British citizenship (FOI)British citizenship (FOI)
Produced by the Freedom of Information officeAuthored by States of Jersey and published on
07 September 2016.Request
A
Please could you tell me how many people applied to become a British citizen in 2013, 2014, 2015 and between 1 January and 1 August for 2016?
For each year could you please give me the breakdown of:
a) the number of naturalisation and registration requests
b) the number of naturalisation and registration requests that failed and the reason why
c) the total amount paid by applicants to apply for naturalisation and registration. Could you also explain where this money goes to eg to the States and what the money is used for.
B
Could you also please give me details about the format of the British Citizenship Test, the price to take the test and the mark needed to pass?
C
For each of the above years, could you tell me the total number of citizenship tests that were taken and the number that were failed?
D
Would it be possible to see an example of an old test paper or some test questions?
Response
A a) b) and c)
| | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 1 January - 1 August 2016 |
| Number of naturalisation applications | 126 | 105 | 486 | 41 |
| Number of naturalisation applications that failed | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Number of registration applications | 47 | 41 | 33 | 19 |
| Number of registration applications that failed | 0 | 0 | 1 (failed to meet good character requirement) | 0 |
| Total amount paid by naturalisation applicants | £94,970 | £84,908 | £51,441 | £43,931 |
| Total amoung paid by registration applicants | £28,409.75 | £26,813.49 | £25,422.49 | £9,368.49 |
The money received from naturalisation and registration fees is retained by Jersey and split between the Customs and Immigration Service and the Office of the Lieutenant-Governor to defray the costs of performing these nationality services.
B
The test comprises 24 multiple choice questions, 18 UK based and six Jersey based, with a 75 percent pass mark. The test costs £55.
There is an additional International English Language Testing System (IELTS) English part of the Citizenship Exam process which the States of Jersey (Highlands College) can no longer examine in. Highlands College hosts the British Council 'pop-up' exam centre a number of times per year but British Council staff organise and run the event. The States of Jersey does not hold pass and fail information for this exam.
Freedom on Information (Jersey) Law 2011
Part 2
10 Obligation of scheduled public authority to confirm or deny holding information
(1) Subject to paragraph (2), if:
(a) a person makes a request for information to a scheduled public authority; and
(b) the authority does not hold the information, it must inform the applicant accordingly.
C
The figures below refer to the citizenship test:
| Year | Fail | Pass | (blank) | Grand Total | Fail % |
| 2013 | 88 | 154 | 2 | 244 | 36.07% |
| 2014 | 64 | 81 | 4 | 149 | 42.95% |
| 2015 | 109 | 120 | 5 | 234 | 46.58% |
| 2016 | 42 | 53 | 1 | 96 | 43.75% |
D
As previously stated, the British Citizenship Test consists of a set number of multiple choice questions; old test papers and previous questions, therefore, cannot be disclosed without prejudicing the integrity of the test. Disclosure would be likely to prejudice the operation of immigration controls.
Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011
Part 5
42 Law enforcement
Information is qualified exempt information if its disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice:
(e) the operation of immigration controls, whether in Jersey or elsewhere;
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