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Reflections on Applying for UK Citizenship

Jill Thomson's account of her application for citizenship (full)

• Posted on Apr 23, 2009

People have all kinds of reasons for seeking UK citizenship – here’s mine. I had a Right of Abode Certificate in my passport, which gave me a right to enter and be resident in the UK, and share the advantages of being a UK citizen apart from the right to vote or hold a UK passport. I often encountered minor hassles at border control when coming through airports or ports. Nothing too problematic but usually I’d be kept waiting and be told to complete forms by over-zealous officials who weren’t prepared to hear me when I explained I didn’t need to and I would frustratingly be at the end of any queues leaving the area. Generally some other apologetic official, after checking my passport, would tell me I was right and they were sorry about the delays. This situation had worsened after the London bombings and the subsequent tightening of security. With talk of changes to gaining citizenship and with increased scrutiny and harassment at immigration when coming into the UK, I decided to progress an application for citizenship - a decision driven by annoyances rather than necessity.

So two years to the day since I sat and passed my Citizenship test I will share my recollections and impressions of the process of becoming a UK citizen. A lot of the detail of the venture has slipped from my mind, but what clearly remains is the sense of worry I had over getting the right forms completed correctly and far more daunting than that, was the fact that I would have to successfully complete the Citizenship Test. What I am left with at the end of the process is the sense that much of what was entailed in completing the application process, passing the Citizenship test and attending the Citizenship ceremony was an exercise in navigating bureaucracy at its most awkward and although I would like to think this shows how thorough the Home Office is being, I can’t help but believe that there is a further motive: it is done to deter and exclude some potential applicants.

I am a test-savvy person and I enjoy competition. A good robust test normally has me cheerily looking forward to the mental challenge, but this was very different. Once I found out more about the Citizenship test and bought the official recommended book from The Stationery Office: ‘Life in the United Kingdom: A Journey to Citizenship’ (£9.99 plus postage), my usual enthusiasm was quickly dampened. To my puzzlement I found that much of the content was information that I hadn’t needed to know in the years I’d already spent in the UK. It was certainly material unfamiliar to my educated work colleagues and friends. In fact tea-break quizzes with them revealed that much of the content was seriously arcane and would best be relegated to geeky pub quizzes or games of Trivial Pursuits rather than being necessary for good settlement in the UK. Lots of the content was obscure and irrelevant to the daily living of the vast majority of people. In fairness perhaps the 2nd edition of this book (published April 2007) may include some revisions and provide more useful information for negotiating day-to-day situations, but current blogs and forums contributed to by people taking the test don’t really reflect this change.

The Home Office say that:

‘Studying for and taking the test will give you the practical knowledge you need to live in this country and to take part in society’.

For me this did not seem to be the reality. I was learning a whole lot of facts which I would need solely to jump through an examination hoop. The material did not have much relevance or practical application for me or in all likelihood your average new immigrant. What’s more, as mentioned above, the information was not common knowledge for those born in the UK and it is this which I found most disheartening. Why were new citizens being asked to know things which the majority of UK citizens lived happily unaware of? To me this made the questions seem more designed to exclude people than to enable them in their life in the UK. Perhaps at some point in a person’s life this random information may be relevant, but the majority of adults would check with the appropriate service or research to find out what they needed to know as required.

Below are a few examples of the type of questions asked, based on the material an applicant must know to be able to pass the test. They are shown in the multi-choice or true/false format used in the actual tests:

When should an adult receiving unemployment benefit join New Deal programme?
• If unemployed for 18 months
• If unemployed from 6 months
• If unemployed for 12 months
• If unemployed for 24 months

What NI contribution will self-employed people pay on the profits from their business or trade?
• Class 1
• Class 2
• Class 3
• Class 4

45% of all ethnic minority people live in the London area.
True
False

How many seats are allocated for representatives from the UK in the European Parliament?
• 78
• 68
• 88
• 108

Below are some more sample questions though for brevity I have omitted the multiple choice layout:

Name two of the largest immigrant groups to Britain in the 1980s.

When did the women in Britain gain the right to vote?

What percentage of UK children are living in lone-parent families?

How much has the UK population grown since 1971?

What percentage of the UK Christian population are Roman Catholics?

How often are elections for Members of the European Parliament held?

You’ll note I have called these ‘sample’ questions because it is illegal to print or publish the actual questions used in the test. Without knowing exactly what will be tested the applicant must prepare to answer 24 questions on anything printed in Chapters 2 – 6 of the 120 page book ‘Life in the United Kingdom: A Journey to Citizenship’ (Paperback).

I found that the style of some questions could be difficult and although I am an articulate English speaker there were questions which could confuse because of the way they were worded or structured. Some of the answers given in the book are also open to question. For instance, according to the book, the correct answer to the question “What is the largest ethnic minority in Britain?” is “Indian”. But, in strict sociological terms, the largest ethnic group in Britain are the English and the second largest ethnic group – and therefore “the largest ethnic minority” – are the Scottish. It is difficult to escape the conclusion that those who compiled the test were using “ethnic” as a euphemism for “non-white”. Clearly this is suggesting a particular way of seeing the population.

There is a world of swotting angst and cramming anxiety in one paperback volume. How many average UK citizens have this kind of knowledge of their country, its laws, history and traditions? From my informal checking I believe very few. If most people don’t know these things, then why are bona fide immigrants required to? What is the value of the learning experiences they are subjected to in this unwelcoming process?

The test is taken at a Test Centre - for me a College in Glasgow where a large room- full of people are identity-checked and then logged-on to the Home Office test site. We are given three hard sample test questions. These seem chosen to be difficult and unsettling, yet are masquerading as a chance to practise the test format and computers and then when ready, we are given 45 minutes to complete the test. I had studied for weeks and was still really nervous. While waiting to get started I’d chatted with a few of those seated around me in the computer suite. Some of them had very little computer experience and were really worried about just managing the technology; add to this the fact that English wasn’t their first language, then throw in a few more concerns - had they studied the right bits of the book, would they remember anything as they felt really stressed, how could they afford to re-sit the test if they failed, how would they face their family if they disappointed them by failing and you have some idea of the weight of the situation. The woman next to me was a repeat test-taker and I could see she was shaking all over with anxiety.

Once the test was started I rattled through it. The answers seemed to drift into my mind as I read the questions. 24 mouse clicks later I was done. I put up my hand and the invigilator came over. I said I’m done. She thought I must have a problem with doing the test. No – I’m finished, so she logged me off and printed out my certificate. All up less than 4 minutes from test start to exit from the exam room. I think I got all the questions right. I have to ask what purpose was served by me having to take the test and, furthermore, what on earth were any of those other 30 or 40 odd people gaining from this experience. Some of them would sweat over this for the full 45 minutes and not complete, or achieve less than the 18 required correct answers. Most good educators acknowledge how little is retained long-term when cramming information for tests; certainly I gained no useful longer term knowledge of life in the UK. One of my more irreverent friends felt that it was some sort of endurance test and that completing it was what qualified those who succeeded for citizenship – a novel and somehow traditionally British take on it all.

Another piece of advice from the Home Office web page states:

‘Don't worry if you don't pass the test the first time that you try it; you can try again when you feel ready. There's no limit to the number of times you can take the test, but it makes sense to be well prepared as this will save you money.’

That note brings me onto the subject of cost. There are sizable fees entailed in applying as a first time applicant for a British passport. If a family is applying the cost could amount to well over a thousand pounds. Add to this the cost of having to take re-sits of this test at around £35 a time, not to mention the time off work required at the designated test time, not necessarily one that would suit. If you need to change test times there may be another £10 fee. I am left with the idea that again this could be excluding people on lower incomes, perhaps with less flexible work environments or with limited family support to help care for a child or assist with transport to the nearest test centre of which there are only 3 in Scotland.

Pass the test and you are issued with a Certificate which must accompany your Citizenship Application to the Home Office. If this document is lost during this process, even for arguments sake by the Home Office, you cannot get a copy of it; you must re-sit the test and take on the costs involved. I wasn’t too keen on committing my documents to the post so I followed the advice on the Home Office web page:

‘Alternatively, you can take all your documents to your nearest Nationality Checking Service. They will check and submit all your documents on your behalf for a little fee.’

I thought the local Post Office, but after checking with them I found they only document check for people who are already British Citizens not for new applicants. So I had to make a trip from Ayr to the Nationality Checking Service Team Office in East Kilbride and another cost - ‘the little fee’. There are only two other offices in Scotland offering this service, one in Hamilton and the other in Lanark. Finally with great relief the application was away, with a Certificate to prove I know a collection of random facts about various UK structures and traditions.

The final piece of the process assuming that you are given citizenship is to attend a Citizenship ceremony. You have 90 days to do so after receiving notification that your application has been successful. Ceremonies are held locally and conducted through your local authority. I was allowed to invite two guests. The paper work advising me about the ceremony arrived. I could choose from a free public ceremony where groups of new citizens are welcomed together as opposed to a private ceremony staged just for me with a £60 price tag. I opted for the open event as thought that meeting other new citizens and being part of a mixed group would be interesting and enjoyable. Puzzlingly within a day or two I was contacted by the Local Council organiser who strongly advised me to book the £60 private ceremony so as to make the event a more special day for myself. I wasn’t persuaded despite being given a number of reasons why it would be ‘best’.

On my big day, I must say, I had a splendid time and the ceremony at our local County Buildings was well thought out and the Provost and Registrar performed their roles with great sincerity. With the pomp that surrounded it all the event had some gravitas. It was special and significant and for the first time in the whole process I felt that I was really being welcomed as a new citizen. But what was all the encouragement to have a private ceremony about? Well on the day, it turned out I was the only person for whom the local authority had to schedule an event (a potential second new citizen had been unavailable so they were running it just for me). If I’d opted for a private ceremony it would have been exactly the event I had, no more or less, but they would have happily extracted £60 from me.

In conclusion I think that the whole process should be simplified, made much more user-friendly and the hidden costs should be eliminated. I was lucky that everything seemed in order with my application. Others are not so fortunate.

The Home Office says:

‘We may ask you to attend an interview, which could be conducted for us by the police or other representative. Depending on the circumstances, the interview may be held in your home, or you may be invited to attend an interview at our office in Liverpool. During the interview, you will be asked to give more details about your application. You will be expected to talk without an interpreter.’

The language used in this type of statement by the Home Office and in other descriptions of the process is far from friendly or encouraging, especially for those using English as a second language, the tone and the ominous messages may feel threatening.

I found the way the documentation was worded and processed very bureaucratic. Perhaps I should just accept that, because there are probably security checks being conducted that allow me to sleep comfortably at night: But I regard the test and the ‘test industry’ that has grown up around it, (all kinds of learning aids; and private coaching; dvd’s and cd roms; additional books which can be purchased and so on), as calculated and cynical responses to the public’s fear of terrorism and discontent about immigration. On a slightly more positive note I see merit in people being helped to settle and I think classes at local colleges are a great support to new migrants needing citizenship orientation or English lessons and help to prepare for the test if they must sit it.

The material I learned to pass the test has yet to be of any use to me and I doubt it will be in the future, if I should remember it. I think that the way the test is structured and administered works against people with English as a second language and perhaps with fewer resources or support systems. I suspect that this isn’t a mere by-product of the process but is a way for the current system to exclude some of the more vulnerable people caught up in it. But most of all I reflect on the plight of the individuals for whom gaining status as a UK citizen may be a matter of life or death. The annoyance, discomfort and stress that I faced are nothing compared to the desperation and fear they must suffer through this mostly dehumanising and faceless process.

Jill Thomson