How to be a Brit

George Mikes came to live in Britain from his native Hungary just before WW II. His book How to be a Brit is a minor classic but it was written about seventy-five years ago. His one-sentence chapter on Sex may or may not be accurate: Continental people have sex lives: the English have hot water bottles.

How does it work today – I mean, becoming a Brit? Guest blogger, Edward (Ned) York who has previously explained the likely outcome of the US Presidential election ( see Donald Trump Lives on a High Floor with a Low Ceiling) brings us up-to-date.

When I tell people I’ve recently become a British citizen, it always elicits the same response, “Well Done!” Which is then followed by, “So, did you have to take that tricky citizenship test?” I graciously thank everyone and answer in my usual fashion, “Since you’re British, you know as well I do that the good people of the UK are a most understanding and compassionate lot because they realize that you just can’t teach old dogs new tricks.” By that I mean that because I am of an age when I qualify for a concession discount, I was not required by the UK Border Agency to take that knotty, convoluted ‘Life In The UK’ test. Lucky me!

On the morning of 8 March of this year, I joined 35 other non-Brits in the Council Chamber at Kensington Town Hall for our joint citizenship ceremony. The chamber room is large and imposing which befits the fact that it is where the most important government business is transacted before The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea—one of only four designated royal boroughs in London. As I entered the hall, I could easily sense the restrained excitement that enveloped everyone in attendance—the participants in the citizenship ceremony as well as their guests. This was clearly an important day in all our lives.

As we were called to the stage, we non-Brits curiously but obliquely eyed one another. Keep in mind that my ceremony took place in Kensington which is, I’m sure, atypical considering the profile of people attaining citizenship in my borough compared to the demographic of people becoming citizens in other boroughs throughout the UK. I found myself among a rather diverse gathering: I counted 30 women but only 6 men; we were predominately Caucasians with only a few Africans and Asians. It appeared as if the median age of the group was somewhere in the mid-thirties and I was by far the eldest. Who were all these people, I wondered, and what personal journey had each individual taken in order to arrive at this place, at this moment, for this unitary purpose? Although I spoke to only two among our group—an Irishman who worked for a military contractor and needed UK citizenship in order to gain security clearance and an Italian woman who had lived in the UK for many years, had married an Englishman and wanted to become a British citizen as an inspiration to her young children—I felt deep admiration for what I imagined was each person’s arduous path to British citizenship.

My own story of how I became a British citizen began in Rome in 2010. I had taken a three month sabbatical from work in San Francisco to study Italian, the language of my maternal immigrant grandparents. At language school, I met and fell deeply in love with a striking, vivacious, wonderful English woman. After school ended and I returned to California, I turned my life upside down in order to build a future with her in Britain. I arrived in the UK in June 2012 on a fiancé visa and two months later we were married. I then applied for and was granted permanent residency that September which enabled me to become eligible in the autumn of 2015 to apply for citizenship.

For me, the barriers to naturalization were not as onerous as for most people applying for citizenship. I was fortunate in that the eligibility requirement of living for only three years in the UK as a permanent resident (“Leave To Remain” status) changed to a minimum of five years in July 2012, a month after my arrival in Britain. In addition, there is a presumption that Americans are already fluent in English. Consequently, I was awarded a bye for two separate hurdles—the ‘Life In The UK’ test and the language fluency exam—and had arrived in Britain just before a more rigorous residency requirement came into effect.

The introduction of the citizenship exam and citizenship ceremony are relatively recent phenomena. Under the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act of 2002, applicants for citizenship must demonstrate a sufficient level of proficiency in the English language as well a general knowledge of British life. The ‘Life In The UK’ test, which is mandatory for applicants between 18 and 65, consists of 24 questions covering topics touching on British values, history, traditions and everyday life. In addition, there is a further requirement that all persons at the citizenship ceremony take a solemn oath of allegiance or pledge to respect the rights, freedom and laws of the UK.

Kensington Town Council well understands the importance of the citizenship ceremony. My group was honored to have a former Mayor of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea give the principal address at our occasion. Councillor Christopher Buckmaster is a most impressive speaker and a truly urbane man: an Oxford graduate, a member of the Conservative Party, a former member of the London Regional Board of the Confederation of British Industry, and a widely traveled businessman who has worked on four continents. In his official capacity, Mr. Buckmaster formally welcomed us into the nation and underscored that the UK is a country of people bound together by the fundamental British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, and mutual respect for and tolerance of those with different faiths and ideas of conduct. Mr. Buckmaster spoke with great emphasis to ensure that every member of our group realize the rights and responsibilities that come with British citizenship. Finally, he stressed that as the world itself changes, so too do British shared values. Mr. Buckmaster’s message was direct and simple: It is the responsibility of each citizen to contribute to these evolving standards of beliefs and behavior through active participation in the life of the community. Indeed, each citizen—new as well as existing—has a moral obligation to help bring about a new, better Britain.

As I left the Council Chamber, my lovely wife kept reminding me, “Just always remember, ‘England expects… every man to do his duty!’ ”

Edward York, July 2016