply.

[noajthan]

I am a 33yr old Angolan. The time the HO refer to as working illegally, I was still under an outstanding family application at the time. Although I was 22/23 in 2006, I was still named in a family application and it was later in 07/08 that I removed my name from the family application as I applied to be allowed to be married and then applied for residency as a spouse of EU national.

Unfortunately things did not work out with the relationship and I decree nisi was received in 2015.

Not sure if this has any bearing but I did pay adequate tax and national insurance during all my time in employment.

I would be grateful if anyone thinks/could provide me with information on whether an appeal is advisable and if so, on what grounds?

I thank you in advance of your effort and taking time to read and/or reply.

If you married an EEA citizen/sponsor in 2008 its a little unclear why a period up to 2009 is deemed to have included illegal working.
If spouse was a qualified person you would have had the right to work by virtue of your sponsor.

What was your immigration status before you married?
Did you have an explicit lack of right to work before 2008?

If you have breached immigration regulations (or frustrated them) at any time since 2006 or so then its going to be a 10-year ban on reapplying to naturalise.
It does not seem that you were a minor at this time (which might have helped).
Paying tax etc doesn't really help if working was disallowed.

As you appear to have regularised your status in 2008 the 10-year ban (if related to evasion of immigration control) may only apply until 2018.
Was this mentioned in the refusal letter

[maxflip50]

Hello all, I am hoping someone can help me here as I am at a loss.

I applied for Naturalisation in Jan 16 and got a refusal letter today stating
"You have confirmed on page 10 of you're (as written in the letter) an form that you were employed at XXXXX from 01.07.06 to 30.04.09. As you have declared information which is clearly shows that you were working here without permission and you cannot there satisfy the criteria at Chapter 18, Annex D, Paragraph 9.7c of the Nationality Instructions. Your application is therefore been refused"

In summary I got married in 2008, 5year residency gained in 2008 and permanent residency gained in 2013.

I would appreciate any help.

Thank you

dear friend, as i can see you are newly registered, do not expect any decent advise from here as many do not know what are they talking about (they tell you the problem, not the solution), i am telling you from my experince

in your circumstance, you will need to show that you were eligible to work before obtaining marriage visa, or re-apply with covering letter saying you made mistake in previous application providing that you did not work before marriage

[Noetic]

If you married an EEA citizen/sponsor in 2008 its a little unclear why a period up to 2009 is deemed to have included illegal working.

I could be wrong but it sounded to me like HO were referring to a specific employment / employer that OP worked for from 2006-2009 which includes a period before the marriage which would have been illegal. Rather than the whole period 2006-9 being illegal.

[ScopeD]

dear friend, as i can see you are newly registered, do not expect any decent advise from here as many do not know what are they talking about (they tell you the problem, not the solution), i am telling you from my experince

Not true. All moderators and most other people like secret.simon and many others do offer a lot a useful advice to many people. I've seen many people here being given decent advice. There was a lady whose husband, now naturalised as a BC, had left her, and the lady didn't have the estranged husband's passport copy to support her own naturalisation application. A lot of people and moderators, especially noajthan, Casa, and CR001, advised this lady and she successfully got BC. Secret.simon usually writes long paragraphs of well-researched and well-thought responses to questions and problems from OPs, it is unfair for us to then turn and say "there's no decent advice here". There is a lot of decent advice here, but where an individual has fallen short of the rules, don't expect people to sugarcoat things.

[noajthan]

If you married an EEA citizen/sponsor in 2008 its a little unclear why a period up to 2009 is deemed to have included illegal working.

I could be wrong but it sounded to me like HO were referring to a specific employment / employer that OP worked for from 2006-2009 which includes a period before the marriage which would have been illegal. Rather than the whole period 2006-9 being illegal.

You could be wrong. The OP has provided scant information.

But if HO has made that schoolboy error it opens up an angle of attack for appeal - so worth mentioning.

[secret.simon]

You have confirmed on page 10 of you're (as written in the letter) an form that you were employed at XXXXX from 01.07.06 to 30.04.09.

I could be wrong but it sounded to me like HO were referring to a specific employment / employer that OP worked for from 2006-2009 which includes a period before the marriage which would have been illegal. Rather than the whole period 2006-9 being illegal.

I agree with Noetic's assessment. The refusal letter refers to the specific employment, part of which it alleges is illegal.

The employment stated in 2006, when the OP's immigration status is unclear. Only in 2008 did the OP acquire an automatic right to get employment in the UK.

I am a 33yr old Angolan. The time the HO refer to as working illegally, I was still under an outstanding family application at the time. Although I was 22/23 in 2006, I was still named in a family application and it was later in 07/08 that I removed my name from the family application as I applied to be allowed to be married and then applied for residency as a spouse of EU national.

What kind of family application was it? Was it an asylum/refugee application? Was it an application under the Points Based System? Was it an application under the EEA Regulations? Could you be a bit more specific about the application that you had applied under?

In any case, having an application with the Home office does not give you a right to work in the UK. Except for people covered under the EEA Route, the right to work is not automatic, but granted by the Home Office. If no such right was specifically granted at the time (while the application was under consideration), you were working illegally from 2006 to 2008 and the earliest that you would be eligible for naturalisation would be 2018.

where an individual has fallen short of the rules, don't expect people to sugarcoat things.

Thank you, ScopeD, for the endorsement. The way I perceive the function of this forum, it is to advise the person dispassionately and unemotionally, the same way a Home Office caseworker would assess the case. We endevour to guide him/her on the basis of the facts disclosed and the rules/laws/regulations that apply, just as a case worker would. I think that helps most people who access these forums. I am sure that people in the local community would be better placed to provide the tea and sympathy.

As an aside, I hope that I am not too long-winded

[bleach]

Thanks for all your reply thus far.

As far as I was aware at the time, my parents (one british one African) were exercising treaty rights at the time having married in another EU country and then moved to the Uk and had completed a family application with the home office.

Can I check that, even though I was on an application at the time (and over 18yrs old) didn't make my working legal? And the fact that I my parents where exercising treaty rights would made no difference since again I was not a minor??

I guess answers to these two questions would form the basis of any potential challenge of the decision.

And yes the letter did specifically say that any application before Feb 18 is likely to be refused.

And yes I did voluntarily disclose that I was working (without thought about it being illegal). Obviously I didn't send any paperwork relating to that period in this application as the application examiner only asked for 5 years proof of residence (or something around that).

Thanks

[Noetic]

Do you still have any paperwork from that time, anything that would mention whether you as a family member had permission to work? If you had permission I would have expected this to be in the HO system but you never know, they may not have linked your two passports together?

If you had such evidence I guess you could submit for reconsideration but if it turns out you didn't have permission to work then you'll have to wait until 2018.

You're getting me worried now as I worked under a spouse visa from 2001 (and job lasted until 2009 so I had to mention it on the AN application) and after Switzerland / EU bilateral agreements kicked in in 2002 changed to EEA residence card - I hope some case worker doesn't decide to declare that year illegal!

I know HO have that info in their system (from a SAR) and I did mention the marriage (and divorce in 2004 sadly after he became violent and aggressive) on the application but you never know! At least I definitely have my old visa and their own paperwork should I need to ask for reconsideration. Although technically even if it had been illegal it was over 10 years ago.

[secret.simon]

As far as I was aware at the time, my parents (one british one African) were exercising treaty rights at the time having married in another EU country and then moved to the Uk and had completed a family application with the home office.

I was still under an outstanding family application at the time. Although I was 22/23 in 2006, I was still named in a family application and it was later in 07/08 that I removed my name from the family application as I applied to be allowed to be married and then applied for residency as a spouse of EU national.

Did your British parent acquire British citizenship after your birth? Or why did you not inherit it?

It seems like your parents had entered the UK under the Surinder Singh route.

Under EU law, you are a direct family member if you are a dependent child till the age of 21. That means that your rights flow automatically from your status, not from any paperwork.

But after the age of 21, you become an Extended Family Member and explicit acknowledgement from the Home Office, typically in the form of a Residence Card, is required before you can work. Having your application with the Home Office does not give you the right to work. It is only at the end when you have been issued a Residence Card that you would have the right to work.

On what documentation did you enter the UK? Did you have the Residence Card of another EU country? Did you get a Code1a stamp at the border? Did you enter via Ireland?

And what was your age when you entered the UK?

[noajthan]

Thanks for all your reply thus far.

As far as I was aware at the time, my parents (one british one African) were exercising treaty rights at the time having married in another EU country and then moved to the Uk and had completed a family application with the home office.

Can I check that, even though I was on an application at the time (and over 18yrs old) didn't make my working legal? And the fact that I my parents where exercising treaty rights would made no difference since again I was not a minor??

I guess answers to these two questions would form the basis of any potential challenge of the decision.

What does this mean?
And what is a 'family application' - do you mean joint application, were you included or at least mentioned on the forms?
What was it for, specifically?

fyi - Brits are not normally treated as EEA citizens (under current UK law).
So do you mean parents were returning Surinder Singh-ers who had exercised treaty rights in another Union state and then returned to UK?
Were you part of that family unit?

If so, (& you were included), then British parent would be regarded as an EEA national (with no need to continue to exercise treaty rights in UK) - and you would be their family dependent.
All you would have needed to do is reside in UK, not even co-habiting - (yes EU law is that flexible).

But you would have had to have done the SS route with parents;
doing SS does not transform a BC/dual national into a general purpose EEA national for all family members.

Also note minors in EU law in this context) are aged up to age 21 (not 18),
You can only be considered a direct family member at 21+ if you are financially dependent on parents.

Why did you think you had a right to work?
Under what basis (immigration status) - some pending UK application or under EU law?

Next steps:
1) Clarify this EU angle to your case.
Question parents.
Search out any papers and forms from the family files.
(Assuming here that everything has been diligently scanned & copied & filed: immigration matters 101).
Find out if they did SS and you wee part of it.

2) Clarify on what basis you thought you had right to work.

3) Send off for SAR from UKVI anyway.

[secret.simon]

Under EU law, you are a direct family member if you are a dependent child till the age of 21. That means that your rights flow automatically from your status, not from any paperwork.

But after the age of 21, you become an Extended Family Member and explicit acknowledgement from the Home Office, typically in the form of a Residence Card, is required before you can work. Having your application with the Home Office does not give you the right to work. It is only at the end when you have been issued a Residence Card that you would have the right to work.

I've erred in this interpretation of EU law.

You remain a direct family member if you returned with your parents from another EEA country and were either under 21 or dependent on them.

You could thus appeal on the grounds that you remained a direct family member of a Surinder Singher after the age of 21 by being dependent on them. That is weakened to some extent by the fact that you were working.

Just to reiterate, it won't be the fact that your name was in a family application that affects matters, it is the fact that you returned with your parents from another EEA country AND continued to be dependent on them. If either condition is not met, you did not have the right to work.