British Nationality Eligibility

[ss32]

Hello,
Hope everyone is fine and doing well. I wanted to ask the experts in this forum if I'm eligible to apply for British citizenship. I got my ILR in May 2022. Before that in September 2021 I made a huge mistake and was fined by a magistrates court for illegally using a disabled badge to park my vehicle. This offence/conviction wasn't recorded on my criminal record and doesn't show up on my basic DBS check and hence it didn't affect my ILR application in May 2022, which was successful. I wanted to ask that should I apply for british citizenship now that one year has passed since my ILR and I'm now eligible to apply for citizenship as the offence I committed isn't recorded on my criminal record or should I wait and not apply? If an offence isn't recorded, will it still affect the British citizenship application or is there a possibility that I can apply for citizenship? I'll be grateful if someone on the forum can address my query. Thank you

[vinny]

Was there a criminality question on your ILR application and, if required, then did you declare it?

Fines

A fine counts as a criminal conviction and forms part of someone’s criminal record. Fines must be declared and may result in refusal of cancellation.

Be aware of the Revoking indefinite leave to remain in the UK: caseworker guidance

Failing the Good character requirements for naturalisation due to Fines or deception may lead to a refusal.

[ss32]

Dear Vinny,
Thanks for your response. Yes I did declare the conviction in my ILR application. I put in all details. I presume that because the offence was non recordable it didn't affect my ILR application. Before making the ILR application last year, i came to this forum and the experts on this forum also told me the same that non-recordable offense doesn't affect the ILR application. I then declared the offence in the application and it was successful. What I wanted to ask is that do non recordable offences affect the british citizenship applications? Because they clearly don't affect the ILR application.

[vinny]

Excellent! I think it’s safest for you to continue declaring the fine. If you don’t declare it, then I think you may risk a ten-year ban.

If you apply now, after holding ILR for a least one year, then they may discard the fine if it was not recorded on your criminal records. Else, you may have wait until 3 years have passed since the fine and then ask for a review.