When applying to naturalise or register as a British citizen, applicants are required to provide two referees who can help prove and verify their identity. Here, we explore the rules surrounding this requirement.
The relevant guidance provides that referees relied on in a British citizenship application must:
In addition to the above, the referees must not:
At least one referee must be a person of professional standing. A full list of ‘acceptable professional persons’ is set out here. Examples include accountant, bank or building society professional, barrister, dentist, director of a VAT registered company, member of parliament, nurse, optician, police officer, social worker or solicitor. This referee can be of any nationality.
The second referee must be the holder of a British citizen passport and be over 25 years old, unless they are a person of professional standing.
In respect of child applicants who are applying to register as a British citizen, at least one of the referees must be a person who has dealt with the child in a professional capacity. This includes teachers, social workers, doctors and health visitors.
If it is not possible to provide a referee who has dealt with the child in a professional capacity, but evidence is provided that demonstrates that attempts were made to do so, the Home Office can accept two referees who meet the criteria for referees on adult applications.
Referees must provide their details and sign a declaration confirming that they are eligible to act as a referee and that the photograph is a true likeness of the applicant.
The details they must provide include:
Referees who provide false information, knowingly or recklessly, can face a fine of up to £5,000 or up to three months imprisonment.
If a referee does not meet the above requirements, the guidance states that the Home Office caseworker must ask the applicant to provide a different referee. This would result in delays to the application and therefore applicants should ensure they only include details of referees that are eligible for their application.
As referees are required in order for an application to be successful, it is important that individuals wishing to apply for British citizenship first consider whether they are able to provide referees that meet the above requirements.
Our immigration team specialise in all aspects of citizenship and nationality, including applications to naturalise or register as a British citizen.
If you require legal advice regarding this or any other aspect of immigration law, our immigration specialists are always happy to have an initial discussion with you, please contact us or complete or enquiry form below.
