I've heard it said that New Zealand was created to compensate antipodeans for being so far from Scotland....  

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If you are to punish a man retributively you must injure him. If you are to reform him you must improve him. And men are not improved by injuries. (George Bernard Shaw)

Same here!

The most beautiful part of the UK (one of the most beautiful places in the world), brilliant people and by far the most sensible place politically.

I hear what you're saying. I could claim Scottish citizenship by marriage. Even though I haven't seen my wife for years, we're still married. Sadly, my Irish ancestry is one generation too far back for me to claim.  

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If you are to punish a man retributively you must injure him. If you are to reform him you must improve him. And men are not improved by injuries. (George Bernard Shaw)

If Scotland was independent, I'd hurry up and claim citizenship right now. I'd walk to Aberdeen barefoot (way more than 500 miles from here!).

Hi Miguel - I was only joking.

Many years ago I had an American colleague who was applying for British citizenship and we told him he had to choose one of the four home nations and got everyone in the office to start lobbying him on behalf of their country (the Scotsman got carried away with the bottle of whisky and shortbread biscuits). Great wind up that went on for several days....

Well done, that must be a relief for you.

On British citizenship, you should take the full year to consider whether you want to elect to be English, Scottish, Welsh or Northern Irish - if you have friends from any of those countries, I'm sure they wil try and convince you theirs is the best!

Congratulations on your success! It's good to know the system actually works.

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If you are to punish a man retributively you must injure him. If you are to reform him you must improve him. And men are not improved by injuries. (George Bernard Shaw)

Hi, a little update.

I eventually submitted my Settled Status application last week and I've just received confirmation that I have Indefinite Leave to Remain under the EU Settlement Scheme. I did not declare any criminal record, so it appears I didn't have to, otherwise the H.O. would have thrown an exception, as they surely check against the Police database.

Next stage could be UK citizenship, maybe, but I'll have to wait a full year anyway.

I am Francophone Caribbean and came to the UK with my parents aged eight. I was naturalised in the early 90s and became a British citizen last year, despite the caution and conviction (theft of a pineapple and false representation - an overpayment of benefits). Be sure to disclose your full criminal record and make sure a certain period of time has elapsed before you apply (read the guidance notes). Character references are also good. I was a nursing student at the time, so my personal tutor and a placement mentor wrote these on my behalf. I am now a qualified nurse working for the NHS.

It's worth looking at Unlock's information here. The stuff about settled status is quite a way down the page, so don't give up! They obviously didn't deport you, which is a good sign, and it looks like an applicant who has been to prison needs five years continuous residence since release. If that's a problem, don't forget there's always pre-settled status as well. As for the unpaid caring, it might also be worth looking at the government information here.

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If you are to punish a man retributively you must injure him. If you are to reform him you must improve him. And men are not improved by injuries. (George Bernard Shaw)