Decades of Contribution Denied: The Hard fight for Citizenship
After 20 years in the UK, Amar faced a shock Citizenship refusal due to a past minor offence.
Despite decades of contributing to society and holding indefinite leave to remain, the Home Office denied his application.
Amar (name changed) came to RMC in August 2023 to request advice in relation to his citizenship application. After 20 years of living in the UK and 14 since he was granted indefinite leave to remain he had decided to make it official and apply to become a British Citizen. Amar had been working in the UK ever since he was granted permission to stay, contributing to society and his local community.
Fighting against destitution
Amar told us that 16 years prior to the application, when he was in his early 20s, whilst he was a refused asylum-seeker, he was working without permission which resulted in him being sentenced to 9 months of imprisonment. This was his only offence in his lifetime, at a young age. An offence that he had resorted to in an effort to provide himself food and shelter while fighting to regularise his stay, which he finally did. He never intended to cause any harm or commit any offence, but necessity meant it he had to work or face destitution.
The RMC caseworkers knew that as part of the application they would have to disclose the offence and argue the case. It had been the longstanding policy of the Home Office to allow applications for citizenship if more than 10 years had passed since the end of the sentence. While the policy had changed and become stricter only a few months before the application was submitted, RMC were still positive that his case was going to succeed.
A shock refusal
To RMC’s surprise, some months later they received a refusal letter. The Home Office, whilst considering the length of residence in the UK and contribution to society by working, paying tax and national insurance, were nonetheless not satisfied that there were sufficiently compelling mitigating circumstances to demonstrate Amar was now of good character despite earlier offending.
The case was referred to RMC’s Senior Caseworker who decided it was appropriate to challenge this decision. Amar had already paid £1,630 in application fees and was now asked to pay additional £450 for a reconsideration request. Our Senior Caseworker worked with Amar to gather evidence of his track record of contributions and present the legal arguments in support of this case.
The RMC caseworkers knew that as part of the application they would have to disclose the offence and argue the case. It had been the longstanding policy of the Home Office to allow applications for citizenship if more than 10 years had passed since the end of the sentence. While the policy had changed and become stricter only a few months before the application was submitted, RMC were still positive that his case was going to succeed.
Home at last
Amar’s reconsideration request was successful. A year after Amar approached us for advice and after having spent more than £2,000 and months of being uncertain about the outcome of his application, he had finally been granted citizenship.
Amar is now finally a citizen in the country that he has made his home for the past 20 years.
I’m writing to express my deepest gratitude for your assistance with my case your expertise and support made a significant difference and truly appreciate your hard work. I am immensely thankful for your hard work and commitment, for your exceptional legal services and for successfully navigating my case to a win . I am grateful for your patience and the personal attention you provided through this process, your efforts have had a significant positive impact on my life please accept my heartfelt thanks for your dedication and for defending my case with such competence Your professionalism and prompt attention to detail greatly relieved my concerns
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