Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what his Department's definition of good character is when considering the citizenship applications of children over 10 years old.

The good character test for British citizenship applies to those aged 10 and over, in line with the age of criminal responsibility. It reflects the value and prestige attached to acquiring British citizenship.

A person will not normally be considered to be of good character if certain circumstances apply. These include but are not limited to the following situations:

• they have not respected or are not prepared to abide by the law
• they have been involved in or associated with crimes against humanity such as war crimes or genocide
• their activities were notorious and cast serious doubt on their standing in the local community
• they had been deliberately dishonest or deceptive in their dealings with the UK Government
• they have assisted in the evasion of immigration control
• they have previously been deprived of British citizenship