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British citizenship refused on good character grounds

Good character is a legal requirement for naturalisation. The Home Office guidance (version 7.0, 30 April 2026) lists what normally leads to refusal: a custodial sentence of 12 months or more, deception, illegal entry and some recent immigration breaches. There is no right of appeal; you can ask for reconsideration (form NR, £513) or make a new application with a new fee.

A refusal on good character grounds is one of the hardest citizenship decisions to receive. The handling part of the fee is not returned, the reasons can reach back many years, and the letter may say little about how the Home Office weighed your file. This page explains how the test works, using the Home Office's own caseworker guidance, so that you can read a refusal letter, or check your own record before applying, against the written rules. It describes the rules in general. It does not tell you whether your own case meets them.

The requirement is in the law itself. Schedule 1 to the British Nationality Act 1981 sets the requirements for naturalisation as a British citizen under section 6(1), and paragraph 1(1)(b) says the applicant must be "of good character". The Act does not define the phrase. The Home Office explains how it applies it in "Good character: caseworker guidance", version 7.0, published for staff on 30 April 2026. Everything below comes from that guidance unless another source is named.

How the test works

The guidance says each application is considered individually, on its own merits. The caseworker has to be satisfied, "on the balance of probabilities", that the applicant is of good character. That means weighing negative factors (criminality, immigration law breaches, deception) against positive ones (for example contributions a person has made to society). The guidance says its list of factors is not exhaustive.

It lists seven kinds of information that mean a person "will not normally be considered to be of good character" unless there are enough countervailing positive factors:

  • criminality, including reasonable grounds to suspect involvement in crime
  • involvement in or association with war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide, terrorism or other activity not conducive to the public good
  • financial soundness, for example unpaid taxes or significant debt
  • notoriety, where activities have cast serious doubt on a person's standing in the local community
  • deception and dishonesty in dealings with the UK government
  • immigration-related matters, such as overstaying or working in breach of conditions
  • deprivation, where a person has previously been deprived of citizenship

The guidance applies to naturalisation and registration applications from people aged 10 or over on the date of application. It also says applicants must answer every question honestly and in full, and must tell the Home Office about significant events such as a conviction or a pending prosecution.

When you read a refusal letter, notice which of two levels it relies on. Some matters are described as ones where an applicant "will normally" be refused. For those, refusal is the expected outcome unless there are exceptional circumstances. Lower-level matters work differently: the caseworker must refuse if not satisfied on the balance of probabilities that the person is of good character, and has to weigh everything in the file. The wording tells you how much room there was for positive factors.

Criminal convictions: the thresholds

For applications made on or after 31 July 2023, the guidance says a person "will normally be refused" if they:

  • have received a custodial sentence of at least 12 months in the UK or overseas
  • have consecutive sentences totalling at least 12 months in the UK or overseas
  • are a persistent offender who shows a particular disregard for the law
  • have committed an offence that caused serious harm
  • have committed a sexual offence, or their details are recorded by the police on a register

Below those levels, a custodial sentence of less than 12 months, or a non-custodial sentence or out-of-court disposal recorded on the criminal record, must lead to refusal unless the caseworker is satisfied, on the balance of probabilities, that the person is of good character. For that judgement the guidance lists: how many times it happened, the period over which it happened, how serious it was and whether offending escalated, how long ago it was, the person's age at the time, and any exceptional or mitigating circumstances.

Details that catch people out:

  • The whole sentence counts, not the time served.
  • A suspended prison sentence is treated as non-custodial unless it is activated, for example because the person re-offended or broke its conditions. The guidance's example is 12 months suspended for 2 years followed by re-offending within the 2 years: the 12-month sentence is counted.
  • Concurrent sentences are not added together. The guidance says 9 months served concurrently with 6 months is not a sentence of 12 months or more. Consecutive sentences are added: 9 months and 6 months served consecutively are treated as one 15-month sentence.
  • A fine is a criminal conviction and forms part of the record. A fixed penalty notice does not, and does not normally lead to refusal unless it was not paid, or was unsuccessfully challenged and led to a conviction. The guidance adds that several notices in a short period could show disregard for the law.
  • Every conviction has to be declared, including "spent" ones. The guidance says nationality decisions are exempt from section 4 of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974, so old convictions can be taken into account whenever they happened. The one exception is for people resident in Northern Ireland, who need to disclose only convictions that are unspent under the Northern Ireland order of 1978.

Applications made before 31 July 2023 and still undecided are judged against older sentence-based thresholds. For example, under those thresholds a custodial sentence of less than 12 months leads to normal refusal unless 10 years have passed since the end of the sentence.

Immigration history

The guidance treats an "immigration breach" as a good character matter. Examples it lists include failing to comply with the conditions of permission, accessing public funds when prohibited, failing to report, assisting illegal immigration and working without permission. Apart from illegal entry, assisting illegal migration and hiring illegal workers, failing to comply with immigration requirements within the 10 years before the date of decision will normally be a reason to refuse.

Two points carry the most weight in current cases.

Illegal entry. For applications made from 10 February 2025, the guidance says a person who previously entered the UK illegally "will normally be refused, regardless of the time that has passed". The same applies to arriving without a required valid entry clearance or electronic travel authorisation after a dangerous journey; the guidance says a dangerous journey includes travelling by small boat or concealed in a vehicle, and does not include arriving as a passenger on a commercial airline. It also says it will normally be appropriate to disregard these matters where the arrival was outside the person's control, for example where there is reliable evidence the person was trafficked, such as a positive National Referral Mechanism decision.

Lawful residence breaches such as overstaying. The guidance explains that since 28 June 2022 a person who holds indefinite leave to enter or remain can be treated as meeting the lawful residence requirement without further enquiry. Breaches relating to lawful residence, other than illegal entry for applications from 10 February 2025, may be disregarded when assessing good character where all of these apply: the person is applying for naturalisation or certain registration routes after 28 June 2022, holds indefinite leave, and no concern has arisen since that grant that might cast doubt on the decision. Where that does not apply, the guidance says a past overstay will normally lead to refusal unless it is the sole adverse factor and either the application for leave was made on or after 24 November 2016 and fell within the overstayer exceptions, or the period without leave was not the applicant's fault (for example a refusal later withdrawn or quashed).

You must still always consider breaches that do not relate to lawful residence, such as working in breach of conditions, hiring illegal workers or failing to observe reporting requirements.

Dishonesty and failing to disclose

For many applicants this is the section that matters most, because it is about how the application itself was completed.

The guidance says concealment or lack of frankness "will raise doubt about" character. An application will normally be refused where the person has attempted to lie or conceal the truth about an aspect of their application, whether on the form or in the course of enquiries, including knowingly giving false personal details such as a date of birth, name or nationality. It will normally also be refused where the person has attempted to deceive another government department, with examples such as defrauding the benefits system or giving dishonest information to obtain a driving licence.

Three rules follow from that:

  • Deception in the previous 10 years. An application will normally be refused where there has been deception in the citizenship application or in an immigration application in the previous 10 years. It does not matter whether the deception was material to the grant. The deception is treated as continuing until the date it was discovered or admitted, so the 10 years can start later than the original application.
  • Failure to disclose. Where the applicant fails to disclose information that would have led to refusal on good character grounds, the application must be refused and any further application will normally be refused for the next 10 years, unless it is accepted that the failure was unintentional and a genuine error.
  • Genuine mistakes. The guidance says an application must not be refused where the person made a genuine mistake on the form, or claimed something they reasonably believed or were advised they were entitled to, and there are no other adverse factors.

The practical lesson in the guidance's own words is that every question must be answered in full. A conviction that would have been weighed on its merits can become a deception issue, with a 10-year effect, if it was left off the form.

Money, debts and other factors

Financial history is a smaller part of the test, but it shows up in refusals.

  • Debt. The guidance says an application will not normally be refused simply because a person is in debt, especially if repayments are made as agreed. Deliberately and recklessly building up debts with no serious intention to repay will normally lead to refusal.
  • Bankruptcy and company liquidation. Further enquiries are made. The guidance says an application can be granted where the bankruptcy order was annulled, where the person was discharged at least 10 years ago, where they were declared bankrupt abroad, or where the company was liquidated over 10 years ago. Otherwise the caseworker considers the scale, the economic circumstances and how culpable the person was. A director disqualification order will normally lead to refusal.
  • NHS debt. The guidance puts a debt of more than £500 under the relevant NHS overseas-visitor charging regulations within the factors that mean a person is not normally of good character. Once the debt is cleared it is not counted, though later charges or evidence of deception still can be. Evidence of payment must be receipts from the provider that charged.
  • Public funds. An application must not be refused simply because a person relies on public funds, but knowingly claiming funds to which one is not entitled will normally lead to refusal.
  • Council tax. Inability to pay because of a person's financial position, particularly if an arrangement is in place, will not normally lead to refusal. Unreasonably failing to pay, or making false statements to pay a lower rate, will.

Other categories, for example gang involvement, association with known criminals, proceeds of crime, sanctions, extremism and public order, are also covered in the guidance and normally lead to refusal where there is reliable information.

After a refusal: your options

Read the refusal letter first. It should state the reasons. Then look at the money and time involved.

Fees. The GOV.UK fee page says the application is £1,839 for adult naturalisation on form AN (£1,709 to apply plus a £130 ceremony fee). It says the fee for handling and processing "will not" be refunded if the application is refused or withdrawn, and that the ceremony fee is refunded only if the application is refused or withdrawn.

No right of appeal. Form NR states that "there is no legal right of appeal or review of nationality decisions". Section 44 of the British Nationality Act 1981 only requires that discretion be exercised without regard to race, colour or religion; its subsections (2) and (3) ceased to have effect in 2002. A court challenge by judicial review is a separate legal process with its own strict time limits and is outside the scope of this page.

Reconsideration. You can ask the Home Office to reconsider on form NR. The fee is £513 (GOV.UK nationality fees page, "Reconsideration of an application for naturalisation or registration"). The form says the charge is returned, less the ceremony fee where that applies, if the decision is reversed and the application approved. The form explains when the Home Office may reopen an application, for example where it did not use the correct requirements, where it refused for lack of a response when a response had been received but not linked, where it decided without allowing enough time to reply, where a conviction was quashed on appeal or was a case of mistaken identity, or where it failed to take account of documents it held. It lists grounds that it will not reconsider on, including long residence where the statutory requirements are not met, the convenience of holding a British passport, cultural or ancestry reasons and past armed forces service. The form states that where requirements are not met and discretion cannot be used, the decision cannot be reversed.

A new application. The form also says applications "are not kept under constant review" and that an unsuccessful applicant who wants to become British must submit a fresh application and fee. If the refusal rested on a time-limited factor, such as a 10-year deception or breach period, the date the period ends matters more than any argument about the earlier refusal.

Exceptional grants: what the guidance contemplates

The guidance accepts that someone can fall inside a category that caseworkers must normally refuse and still be granted. It calls this an exceptional grant, where "on the facts of the case, the application would normally be refused but there are mitigating circumstances which mean it would be appropriate to grant". All proposals to grant exceptionally must be approved by the chief caseworker, and a proposal to grant to someone with a custodial sentence of 12 months or more (for applications from 31 July 2023) must be approved by ministers.

The guidance gives examples, and they show the kind of facts that count rather than a formula:

  • a conviction for an offence not recognised in the UK, such as membership of a trade union
  • a person in their late sixties with a 2-year sentence from over 40 years ago and no further offending or adverse factors
  • a person who entered illegally 14 years ago, was recognised as having been trafficked into the UK and later granted refugee status, with no other adverse issues
  • a single 14-month sentence from 12 years ago, at age 19, followed by sustained work with youth and mental health charities
  • a significant partly unpaid NHS debt built up through life-sustaining treatment, which now affects the person's employment

The guidance also notes the Court of Appeal's decision in Secretary of State for the Home Department v Hubert Howard that long residence alone is not good character. What counts is conduct during the residence.

When people pay for help: good character cases usually turn on how the record is presented, which convictions or breaches were declared, and whether the refusal letter applied the right threshold to the right application date. Check that an adviser is registered for nationality work at the right level, or is a solicitor, before paying.

Finding a regulated adviser

The Migratio directory lists IAA-registered advisers (with their level) and SRA-regulated solicitors, each with their regulator and registration number so you can check them on the official register. Migratio is not regulated by the IAA or the SRA and does not give immigration advice. This page explains how the rules work in general; it does not tell you what to do in your own case.

Questions people ask

Can I appeal a British citizenship refusal for good character?

Form NR states there is no legal right of appeal or review of nationality decisions. You can ask for reconsideration on form NR (£513) or make a fresh application with a new fee. A court challenge by judicial review is a separate process with strict time limits.

Do I get my citizenship fee back if I am refused?

Not the main part. GOV.UK says the fee for handling and processing the application is not refunded if the application is refused or withdrawn. The citizenship ceremony fee (£130) is refunded if the application is refused or withdrawn.

Do spent convictions count for British citizenship?

They must still be declared. The Home Office good character guidance says nationality decisions are exempt from section 4 of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974, so old convictions can be taken into account. People resident in Northern Ireland need to disclose only convictions that are unspent under the Northern Ireland order.

How long after a refusal for deception can I apply again?

There is no fixed bar for every case, but the guidance says deception in an immigration application in the previous 10 years will normally lead to refusal, with the period running from when the deception was discovered or admitted. If the refusal was for failing to disclose information, any further application will normally be refused for the next 10 years unless the failure was a genuine, unintentional error.

Is a fine or a fixed penalty notice a problem for citizenship?

A fine is a conviction and must be declared. A fixed penalty notice is not part of the criminal record and does not normally lead to refusal unless it was unpaid or unsuccessfully challenged and led to a conviction. Several notices in a short period could still show disregard for the law.

What does the Home Office mean by good character?

The British Nationality Act 1981 does not define it. The Home Office guidance says it looks at all aspects of character on the balance of probabilities, weighing negative factors such as criminality, deception and immigration breaches against positive ones, and applies set thresholds for the most serious matters.

Sources

Last checked 2026-10-09.

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