Good Character Requirement Changes

What the Requirement Is, and Where It Applies

Good character is a requirement of British nationality law, in Schedule 1 to the British Nationality Act 1981. The Home Office works from published good character guidance, which applies to applications for registration and naturalisation from people aged 10 or over. It does not apply to certain registration provisions, including the statelessness provisions in Schedule 2 to the Act.

It is not the test used for settlement. Settlement applications are assessed against the suitability grounds in Part 9 of the Immigration Rules. The two overlap in subject matter but are different tests with different thresholds, and a page that treats them as one thing will mislead you about both.

The current version of the guidance is version 7.0, published for Home Office staff on 30 April 2026.

31 July 2023: The Criminality Thresholds Were Rewritten

This is the change most writing on the subject has not caught up with. The old structure — refusal for a sentence of 4 years or more, 15 years' wait for 12 months to 4 years, 10 years for under 12 months, 3 years for a non-custodial sentence — applies only to applications made before 31 July 2023 that are still awaiting a decision.

For applications made on or after that date, the guidance says a person will normally be refused if they:

• received a custodial sentence of at least 12 months, in the UK or overseas, with no time limit attached
• have consecutive sentences totalling at least 12 months
• are a persistent offender who shows a particular disregard for the law
• committed an offence which caused serious harm
• committed a sexual offence, or are recorded by the police on a register

Where there is a custodial sentence of less than 12 months, or a non-custodial sentence or out-of-court disposal on the record, the caseworker must refuse if they are not satisfied, on the balance of probabilities, that the person is of good character. That is a shift from fixed waiting periods to a weighing exercise, and the guidance lists what is weighed: how long ago the offences were, how many there were, the period they were committed over, their seriousness, whether they escalated, their nature, the applicant's age at the time, and any evidence of genuine change.

Two consequences are worth naming. A four-year sentence is no longer the line — twelve months is. And a person with a sentence of at least 12 months is not now told to come back in fifteen years; the refusal has no timetable, and the only route past it is the exceptional grant provisions, which need chief caseworker and, for custodial cases at that level, ministerial approval.

10 February 2025: Illegal Entry

The guidance now says that a person applying for citizenship from 10 February 2025 who previously entered the UK illegally will normally be refused, regardless of the time that has passed since the illegal entry.

The same applies to a person who arrived without a required valid entry clearance or electronic travel authorisation having made a dangerous journey. The guidance describes a dangerous journey as including, but not limited to, travelling by small boat or concealed in a vehicle, and says it does not include arriving as a passenger on a commercial airline.

For applications made before 10 February 2025 where illegal entry is a factor, the older approach applies: a review of whether the breach should be disregarded, and otherwise refusal where the illegal entry occurred in the preceding 10 years.

The guidance also sets out where this is not applied:

• where the arrival was outside the person's control, including reliable evidence of trafficking such as a positive decision through the National Referral Mechanism
• where the person was a child at the time
• where a refugee has a defence under section 31 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, in which case the guidance says the application must not be refused on the sole basis of that illegal entry or overstaying

28 June 2022: Lawful Residence Breaches and Settlement

Since 28 June 2022, immigration breaches relating to lawful residence — overstaying, illegal entry, absconding, and failure to comply with the saved EEA Regulations — may be disregarded when assessing good character where all of the following apply: the person is applying for naturalisation or registration under the named sections after that date, they hold settlement, and no concerns have arisen since settlement was granted that might cast doubt on it.

Illegal entry was carved out of that for applications from 10 February 2025. And breaches that are not about lawful residence are always considered — the guidance names working in breach of conditions, hiring illegal workers, and failure to observe reporting requirements. Our guide to immigration breaches and citizenship goes through this in detail.

30 April 2026: What Version 7.0 Changed

The guidance lists its own changes. Version 7.0 was mostly clarification rather than new policy:

• technical clarifications setting out additional considerations giving effect to international obligations, and for where a person was not in control of their illegal entry or presence in the UK
• a clarification of the approach to balance of probabilities assessments
• clarification of policy on extant deportation decisions, deportation orders and exclusion orders
• a technical clarification that, for applications submitted before 31 July 2023, non-custodial sentences accrued in the 3 years prior to the decision — rather than the application date — will normally result in refusal
• a clarification that the trafficking example for exceptional grants refers to those trafficked into the UK

Suspended Sentences: Two Different Rules

The good character guidance says a suspended prison sentence must be treated as a non-custodial sentence, unless it is later activated because the person reoffended or breached its conditions — in which case the original sentence counts.

That is not the same as the position for visas. The statement of changes of 5 March 2026 made a suspended sentence of 12 months or more a mandatory refusal ground under Part 9 of the Immigration Rules, and the criminality rules for electronic travel authorisations were changed in July 2026 to include them too. Those are immigration rules, not the nationality test, and one does not follow from the other.

What the Guidance Actually Says About Money

The guidance has no HMRC or income tax section. Financial matters are dealt with under “financial soundness” and “deception and dishonesty”, and what it says is more forgiving than its reputation:

• An application is not normally refused simply because a person is in debt, particularly where repayments are being made as agreed or acceptable efforts are being made. Deliberately and recklessly building up debt with no serious intention to pay is a different matter.
• An application must not be refused simply because someone is reliant on public funds. Knowingly claiming funds you were not entitled to will normally lead to refusal.
• Council tax: not normally refused where someone could not pay because of their financial position, especially where an arrangement is being negotiated. Unreasonable failure to pay, or a false statement to avoid paying the correct rate, will normally lead to refusal.
• NHS debt of more than £500 is a ground for refusal under Part 9 of the Immigration Rules and a person will not normally be considered of good character while it is outstanding. Once cleared, the guidance says it must not be counted.
• Bankruptcy is not a bar. A grant is possible where the order was annulled, the discharge was at least 10 years ago, or a liquidation was more than 10 years ago; otherwise scale, circumstances and culpability are weighed. A director disqualification order will normally lead to refusal.

Dishonesty towards HM Revenue and Customs, or any other government department, is caught by a separate heading: an application will normally be refused where the person has attempted to deceive or has been clearly dishonest in dealings with another government department. Our financial issues guide and tax guide for visa holders cover the underlying obligations.

Disclosure

The disclosure rules have not changed and they are strict. Applicants must declare all convictions, however old, because nationality decisions are exempt from section 4 of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 — so spent convictions must still be declared, and may still be taken into account. A person resident in Northern Ireland declares only unspent convictions under the 1978 Order. For cautions, only unspent cautions need be declared.

The consequence of not declaring is separate from and often worse than the thing not declared. Where an applicant fails to disclose information that would have led to refusal on good character grounds, the guidance says the application must be refused and any further application will normally be refused for the next 10 years, unless the failure was an unintentional and genuine error.

Our criminal record guide and minor offences guide cover how particular disposals are treated, and our guide to the effect of refusals covers immigration history. For settlement rather than citizenship, see our settlement and criminal record guide.

Reading the Guidance Itself

The guidance is published in full, it names its own version and publication date, and it lists what changed from the previous version. If any part of it might touch your facts, it is the document to read rather than a summary of it — including this one. Our good character requirement guide covers the whole framework, and our citizenship requirements guide covers the rest of the application.

Only a solicitor or a person regulated by the Immigration Advice Authority may give immigration advice on particular facts. Our guide to doing it yourself or using a solicitor sets out the difference.

Questions and answers