Laws and Citizenship
This section has information about:
You have the right to:
- To be treated fairly regardless of your race, gender, disability, age, belief, sexual orientation or class
- Freedom from persecution and prejudice
- Be shown respect and tolerance from others
- Access to health care
- Legal protection and advice
- Police support and advice
- To be given information in a way you are able to understand
You have a responsibility:
- To show respect and tolerance towards others
- To obey the law
- To respect other cultures and religions
- To notify authorities, (and if you are not a British Citizen particularly Immigration authorities) of any changes in your circumstances, e.g. change of status, address, employment, family.
Important:
- It is a criminal offence to carry any type of weapons especially a knife of any description
- It is a criminal offence to throw litter (rubbish) in the street
- It is a criminal offence to beg for money in the UK
- It is a criminal offence to have sex with anyone under the age of consent (16)
- It is a criminal offence if you are found in possession of drugs.
- It is a criminal offence to smoke in public places
Reporting Crimes
If you are a victim of crime, you can get help to report this to the police or other professionals: see the page on Staying Safe for more information.
Using the correct driving licence
If you have a driving licence from another country, you may only be able to use it to drive in the UK for 12 months, depending on your nationality. To check whether you need to exchange your foreign licence for a UK one, see the Direct Gov webpages (external link).
Car Insurance
To use a car in the UK you must pay for the following:
- A Certificate of Insurance
- A Ministry of Transport (M.O.T) Certificate (for vehicles over three years old) and Road Tax, which can be purchased from the Post Office.
- To drive a car without these documents is a criminal offence. If you are found owning or driving without these documents you will have to pay a large fine and you risk going to prison.
Seat and seatbelts
- All children under 135cm (4ft 5in) tall, unless they have passed their 12th birthday, must use a child seat appropriate for their weight. Most children reach 135cm around the age of nine.
- Drivers MUST wear a seat belt in cars, vans and other goods vehicles if one is fitted. Adults, and children aged 14 years and over, must use a seat belt or child restraint, where fitted, when seated as a driver or passenger in a car, in minibuses, buses and coaches.
For more information on the rules for driving, see the Highway Code (external link).
Drink driving (driving after drinking alcohol)
In the UK it is a criminal offence to drink alcohol and then drive a car.
Mobile phones
It is a criminal offence to use a hand-held mobile phone whilst driving a car.
Private fostering of children
- Are you looking after a child for a friend or someone within your extended family?
- Are you looking after the child for more than 28 days?
- Is the child under 16 years old or, if they are disabled, under 18 years old?
- If you answered yes to these questions you may be privately fostering the child and the law says you must let the Council know.
- A worker from Children’s Services will arrange to visit you and the child to make sure everything is going well and give advice and support.
For further information telephone 01942 828300 or click the Council website link (external link).
Leaving children at home alone
There is no legal age limit for leaving a child on their own, but it is an offence to leave a child alone that places them at risk.
School
In the UK, all children between the ages of 5 and 16 must receive an eduation. Parents have a legal responsibility to make sure this happens - either by registering your child at a school or by arranging a suitable, full-time education yourself for the child. Once your child is registered at a school, you are legally responsible for making sure they attend regularly.
It is illegal to sell alcohol, cigarettes or tobacco to anyone under 18.
Before the age of 18 you are not allowed to buy alcohol in pubs or shops, and it is also illegal to buy alcohol on behalf of a person who is under 18. If you are aged 16 or 17, you are allowed to buy and drink alcohol if it is to drink with a meal bought in the same place, for example, in a restaurant.
- You must pay for a TV Licence if you watch or record television programmes as they're being shown on TV. It makes no difference what equipment you use - whether it’s a laptop, PC, mobile phone, digital box, DVD recorder or a TV set.
- You can buy a TV licence online, or you can make regular payments at any shop which takes ‘Paypoint’ payments (many newsagents and local shops take these payments).
For more information visit the TV Licencing website (external link)
- If you meet someone in an official meeting or event, is it normal to shake hands with them, although that is less common with younger people.
- Apart from this, people in the UK do not use physical contact (touching other people or standing very close to them) very much. If you stand too close to someone who does not know you very well, or if you touch a person while you are talking to him or her, they might not be very happy about it.
- British people say please and thank you a lot, and may think that you are being rude if you don’t do the same.
- Spitting in the streets is considered bad manners.
- It is not polite to make telephone calls to people you do not know after 9.00 pm or 10.00 pm in the evening.
- British people like to form orderly queues (standing in line) and wait patiently for their turn e.g. boarding a bus. It is usual to queue when required, and expected that you will take your correct turn and not push in front. 'Queue jumping' is frowned upon.
- Pay for drinks as you order them in pubs and other types of bars. You will also sometimes be asked to pay for food in pubs and cafes when you order it.
- Privacy can be very important to British people. Avoid talking loudly in public or staring at others. It is considered rude to ask personal or intimate questions of people you don’t know very well.
- Men and women in Britain are entitled to equal respect and status in all areas of life and tend to have more independence and responsibility than in some other cultures. Women are usually independent and accustomed to entering public places unaccompanied. It is usual for women to go out and about on their own as well as with friends. Men and women mix freely.
- British people believe that being on time is very important. People make great effort to arrive on time and always apologise for being late. It is often considered impolite to arrive even a few minutes late. If you are unable to keep an appointment, it is expected that you call the person you are meeting.
You can register to vote if you are:
- 16 or over (but you cannot vote until you are 18)
- A UK, Republic of Ireland or qualifying Commonwealth citizen.
- A citizen of a European Union country living in the UK
- A citizen of the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man or a British Overseas Territory living in the UK.
Irish citizens who live here have the same voting rights as British citizens. European Union citizens resident here can vote at local government elections and European Parliamentary elections. They cannot vote in UK Parliamentary elections. Citizens of Commonwealth countries and British Dependent Territories resident here have the same voting rights as British citizens. People who are not British, Irish, European Union, Commonwealth or British Dependent Territory citizens cannot vote in the UK.
If you are not sure if you can vote you can check with the Electoral Commission (external link) or ring 01904 567990
Because of the UK’s complex international history there are several different forms of UK nationality. An individual’s nationality will generally be determined by the country in which they were born, the nationality of their parents or ancestors and their date of birth. There are many ways of being eligible for applying for British citizenship. The UK Border Agency (external link) has information on who can apply.
Once you know you are eligible to apply for British citizenship, there are three ways you can apply:
All successful applicants for naturalisation or registration as a British Citizen, who are aged 18 or over, must take an oath and pledge at a citizenship ceremony. The aim of the ceremony is to ensure that gaining Citizenship is a celebration and not just a case of receiving documents through the post. This gives Wigan Council an opportunity to welcome its new citizens and encourage them to play an active part in the community.
The majority of ceremonies held are group ceremonies at no cost to the applicant. However, a new citizen may decide to choose to have an individual ceremony which will incur a fee. A group ceremony is held once a month, all citizenship ceremonies are private; only the new citizen and their guests are allowed to attend. The public have no right of entry to the ceremony and entry will be strictly controlled.
Wigan and Leigh Register Office is responsible for making arrangements for these ceremonies for persons who live within the Borough of Wigan. When an applicant receives a letter of approval from the Home Office they should contact the Register Office (external link)to obtain details of which ceremony they may attend on 01942 705111.
