P45 & self-assessment printouts not accepted as tax reco

[LondonApplicant]

Hi all,

yesterday I went to the Nationality Checking Service (Southwark, SE London) to apply for British citizenships. I had all my P60s except two: one I could no longer find and one which I was never issued - the company made me redundant, issued a P45 and said that they categorically do not issue P60s after redundancies.

So I printed out all the self-assessment (always done a self assessment, and always online), but the lady said that the Home Office doesn't accept P45s and self-assessment printouts. She said I should ring HMRC, ask for a lettter certifying how much I have paid in taxes every year since I moved to the UK, and enclose that to the application.

By the way, she was very kind, kept my application on hold and said that, once I get this letter, I can mail it to her (without attending in person again) and she'll submit the application to the UKBA.

Just wanted to share this with the forum, since I had no idea that P45s aren't accepted. I can understand that self-assessment print outs could be easily faked, but I'd have thought that UKBA checks with HMRC. Anyway, no big deal, just a delay of a couple of days till I get this letter from HMRC.

PS @Moderators, could we maybe have this point added to the list of FAQs?

[destiniation_london]

why do you need P60's for the application - earning is not a requirement for naturalisation.

Unless you are applying as self-employed and do not pay taxes through PAYE, then you need to submit HMRC self-assessment statement of account

[LondonApplicant]

why do you need P60's for the application - earning is not a requirement for naturalisation.

I am an EU citizen, so need to prove that I 'exercised treaty rights'. In my case, I exercised them working, which I have to prove through some kind of tax records. At the back of the AN form, P60s are specifically mentioned as one of the ways to prove it.