Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of making it easier for refugees who are carers to qualify for UK citizenship.

The Home Office expects all applicants for naturalisation to meet the statutory requirements which are based on a period of residence in the UK, including being free from immigration time restrictions and being of good character.

The Government considers that those seeking to make a permanent home in the UK should be equipped to integrate successfully in society, with an appropriate level of English and an understanding of British life. All applicants are therefore required to pass the Life in the UK test and meet the English language requirement. The aim is to ensure that those who intend to settle here develop both the language skills that enable them to make a success of living permanently in the UK and have an understanding of life here and society’s expectations.

There are no plans to change the requirements for citizenship.