Can Jury duty mitigate Good Character clause

[xavieryves]

Hi all, I have looked around and have not seen any topic regarding anything to do with jury duty and was wondering if there is anyone who might have an idea to my query.
My history is that I had a 4 year work permit to a 1yr employment/education contract. Towards the end of the one year I became ill (no hospitalisation and minimal contact with heath services). As a result I did not complete the education that was attached to the employment. I erroneously assumed that as long as I did not work for any other employer I was ok. When the visa was coming to an end I found out I was in breach of the work permit rules by not informing HO of my change of circumstances for quite a substantial time (3 or so years). This was due to my ignorance but regardless the breach was there and substantial. Via the courts my visa was regulated in 2010, so as rules stand now, due to the Good Character clause I should be eligible for Naturalisation in 2020. (Thanks to this site I found this out before I was just about to waste my money by applying earlier this year)

However, I just completed Jury Service at a Crown court for a very serious criminal case. My question then is, if my character is good enough to take part in the justice system of the high order, is this not a mitigation for the Immigration rules breach, enough to exercise discretion?

A colleaugue of mine informed me that she had her PR changed to Citizenship unsolicited after taking part in the jury service. She did not go into the specifics of it/ her situation when I asked how they knew so this is pure hearsay.
Any input will be greatly appreciated.

[alterhase58]

I don't think members here can comment on hearsay, certainly I have never come across a case where somebody was naturalised without applying, due to jury service. It is also doubtful that jury service on it's own is taken to offset any good character issues. But maybe another member here can shed any light on this.

[ouflak1]

Can Jury duty mitigate Good Character clause?

As far as I aware, the only ways to attain UK Citizenship without being subject to the Good Character Requirement are:

• Be born automaticallly with citizenship

• MN1 child registration under the age of ten and, in some cases, even under the age of 18.

• Royal Decree by the Queen (although there is no precedent to back this one up)

I've never heard of, nor have I ever seen any hints that there exists, any other way to dispense with the Good Character Requirement.

NOTE: I'm not as familiar with adult registration, so maybe somebody can comment on those routes. I assumed they were subject to GCR, but not certain....

[xavieryves]

Thank you both for your responses. I think there are some other grounds specified to ask for discretion other than the ones you listed, There is one for overstaying due to things like hospitalisation; the length of time - less than 28 days and whether the breach was inadvertent; I think also being a minor at time of parent's breach among others.
I just wondered if there was indeed anyone that had ever used or knows of using Jury service to mitigate the Good character requirement. It would seem not.
I certainly find the juxtaposition intersting, that on one hand your character is not good enough for British Citizenship yet it's good enough to participate in the British justice system.

[secret.simon]

A colleaugue of mine informed me that she had her PR changed to Citizenship unsolicited after taking part in the jury service. She did not go into the specifics of it/ her situation when I asked how they knew so this is pure hearsay.

I would be very interested in learning more about this. Do ask your colleague for more information. I find it hard to believe that the Home Office would forgo £1300 worth of fees because somebody with PR was selected for jury duty.

Royal Decree by the Queen (although there is no precedent to back this one up)

Where on earth did you get that? To start with, there is no such thing as a Royal Decree in the UK. There are other royal instruments (Proclamation, Order in Council, etc), but no Royal Decree and all of them (except minor ones, such as a grant of a coat of arms to a Royal Prince) require the agreement of the Privy Council (essentially, the C abinet).

In any case, the maximum that the Queen can grant, with the advice and consent of the Privy Council (I am sure this phrase sounds familiar to American ears), is denizenship, a status equivalent to ILR/PR. The grant of citizenship is only in the gift of Parliament, which has delegated that power to the Secretary of State (for the Home Department). Also see this similar question.

I certainly find the juxtaposition intersting, that on one hand your character is not good enough for British Citizenship yet it's good enough to participate in the British justice system.

Character is not taken into account for jury service. So long as you are on the Electoral Roll, you can be selected for jury service. A Commonwealth student who has been in the UK for two months has an equal chance of being drawn for jury service as a geriatric person born in the UK.

[xavieryves]

Thank you secret.simon. Your last point referencing a commonwealth student answers my question. I thought it was worth exploring! As it is I will wait until 2020, hoping that the goal post doesn't shift again as it is wont to do from my experience.