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In my visitor's visa application I made an error in answering a question of Do I have family living in the UK? At the time my daughter (who I traveled with to the UK) was still in the UK when I went back to Nigeria to renew my visitor visa. I understood the question to be as having grown family like brothers and sisters that are resident in the UK etc. So I selected no. This resulted in a 10 year ban when they found out that my daughter was still in the UK. This was 5 years ago. Since then I have become a Canadian citizen and have a Canadian passport.

Being a Canadian citizen I no longer need a visa. Can I enter the UK with my new citizenship?

Is the 10 year ban on me, or a ban from applying for a visa for 10 years?

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    What was your daughter’s status in the UK? Was she just on a regular visitor visa? Or was she effectively living in the UK? There’s something not quite right in this situation. Did they effectively mention your daughter as being the person involved, or even that this was the specific point which resulted in the ban?
    – jcaron
    Commented Sep 25, 2022 at 19:54
  • This is a good question but I also agree that it is a duplicate.
    – Robert Columbia
    Commented Sep 26, 2022 at 11:08
  • @RobertColumbia however the accepted answer to the duplicate question does not recognize that the ban applies only to visa applications.
    – phoog
    Commented Sep 27, 2022 at 9:28
  • The policy of dishing out 10-year bans for honest mistakes, when no consultant is provided who can advise on how to fill out the paperwork to begin with, and with no recourse for disputing the matter when a problem occurs, is reason to not want to travel to begin with. Nobody needs this kind of hassle. In addition to being unethical, it's bad for business. If I were an executive at an airline or related travel company I would be vocally upset about governments eliminating my customers in this way. I really wonder about the impact such injustice has at scale.
    – Mentalist
    Commented Mar 6 at 2:39

1 Answer 1

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Your Canadian citizenship does not make you a new person and the rules apply based on your personal identity.

But the ban in this specific case only applies to visa applications.

The mandatory automatic refusal for 10 years due to previous deception only applies to applications for an entry clearance (visa), as provided by Paragraph 9.8.7. of the Immigration Rules:

(f) 10 years: Used deception in an application (for visits this applies to applications for entry clearance only).

Your Canadian citizenship means that you no longer have to seek entry clearance prior to seeking permission to enter the UK as a visitor. Thus, technically, the 10-year ban no longer applies if you simply seek entrance into the UK as a visitor.

However, immigration officials at the border nonetheless have the discretion to refuse your entry for previous deception (without time limitation) for any type of immigration applications:

9.8.3A. An application for entry clearance, permission to enter, or permission to stay may be refused where a person used deception in relation to a previous application (whether or not successfully).

There is still a significant risk of denial of entry regardless of your new citizenship. It is recommended to seek legal advice before you travel to the UK.

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    OP can also try entering the UK via the Eurostar where a denial of entry would simply mean walking out the station rather than having to wait in detention until your flight home.
    – JonathanReez ♦
    Commented Sep 25, 2022 at 19:01
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    The tricky thing in this situation is that the usual advice for people who are at risk of refusal at entry is to apply for a visa to have a clearer idea of where they stand, but here they cannot… Consulting an immigration lawyer is probably the best advice.
    – jcaron
    Commented Sep 25, 2022 at 19:08
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    Just showing up even if getting admitted leads to some serious hassle. travel.stackexchange.com/q/87121/4188
    – user4188
    Commented Sep 26, 2022 at 0:19
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    @nanoman Fines only apply in cases where the airline brings someone with documentation which is inadequate for entry. They do not apply in cases where the documentation is fine, but the UK decides to deny entry. Even in a case where there is an entry ban in place, obviously the airline can't be expected to know that. However, I think they may still be required to return the passenger to their origin at their own expense in the case entry is refused, but this applies to any passenger. It's a cost of doing business as an airline.
    – MJeffryes
    Commented Sep 26, 2022 at 9:02
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    @nanoman further to MJeffryes' comment, note that many countries also deny entry to people who have been convicted of serious crimes, yet airlines do not interrogate their passengers about their criminal history, nor do they perform criminal background checks. The fines that airlines face are generally based on what an airline should be expected to know about (namely whether the passenger has the right documents), not on every possible reason for refusal of admission.
    – phoog
    Commented Sep 27, 2022 at 9:35

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