UK Thought To Have Denied Citizenship To 400 Kids Over Character Test Since 2006 - Reports

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 21st September, 2018) UK authorities are estimated to have denied citizenship to 400 children, some as young as 10, over a "good character" test introduced in 2006, The Guardian newspaper reported Friday, citing campaigners.

"These are not adult migrants ... It's not acceptable, it's outrageous and an insult to them and the society of which they are members," Solange Valdez-Symonds, the director of the campaign group the Project for Registration of Children as British Citizens (PRCBC), told the newspaper.

The campaigner, who worked on over a dozen of such cases, explained that all of the clients had been "destitute or very poor.

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Valdez-Symonds reportedly added that some do not even risk applying for fear that a caution or fine could lead to their rejection.

The "good character" requirements concern even minor offenses, such as petty theft. The test is applicable to children of 10 and older.

The figures released by the Home Office after a freedom of information request from the newspaper showed that one child a week was denied immigration request, on average.

A Home Office spokesperson told the newspaper that all applications were assessed "on their individual merits."