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Mr Par
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Reference: T505/17
19 January 2017
Dear Mr Par,
Thank you for your e-mail of 5 January in which you ask whether a criminal offence dealt with by a fixed penalty notice must be declared when making an application for British Citizenship.
Applicants for British Citizenship are required to provide details of any previous criminal matter including criminal convictions within and outside the UK, road traffic offences, fixed penalty notices and cautions, as well as other activities which may have a bearing on a person’s character, such as civil judgments. Further information can be found in the guidance for applicants which accompanies the application form, available on GOV.UK.
Guidance on how fixed penalty notices (FPNs) are considered as part of the good character assessment is set out in section 3.2 of Annex D to Chapter 18 of the Nationality Instructions, available on GOV.UK at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/406368/Chapter_18_Annex_D_v02.pdf. A FPN does not form part of a person’s criminal record as there is no admission of guilt. Generally a decision-maker will not consider them, unless the person has:
· failed to pay and there were criminal proceedings as a result; or
· received numerous fixed penalty notices which would suggest a pattern of behaviour that calls into question their character.
Notwithstanding the above, as there is a range of offences for which a FPN can be given, an applicant is required to declare a FPN in order for the decision-maker to determine what bearing, if any, it will have on an individual’s good character.
Yours sincerely,
T Gammons
Migrant Criminality Policy Team | Free Movement & Criminality Policy Unit
Immigration & Border Policy Directorate | International & Immigration Policy Group
Home Office
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