Page 1 of 1

Drink driving and application from ILR to British Passport

Posted: Tue May 27, 2014 2:29 pm
by solefishes
Hi there, I'm just looking for a bit of advice please on behalf of my husband...

A bit of background; we're both South Africans by birth. We moved to the UK on an ancestral (on my husbands side) and spousal visa. We've lived in the UK since beginning of 2007 and had our ILR since March 2013.

So here's where the plot thickens...we were planning on submitting our application for our British Passports next month but last weekend, my husband was pulled over and taken to the police station for suspected drink driving. The breathalyser wasn't working at the police station, so they took a sample of blood instead from which we'll know the results in 6 weeks time when he has to go back to the police station again. At that point, I assume, they'll either officially charge him with drink-driving or not based on the outcome of the blood sample.

My question is in 2 parts - if he is charged, am I right in thinking that he'll have to wait a further 3yrs as a "rehabilitation" period before applying for his British Citizenship?

And if he's not charged - does that stay on his CRB or any kind of record and would this also hinder his application process regardless of not being charged?

If anyone has been in a similiar situation, please could you let me know your own experience.

Thanks very much in advance!

Re: Drink driving and application from ILR to British Passpo

Posted: Tue May 27, 2014 11:21 pm
by Amber
If he's convicted rather than charged he'll have to wait 3 years. There is no point in him applying whilst a prosecution is pending.

Re: Drink driving and application from ILR to British Passpo

Posted: Wed May 28, 2014 12:33 pm
by solefishes
Hi Amber - thank you very much for your response.

What happens if he's not convicted....would he still have a record and have to wait for 3yrs?

Thanks again!

Re: Drink driving and application from ILR to British Passpo

Posted: Wed May 28, 2014 12:59 pm
by Amber
If he's not captioned or convicted, no.