Good Character Requirement Explained

What Is the Good Character Requirement?

The good character requirement is set out in the British Nationality Act 1981. It applies to anyone applying for British citizenship through naturalisation or registration (as an adult). The Home Office publishes detailed guidance on how it assesses good character in its Nationality: good character requirement guidance on GOV.UK.

There is no statutory definition of good character and no simple checklist. The Home Office assesses conduct across a set of headings — criminality, immigration breaches, deception, financial affairs, notoriety and others — and the guidance is what says how each is weighed. It is updated often; the version current when this page was checked was last updated on 30 April 2026.

Criminal Convictions: the 31 July 2023 Change

This is the part most often described out of date. The old sliding scale — refusal for 4 years or more, 15 years’ wait for 12 months to 4 years, and so on — was replaced for applications made on or after 31 July 2023.

The current thresholds

The guidance says an application will normally be refused where the person has:

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

Note what is missing: a time limit. Under the current thresholds a sentence of at least 12 months is a normal refusal however long ago it was. That is stricter than the old 15-year rule it replaced, not more lenient.

The old thresholds, and who they still apply to

They apply to applications made before 31 July 2023 whose decisions were still outstanding. On those, refusal was normal for a custodial sentence of at least 4 years; for a sentence of at least 12 months but less than 4 years unless 15 years had passed since the end of it; for a sentence of less than 12 months unless 10 years had passed; and for a non-custodial sentence or out-of-court disposal recorded on the criminal record in the 3 years before the decision.

Non-custodial sentences and out-of-court disposals

Under the current guidance these are not subject to a fixed bar. Where someone has a non-custodial sentence or an out-of-court disposal recorded on their criminal record, the caseworker assesses good character on the balance of probabilities.

Suspended sentences

The guidance is explicit: “A suspended prison sentence must be treated as a non-custodial sentence” — unless it was activated, by reoffending or by a breach of its conditions, in which case it is treated as the custodial sentence it became.

Cautions and warnings

A caution is an out-of-court disposal, so it falls into the balance of probabilities assessment above rather than into a fixed bar.

For more on how criminal records affect citizenship, see our criminal record and citizenship guide.

Immigration Breaches

The guidance treats immigration breaches in two groups, and the difference between them matters a great deal.

Breaches with a 10-year window

Failing to comply with immigration requirements in the 10 years before the date of decision will normally be a reason to refuse. Examples include overstaying a visa and working without permission.

Breaches with no time limit

Some breaches will normally be a reason to refuse regardless of the time that has passed: illegal entry, assisting illegal immigration, and employing illegal workers.

The guidance was updated further here in 2025: applications made on or after 10 February 2025 by a person who entered the UK illegally will normally be refused, regardless of when the illegal entry happened. The guidance also addresses the position where a person was not in control of their illegal entry or presence.

Deception and Dishonesty

The guidance states the principle narrowly: “An application will normally be refused only where the person has attempted to lie or conceal the truth about an aspect of their application.” So an honest mistake is not the same thing as deception — but the consequences where it is deception are heavy:

• Failing to disclose information you were required to give leads to refusal, and “any further application for citizenship will normally be refused for the next 10 years”.
• Deception in any immigration application in the preceding 10 years is a reason to refuse.
• That 10-year period “starts from the point the deception is discovered or admitted” — not from when it happened.

The last point catches people out. Old deception that only came to light recently starts its clock recently.

Examples the guidance is concerned with include:

• submitting false documents, such as fabricated bank statements or forged qualifications
• giving false information on an application form
• using a false identity
• failing to declare a previous immigration refusal or removal

Financial Soundness

The guidance says a person may not be considered of good character where “their financial affairs have not been in appropriate order — for example, they have failed to pay taxes for which they were liable”. Under that heading it covers:

• Tax: deliberate evasion, and more broadly a failure to pay tax that was due.
• Benefit fraud: fraudulently claiming benefits.
• Bankruptcy and debt: bankruptcy and outstanding county court judgments are considered, and are not automatically disqualifying on their own.
• NHS debt: the guidance says “A person will not normally be considered to be of good character if they have outstanding debts to the NHS.” The threshold used is £500 or more, which matches the refusal ground in the Immigration Rules. This is a debt for treatment received. It is not the same thing as the healthcare surcharge, which is paid up front with a visa application.

Other Conduct Issues

The Home Office may also consider:

• Involvement in terrorism or extremism: Any association with terrorist organisations or extremist activities will result in refusal.
• War crimes and crimes against humanity: Involvement or complicity will result in permanent refusal.
• Notoriety: the guidance describes behaviour reflecting “so poorly on a person’s character that it would not be appropriate to grant them British citizenship”, and gives “persistently and deliberately flouting the law” as an example.
• Failure to comply with court orders: Outstanding court orders or failure to pay child support can count against you.

Spent Convictions

Under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974, some convictions become "spent" after a rehabilitation period. Spent convictions are generally not considered in employment checks, but the position for citizenship is different.

The Home Office can and does consider spent convictions in good character assessments: a conviction being spent does not remove it from the picture. Since 31 July 2023 the current criminality thresholds do not turn on how long ago the sentence was at all, which makes the rehabilitation period a poor guide to what will happen here.

How the Assessment Works

The citizenship application form asks you to declare any criminal convictions, cautions, involvement in immigration offences, and other relevant conduct. The Home Office also conducts its own checks, including:

• Police National Computer (PNC) check for criminal records
• Immigration history check
• Security service checks
• Cross-referencing information from other government departments

It is essential to be truthful on your application. Failing to declare a conviction or offence is itself a form of deception and can lead to refusal even if the original offence would not have caused a problem. The Home Office will discover discrepancies through their checks.

What to Do If You Have Character Concerns

• Be honest. Declare everything relevant on your application. Non-disclosure is worse than the offence itself.
• Read the current guidance, not an old summary. The thresholds changed on 31 July 2023 and the guidance has been updated several times since. There is no application fee refund for applying against a threshold you have not met, and the citizenship fee is £1,839.
• Provide context. The guidance is written around caseworker judgement in several places — the balance of probabilities assessment for non-custodial sentences, and the exceptions where a person was not in control of their illegal entry — so the circumstances and any evidence about them are part of what is looked at.
• Take regulated advice on a specific record. Whether a particular history meets the requirement is a question about your facts, not about the published rule, and it is the kind of question only a regulated adviser may answer. Immigration advisers are regulated by the Immigration Advice Authority, and solicitors by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. See our guide to what immigration advice costs.

Good Character and Settlement Are Different Tests

The good character requirement belongs to nationality law and applies to citizenship applications. A settlement application is assessed instead against the suitability grounds in the Immigration Rules. The two overlap — serious convictions and immigration deception count against you either way — but they are separate tests with separate wording, and passing one does not settle the other.

The other two citizenship requirements are the Life in the UK test and English at B1 in speaking and listening.

Questions and answers