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What happens if you mistakenly apply for British citizenship?

freemovement.org.uk

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Re: What happens if you mistakenly apply for British citizenship?

#71

Post by Cyph0n »

lsd5you wrote: post #65
mmsimanga wrote: post #40

I speak as an immigrant. I see a lot of comments not being too kind to people who aren't welcoming of immigrants. As a person, I actually do understand. Not everyone is going to like me. As an African I do wish some of this energy would be directed to the African leaders that make their countries so terrible that someone feels it is better to jump on a rickety boat in search of a better life. These African "leaders"…

No doubt there are terrible leaders, but experience in the middle east has shown it's no just terrible leaders standing in the way of prosperity.

Care to give examples of good leaders in the Middle East?

Keep in mind that the only countries in MENA that currently have a democratically elected leader are Tunisia and Lebanon.

Re: What happens if you mistakenly apply for British citizenship?

#72

Post by andybak »

CPLX wrote: post #36

I mean the British bureaucracy has an extremely well chronicled tradition of Kafkaesque obstinacy and causing chaos via slavish adherence to rules that long predates this issue right. I believe Douglas Adams used this fact as the basis for a series of books.

(After finding out his home was scheduled for demolition and being told he'd had ample time to file a complaint)

“But the plans were on display…”

“On display? I eventually had to go down to the cellar to find them.”

“That’s the display department.”

“With a flashlight.”

“Ah, well, the lights had probably gone.”

“So had the stairs.”

“But look, you found the notice, didn’t you?”

“Yes,” said Arthur, “yes I did. It was on display in the bottom of a locked filing cabinet stuck in a disused lavatory with a sign on the door saying ‘Beware of the Leopard.”

Re: What happens if you mistakenly apply for British citizenship?

#73

Post by cm2187 »

conjectures wrote: post #49
pavlov wrote: post #14

Anti-immigration people in various countries often argue that they just want to prevent “bad ones” coming in, they’re not looking to throw out the “good ones”. The reality is that there’s no leniency for perceived good immigrants as these people imagine, and it’s just getting worse as immigration policies are tightened across Europe. Officials are under pressure to refuse as many applications as they can, and it’s ea…

Yup. I think a lot of this is Goodhart's law in action. You measure a bureaucracy's effectiveness by how many people it can kick out / refuse and this is what happens. The guy unfortunately represented easy deportation points due to making an honest mistake. No discretion was used because of the above. The practical solution is to use a good immigration lawyer for stuff like this. It sucks, it's unfair, but it's true…

Agree. I am not aware of any hostility toward US immigration in the UK, this is just the Home Office being bureaucratically unhelpful. Having gone through the naturalisation process myself after the Brexit vote, and without a lawyer, I can confirm that even for EU nationals the rules are as clear as mud. And the fees are clearly designed to prevent a cleaning lady from applying.

Re: What happens if you mistakenly apply for British citizenship?

#74

Post by shripadk »

personjerry wrote: post #3

I don’t think the government did anything wrong; The rules aren’t meant to be bent, and if Lucas made a mistake in filing the wrong paperwork, it absolutely makes sense for the consequences to follow. In these serious legal matters, you need to seek counsel. This article attempts to paint a picture of the poor child, but the law was clear, and any emotional appeal should be invalid.

If rules aren't meant to be bent can you explain why the Home Office is trying it's best to stop the extradition of economic fugitives like Vijay Mallya and Lalit Modi? https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/04/28/india-asks-brita...

https://www.business-standard.com/article/international/uk-r...

It's been 2 years since India sent a formal extradition request. It has been rejected twice. I can understand UK Home Office's affinity for following rules to a tee when it comes to Lucas' case but why not extend the same for economic fugitives?

Re: What happens if you mistakenly apply for British citizenship?

#75

Post by pidg »

caiob wrote: post #17

Is there something about English-speaking countries that make them behave like dicks when it comes to immigration?

Nope, try emigrating to any country and see how un-dickishly they behave. Switzerland, for example.

Immigration is not easy anywhere, and I'm always surprised when people assume it will be - or spend decades not sorting out their status, then cry to the media when they're threatened with deportation.

Re: What happens if you mistakenly apply for British citizenship?

#76

Post by andybak »

danharaj wrote: post #28
gpvos wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's ad hominem.

Ad hominem is "you're an asshole and that's why you're wrong", not "you're wrong and that makes you an asshole".

That's a nice and pithy definition. Mind if I use it?

Re: What happens if you mistakenly apply for British citizenship?

#77

Post by throwaway8689 »

tinktank wrote: post #2

Can't say I'm surprised by this outcome at all. The British government has long since been screwing over would be immigrants in fees, bureaucracy and rules. The point to note is -- had he not been an American with resources, and instead, say a Somali refugee, the outcome would have been very different and we'd never have heard about it. For those of you interested in how validated legal extortion can become, go look…

How is it extortion if you are not forced to visit or migrate to the UK?

For context, cost of settlement is similar to what the Philippines charges.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/visa-regulations-...

Re: What happens if you mistakenly apply for British citizenship?

#79

Post by xaranke »

shripadk wrote: post #62

While the Home Office in UK was vigorously trying its best to throw Lucas out, the same Home Office in UK is trying its best to keep economic offenders like Vijay Mallya and Lalit Modi from being deported: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/04/28/india-asks-brita... "The Home Office said the suspension of Mr Mallya's passport was a matter for Indian authorities and declined to comment on the individual case, citin…

I wish I could upvote this more than once.

While in London, I saw Mallya's residence from the outside and it doesn't look like anything has changed for him - he still has a Maybach and a mansion near the Baker Street tube station. Seeing him living in luxury instead of being brought to justice really broke my heart.

Re: What happens if you mistakenly apply for British citizenship?

#80

Post by analog31 »

Cyph0n wrote: post #71
lsd5you wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No doubt there are terrible leaders, but experience in the middle east has shown it's no just terrible leaders standing in the way of prosperity.

Care to give examples of good leaders in the Middle East? Keep in mind that the only countries in MENA that currently have a democratically elected leader are Tunisia and Lebanon.

It may be even more fundamental: Good leaders emerge from a good democracy. Maybe what the Middle East needs is to copy from the constitutions of successful democracies. Even adopting just our First Amendment would be a decent start.
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