UK citizenship application - friend wants me to be a referee and say I've known her longer than I really have

[northernstar0412]

Hi,
A friend from overseas who is applying for British citizenship asked me to be a referee.

My job is included in the list of acceptable occupations but I have only known her for 2 years and 8 months. The government's website says we need to have known each other for at least 3 years.

My friend said - "You can just say you've known me longer - how can they prove it?"

I can be fined £5k or receive a prison term if I knowingly give false information, according to the official website. So I told my friend I was happy to be a referee but I would be stating on the form that I'd known her 2 years and 8 months.

She doesn't want to delay her application for four months and is now looking for another referee, but doesn't know many people here.

Am I BU?

She simply doesn't believe that I would be caught out because, she says, no one can prove it.*

Makes you wonder how many other lies she put on her application form, that she thinks you won't notice.

I would just say no or ask her to wait a few months. I've just had my UK citizenship approved. And I would not have asked someone to lie for me - also if they called you to interview you, which I believe they can, and you tripped up, then she would lose all that money and probably the chance to apply again. It's a silly thing to do.

That said, it's quite difficult to find referees. I'm a highly educated professional person and I've lived in the UK for 10 years. I struggled to find people I knew with the right combination of citizenship, profession and time we've known each other. So it must be really hard for lots of people.

OP, I'm a solicitor and people sometimes ask me to certify copies when I haven't seen the original because "I should trust them" (usually accompanied by some long, complex story about why they don't have the original), etc.

Just say no and explain that you're prepared to tell the truth but not to lie.

You're perfectly within your rights so don't let her shame you into doing anything you're not comfortable with and don't let her guilt trip you into believing it's now your problem to solve - it's not.

I agree, I would do the same for the sake of 4 months . It will most likely go in a pile and won’t be looked at for another 6-8 weeks anyway...

I wouldn’t report her. I wouldn’t lie for her either.

I had a similar situation with a friend who I used to supervise when we worked for the same company. She needed a visa to work abroad and had basically asked me to lie about how long she had worked there. I refused as these things DO get checked and would destroy my professional integrity. She stopped being friends with me and started slagging me off to all and sundry, though funnily enough all mutual friends took my side.

What's wrong with reporting her? She's trying to persuade her "friend" to assist her make a fraudulent application. I'd tell her to get packing, both as a friend and a resident.

Are you serious? She isn’t being asked to be an alibi for a bank robbery. It was just a form.

I would ask her to postpone OP, even for three months because it will be four by the time the form is processed anyway.

2 years 8 months>, umm near enough.

How woud they know anyway?, my best mate known him for 19 years who could prove it wasnt if the need was for 20 years?..

Why is she suddenly in a hurry?

Why can’t she wait 4 months?

CatsArePeople

Envious? hahahahaha!

I never said that she had plenty of funds, just that she lives on a pension - so that's purely an assumption on your part.

Why would I be envious of her?

I wouldn’t lie though, no. Passport will be stamped with an entry date, wouldn’t it?

Or she’ll have paperwork which shows what month and year she entered.

‘fairlyplump

We have enough in our country already !!‘

Wtf did I just read?

‘our country’ care to expand on that?

fairlyplump this opinion is irrelevant.

[quote Loveinatimeofcovid]@MulticolourMophead how does that count as checking? It’s not like they asked you to send a signed copy of your practice certificate or something?[/quote]
I'm not going into all the details, but believe me, they were asking some very detailed questions, which showed they'd done their homework, ie had been checking up.

@fairlyplump

We have enough in our country already !!

OP's friend is already in the country. She wants the citizenship so she can leave again!

@Jellybeansincognito

‘fairlyplump

We have enough in our country already !!‘

Wtf did I just read?

‘our country’ care to expand on that?

we have enough liars in country is that okay with you ! we dont need any more

I think YABU and I really hope your friend finds another referee who doesn't act like she's the archbishop of canterbury about to anoint the next monarch!

Thanks for that, Plainsailing. Very amusing but not particularly helpful. :-)

It can be really hard to find someone who has the combination of profession, knowing you for x amount of time etc. I did mine eight years ago, my references were all thoroughly checked.

My boyfriends was completed in February/March and none of his were.

You don’t know which camp you will fall in so it isn’t worth it.

Right o! @fairlyplump

That said, it's quite difficult to find referees. I'm a highly educated professional person and I've lived in the UK for 10 years. I struggled to find people I knew with the right combination of citizenship, profession and time we've known each other. So it must be really hard for lots of people.

Yes, my husband struggled (not for citizenship application but something with a similar referee requirement). Most of his colleagues are not UK citizens.

[quote plainsailing01]**@northernstar0412* Wow. Seriously? It's only a matter of 4 months. No one follows up or checks these in detail. Everyone who's telling you otherwise is clearly full of sht and doesn't know what they're talking about. As a director, I've filled these in for a few folks who've worked for me over the years and not once have they ever emailed me/followed up etc.

I think YABU and I really hope your friend finds another referee who doesn't act like she's the archbishop of canterbury about to anoint the next monarch![/quote]
If you look at my other posts on this thread, people do get checked up. From the questions they asked me, it was clear that they'd done some checking behind the scenes. It's entirely possible you've been checked up without knowing.

Right now, I can at least turn people down without offence, as my passport is expired. Once it's renewed, I'll have to be more diplomatic in turning down requests to sign.

Longines - thanks, I appreciate your legal opinion - much appreciated.

ChaToil - I'm really glad you didn't lie on an official form for her. She certainly showed her true colours.

Thanks to everyone else for your support and advice - I greatly appreciate it.

In some cases it is acceptable if you have known someone for less than the stipulated time if the applicant has made it known to the authorities and that they don't know anyone else as long as you state like you want to the time you have known them, 2 years 8 months.

It is then up to the case worker to decide. I'd wait tbh. There is such a backlog at the moment

I’d write in form that you’ve known her since true month/year because by the time they get around to her application it will be close enough to 3yrs that they may decide it’s ok.
You wouldn’t say you’ve known her x years and y months because the processing time alone will make that untrue to whoever ends up reading it weeks/months from now.