Verify any claim · lenz.io
Claim analyzed
Politics“The UK Home Office has updated its guidance so that some people who entered the United Kingdom illegally may be eligible to apply for British citizenship.”
Submitted by Vivid Zebra 8a1c
The conclusion
Open in workbench →The evidence shows the 2025 guidance change made citizenship harder, not easier, for people who entered the UK illegally. Official Home Office guidance says such applicants will normally be refused on good-character grounds. Although narrow exceptional cases may still exist, those do not show that the update created or expanded eligibility.
Caveats
- “May be eligible to apply” is not the same as “likely to be granted”; the guidance says illegal entry will normally lead to refusal.
- The phrase “updated its guidance so that” is misleading here because the documented change was restrictive, not permissive.
- Rare exceptions or discretionary grants exist, but they are too narrow to describe the overall effect of the 2025 policy change.
Get notified if new evidence updates this analysis
Create a free account to track this claim.
Sources
Sources used in the analysis
This guidance tells you how to consider whether a person applying for British citizenship meets the good character requirement. ... With the exception of illegal entry, assisting illegal migration, and hiring illegal workers, which will normally be a reason to refuse an application regardless of the time that has passed, failing to comply with immigration requirements within the 10 years before the date of decision will normally be a reason to refuse an application for British citizenship on the grounds of not meeting the good character requirement. ... - illegal entry (including those who arrived in the UK without a required valid entry clearance or electronic travel authorisation having made a dangerous journey) for applications from 10 February 2025 ... Any 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 took place. Any person applying for citizenship before 10 February 2025 where illegal entry is a factor, will have their application reviewed to determine whether that immigration breach should be disregarded for the purpose of the character assessment. ... A person who applies for citizenship from 10 February 2025 who has previously arrived in the UK without a required valid entry clearance or electronic travel authorisation, having made a dangerous journey, will normally be refused citizenship regardless of the time that has passed since the immigration breach took place.
The legal challenge concerns amendments made to the Home Office's Good character: caseworker guidance in February 2025. As Wilsons explained in earlier articles, the revised guidance states that people who entered or arrived in the UK illegally will normally have their applications for British citizenship refused, regardless of how long ago the entry occurred. Under the previous policy, some historic immigration breaches could be disregarded once an applicant had been granted indefinite leave to remain and had demonstrated good character since that point. On 11 February 2025, the Home Office updated its good character guidance to state that anyone who has entered the UK illegally is presumed not to be of good character and will generally be refused British citizenship.
"Your application for citizenship will normally be refused if: • you entered the UK illegally, no matter how much time has passed since the illegal entry took place • you previously arrived without a required valid entry clearance or electronic travel authorisation, having made a dangerous journey. A dangerous journey includes, but is not limited to, travelling by small boat or concealed in a vehicle or other conveyance." This Guide AN booklet summarises the legal requirements to apply for naturalisation and incorporates changes under the Nationality and Borders Act 2022 and subsequent policy updates.
On 10 February 2025, changes were made to the Good Character requirement guidance for applications for British citizenship. The policy changes prevent people from obtaining British citizenship if they entered the UK illegally. The amendments were not anticipated and came in with immediate effect for all applications made on or after 10 February 2025, irrespective of when the individual entered the UK. The guidance now states: “Any 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 took place.”
This guidance tells Home Office staff how to consider applications for naturalisation as a British citizen. It states that people who have entered the UK illegally and have not been granted limited leave "will normally fall to be refused" on the fact that they have breached immigration laws. The Nationality and Borders Act 2022 amended the British Nationality Act 1981 so that where a person has been granted indefinite leave to enter or remain in the UK, they can be treated as meeting the requirement to have been lawfully resident without enquiring into whether they have been in the UK in breach of immigration laws prior to their grant of indefinite leave.
On 10 February 2025, the Home Office amended its guidance on how it assesses whether someone is of ‘good character’ to be granted naturalisation as a British citizen. The main change affects people who entered or arrived in the United Kingdom ‘illegally’. The guidance now says that for anyone applying for naturalisation from 10 February 2025, if they entered or arrived in the UK illegally, however long ago this happened, ‘normally’ their application will be refused. ... The guidance records the Minister for Legal Migration Tom Pursglove as saying: “On 10 February we strengthened good character policy for citizenship to make it clear that anyone who enters the UK illegally, or who arrives without a required valid entry clearance or electronic valid authorisation having made a dangerous journey, including small boat arrivals regardless of their date of entry, will normally be refused British citizenship. Each citizenship application will continue to be considered on a case-by-case basis and the Secretary of State may choose to apply discretion to grant citizenship on an exceptional basis where there are particularly exceptional, compelling or mitigating circumstances, and where necessary to comply with our international obligations.”
If they entered illegally in the past ten years, they will normally be refused, unless they have a defence under section 31(1) of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 (“the 1999 Act”). If they entered illegally more than ten years ago, this should be discounted when considering their character. ... Any 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 took place. Any person applying for citizenship before 10 February 2025 where illegal entry is a factor, will continue to have their application reviewed to determine whether that immigration breach should be disregarded for the purpose of the character assessment. ... On 11 February 2025, the Home Office updated its good character guidance to state that anyone who has entered the UK illegally is presumed not to be of good character and will generally be refused British citizenship. This includes individuals who later obtained leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain. ... The guidance acknowledges that each application must be considered on its merits. However, it also states that discretion to grant citizenship in such cases “should rarely be exercised.” Therefore, applications involving previous unlawful entry or stay are likely to be refused unless exceptional circumstances exist.
Any 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 took place. Any person applying for citizenship before 10 February 2025 where illegal entry is a factor, will continue to have their application reviewed to determine whether that immigration breach should be disregarded for the purpose of the character assessment. ... Arriving without a required valid entry clearance or electronic travel authorisation, having made a dangerous journey A person who applies for citizenship from 10 February 2025 who has previously arrived without a required valid entry clearance or electronic travel authorisation, having made a dangerous journey will normally be refused citizenship. A dangerous journey includes, but is not limited to, travelling by small boat or concealed in a vehicle or other conveyance. It does not include, for example, arrival as a passenger with a commercial airline.
You usually need to prove you’re of good character before you can apply for citizenship. The Home Office look at a range of things to decide this. For example, the Home Office might decide you’re not eligible if you have: ... - broken a condition of your leave in the last 10 years - for example working or claiming public funds without permission - travelled to the UK without a visa or electronic travel authorisation - travelled to the UK on a dangerous journey - for example, on a small boat or hidden in a vehicle ... If you travelled to the UK without a visa or ETA or on a dangerous journey, the Home Office might still grant you citizenship. They’ll look at your situation and decide if there were exceptional reasons why you came to the UK that way.
So the key changes are the additions to the suitability good character guidance which say that an application will normally be refused if someone has entered the UK illegally or via a dangerous journey. A dangerous journey is a small boat crossing, so usually over the Channel from France, or concealed in a vehicle. ... So for illegal entry there is a complete defence if you were a refugee. You claimed asylum after entering the UK and you claimed asylum promptly, not necessarily the first day, but promptly, quickly, and your asylum claim was successful, and you had no reasonable opportunity to claim asylum in another safe country. ... Unfortunately, a dangerous entry does not get the same defence. If you entered by small boat or concealed in a vehicle then usually your application will be refused and only in exceptional circumstances will it be granted.
⚠️ Key change: If you entered the UK illegally, your naturalisation application may now be refused, no matter how long you've lived here — even if you have indefinite leave to remain. The Home Office’s updated good character policy means illegal entry will ‘normally’ lead to refusal, with discretion only in exceptional cases. Lawyers are challenging the policy in court, arguing it is unlawful and discriminates against refugees and long-term residents.
Under the previous Home Office policy, illegal entry to the UK more than ten years ago could be disregarded in the citizenship good character assessment, particularly once the person had been granted indefinite leave to remain and had lived lawfully. The February 2025 update removed this discretion, stating that any person applying for citizenship from 10 February 2025 who previously entered the UK illegally will normally be refused, regardless of how much time has passed. As a result, people who regularised their status after historic illegal entry, including refugees and long‑term residents, may now be blocked from naturalising as British citizens unless there are exceptional circumstances.
A discussion thread among immigration advisers reproduces the updated Home Office wording: "Any 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 took place." Contributors note that this removes the previous "10‑year rule" under which illegal entry more than ten years earlier could be disregarded for settled applicants, and they highlight that discretion now appears very limited.
What do you think of the claim?
Your challenge will appear immediately.
Challenge submitted!
For developers
This same pipeline is available via API.
Verify your AI's output programmatically.
/extract pulls claims from text ·
/verify returns sourced verdicts ·
/ask answers follow-up questions.
Continue your research
Verify a related claim next.
Debate
Two AI advocates debated this claim using the research gathered.
Argument for
The claim is technically true because the updated Home Office guidance, as confirmed by Source 6 (Wilson Solicitors) and Source 7 (Richmond Chambers), explicitly preserves ministerial discretion to grant citizenship 'on an exceptional basis where there are particularly exceptional, compelling or mitigating circumstances,' meaning some people who entered illegally remain eligible. Furthermore, Source 9 (Citizens Advice) and Source 10 (YouTube immigration lawyer explainer) confirm that specific defenses exist — such as the refugee defense under the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 — that can render illegal entrants eligible for citizenship, directly supporting the claim that 'some people who entered the UK illegally may be eligible to apply for British citizenship.'
The Proponent's argument relies on ministerial discretion and refugee defenses cited in Sources 6, 7, 9, and 10 while ignoring that Source 1 and Source 7 state such discretion should rarely be exercised and that the February 2025 update removed the prior 10-year disregard rule for historic illegal entry. This approach cherry-picks exceptions to mischaracterize a policy of normal refusal, as confirmed by Sources 1, 2, 3, 4, and 12, without establishing any expansion of eligibility.
Argument against
The claim is false because Source 1 (GOV.UK), Source 2 (EIN), Source 3 (Home Office), Source 4 (Gryklaw), Source 6 (Wilson Solicitors), Source 7 (Richmond Chambers), Source 8 (We Wanted Workers), and Source 12 (LLM Background Knowledge) all confirm the February 2025 update to good character guidance states that anyone applying from 10 February 2025 who previously entered the UK illegally will normally be refused citizenship regardless of time passed, reversing the prior policy under which historic illegal entry could be disregarded after 10 years or ILR. This change blocks eligibility for such applicants rather than enabling it, with discretion described as rare or exceptional only.
The Opponent commits a false dichotomy fallacy by conflating 'normally refused' with 'ineligible to apply,' when Source 6 (Wilson Solicitors) explicitly confirms that ministerial discretion to grant citizenship remains available in 'particularly exceptional, compelling or mitigating circumstances,' and Source 10 (YouTube immigration lawyer explainer) confirms a complete statutory defense exists for refugees under the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 — meaning some illegal entrants are not merely eligible to apply but can succeed. The Opponent's own cited sources, including Source 7 (Richmond Chambers), acknowledge that 'each application must be considered on its merits' and that Source 9 (Citizens Advice) states the Home Office 'might still grant you citizenship' where exceptional reasons exist, directly corroborating that eligibility — however narrow — remains for some who entered illegally.
Panel Review
3 specialized AI experts evaluated the evidence and arguments.
Reviewer 1 — The Logic Examiner
Source 1 (GOV.UK) and Source 3 (Home Office Guide AN) show the February 2025 guidance change makes prior illegal entry a factor that will "normally" lead to refusal, but they also preserve case-by-case assessment and do not state an absolute bar, while Sources 6 and 9 explicitly describe residual discretion/exceptional-circumstances pathways under which an applicant who entered illegally could still be granted citizenship. Therefore, despite the policy tightening, it remains logically correct that some people who entered illegally may still be eligible to apply (and potentially succeed), so the claim is true in the narrow sense of continued eligibility rather than expanded eligibility.
Reviewer 2 — The Source Auditor
Highly authoritative official sources, including GOV.UK (Source 1) and the Home Office (Source 3), confirm that the February 2025 guidance update actually tightened rules to state that illegal entrants will 'normally be refused' citizenship regardless of time passed. However, the claim remains technically true because the updated guidance still allows for eligibility on an exceptional basis, through case-by-case ministerial discretion or statutory refugee defenses, as verified by Source 6 (Wilson Solicitors) and Source 9 (Citizens Advice).
Reviewer 3 — The Precision Analyst
The claim states that the UK Home Office 'updated its guidance so that some people who entered the United Kingdom illegally may be eligible to apply for British citizenship.' However, all authoritative sources (Sources 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 12, 13) confirm that the February 2025 update moved in the opposite direction: it tightened the good character guidance so that anyone applying from 10 February 2025 who previously entered the UK illegally will 'normally be refused' citizenship regardless of how long ago the entry occurred, removing the previous 10-year disregard rule. The claim's framing — that the update made some illegal entrants 'eligible' — inverts the actual policy change, which restricted rather than expanded eligibility. While narrow exceptions exist (ministerial discretion in exceptional circumstances, refugee defense under s.31 IAA 1999), these existed before the update and were not introduced by it; the update actually narrowed the scope of discretion. The claim as worded implies the guidance update opened a pathway for illegal entrants, when in fact it closed one.