Immigration Breaches and Citizenship Applications
This guide sets out what the published good character guidance says about immigration breaches. It quotes the rule rather than estimating an outcome: Rowan cannot assess a case or say what the Home Office would decide.
- Section
- British Citizenship
- Reading time
- 8 min
- Last checked
- 3 September 2026
- Source
- The published Immigration Rules and GOV.UK guidance, linked throughout this guide.
- Rowan does not
- Look at your own case, tell you which route to choose, or say what the Home Office will decide. This guide shows the published rules and where to read them.
In short
- The published test is a 10-year one, running to the date of decision, not the date of application.
- Illegal entry, assisting illegal migration and hiring illegal workers normally lead to refusal regardless of the time that has passed.
- The illegal entry provision was added to the guidance on 10 February 2025 and applies to applications made after that date.
- Deception in the 10 years before the citizenship application is normally a refusal, and the deception is treated as continuing until it is discovered or admitted.
- Police registration ended on 4 August 2022 and is no longer a condition anyone can breach.
Immigration breaches are assessed under the good character requirement for British citizenship. The Home Office good character caseworker guidance, version 7.0 dated 30 April 2026, says that failing to comply with immigration requirements within the 10 years before the date of decision will normally be a reason to refuse. Illegal entry, assisting illegal migration and hiring illegal workers normally lead to refusal regardless of how long ago they happened — the illegal entry provision was added on 10 February 2025. Deception in the 10 years before the application, and non-disclosure on the form, are dealt with separately.
The Guidance This Turns On
British citizenship requires the applicant to be of good character. How that is applied is set out in the Home Office's good character: caseworker guidance. The current version is 7.0, dated 30 April 2026. Quotations on this page are from that version. Our guide to the good character requirement covers the rest of it, and the changes to the guidance tracks the revisions.
Good character is a citizenship requirement. It is not part of a settlement application, which is decided against the suitability requirements of the Immigration Rules instead.
What the Guidance Counts as an Immigration Breach
The guidance describes immigration breaches as failures to comply with immigration requirements, and lists:
- failing to comply with conditions on permission to enter or stay
- accessing public funds when prohibited from doing so
- failing to report without reasonable excuse
- assisting illegal immigration
- working without permission
- hiring illegal workers
- non-compliance with the EEA Regulations 2016
Separately, it treats breaches of lawful residence as including overstaying, illegal entry, absconding, and non-compliance with the EEA Regulations.
Two things that older material lists here no longer exist. Police registration ended on 4 August 2022 and was removed from the Immigration Rules, so it is not a condition anyone can now breach. And biometric residence permits stopped being issued at the end of 2024; status is held as an eVisa in a UKVI account and proved with a share code.
The 10-Year Rule
The guidance states the general position directly: “Failing to comply with immigration requirements within the 10 years before the date of decision will normally be a reason to refuse.”
The period runs to the date of decision, not the date the application is made. That is a distinction worth reading carefully, because a decision can be made months after an application.
The guidance allows breaches committed when the person was a child to be disregarded where they were outside the child's control, giving the example of a dependent child affected by a parent's overstaying.
What the 10 Years Does Not Cover
Three things sit outside the 10-year window. The guidance treats illegal entry, assisting illegal migration and hiring illegal workers as normally leading to refusal “regardless of the time that has passed”.
The illegal entry provision was added on 10 February 2025. GOV.UK's own summary of that change says applications made after that date which include illegal entry will normally be refused citizenship, regardless of when the illegal entry occurred. The guidance also carries additional considerations for someone who entered illegally or arrived without a required valid entry clearance having made a dangerous journey.
Deception and Non-Disclosure
These are handled separately from breaches, and the guidance is specific about the time periods:
- “An application will normally be refused if there has been any deception in the 10 years prior to the application for citizenship.” That covers deception during the citizenship application process and in a previous immigration application in the previous 10 years.
- “the deception is regarded as continuing until the date on which it is discovered or admitted” — so the 10 years is measured from discovery or admission, not from the act.
- “Where the applicant fails to disclose information that would result in the application being refused on good character grounds, the application must be refused and any further application for citizenship will normally be refused for the next 10 years”, unless it is accepted that the failure to disclose was unintentional and a genuine error.
On the applicant's own obligation, the guidance says applicants must answer all questions asked of them during the application process honestly and in full, and must inform the Home Office of any significant event, such as a criminal conviction or a pending prosecution.
The Other Citizenship Requirements Still Apply
Good character sits alongside the rest of the naturalisation requirements, which are unaffected by any of the above:
- English at B1 on the Common European Framework, or a degree taught or researched in English — see our guide to English language tests
- a pass in the Life in the UK test
- a fee of £1,709 plus a £130 ceremony fee, which GOV.UK totals as £1,839. There is no fee waiver for an adult naturalisation application.
- a decision usually within 6 months
Our guide to applying for British citizenship and our guide to the route from settlement to citizenship cover the residence conditions. The official pages are on GOV.UK.
What This Guide Cannot Do
Rowan states published rules. It cannot assess whether a particular breach would lead to a refusal, weigh mitigation, or predict a decision. The guidance itself is written as what will “normally” happen, which means a caseworker applies it to the facts of a case.
Immigration advice on an individual case is regulated: only a solicitor, a barrister, or an adviser regulated by the Immigration Advice Authority may give it. GOV.UK's find an immigration adviser service lists them, and our guide on applying with or without a solicitor explains what they do. If an application is refused, the decision letter sets out what follows.
Questions and answers
What does the guidance say about past immigration breaches?
The good character caseworker guidance says that failing to comply with immigration requirements within the 10 years before the date of decision will normally be a reason to refuse. Note that the period runs to the date of decision, not the date of application.
Is there anything the 10 years does not apply to?
Yes. The guidance treats illegal entry, assisting illegal migration and hiring illegal workers as normally leading to refusal regardless of the time that has passed. The illegal entry provision was added on 10 February 2025 and applies to applications made after that date, whenever the illegal entry occurred.
What counts as an immigration breach?
The guidance lists failing to comply with conditions on permission to enter or stay, accessing public funds when prohibited, failing to report without reasonable excuse, assisting illegal immigration, working without permission, hiring illegal workers, and non-compliance with the EEA Regulations 2016. Breaches of lawful residence include overstaying, illegal entry and absconding.
What happens if a breach is not declared?
The guidance says that where an applicant fails to disclose information that would result in refusal on good character grounds, the application must be refused and any further citizenship application will normally be refused for the next 10 years — unless it is accepted that the failure to disclose was unintentional and a genuine error.
Does a breach committed as a child count?
The guidance allows breaches committed when the person was a child to be disregarded where they were outside the child's control, giving the example of a dependent child affected by a parent's overstaying.
This guide is general information about published immigration rules. It is not advice about an individual application under s.82 Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, and Rowan is not regulated by the Immigration Advice Authority. Immigration rules change several times a year. For advice on a particular situation, contact an adviser authorised by the Immigration Advice Authority or an immigration solicitor. Always check GOV.UK for the authoritative current rules.