Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

Nationality and Borders Bill: Can you lose your citizenship?

Nationality and Borders Bill: Can you lose your citizenship?

The government will have the right to strip a person of their British citizenship without telling them, under new powers being voted on by MPs.

The plan - which is part of the controversial Nationality and Borders Bill - is expected to pass into law soon.

What is citizenship?


Citizenship is a legal status. If someone is a UK citizen they have the legal right to live in the country, as well as access to services such as welfare, education and healthcare. They can also vote.

Citizenship is also an identity, and often forms part of a person's sense of self and belonging.

Some people who are not citizens have the right to live in the UK permanently with the same rights - they are said to have settled status, or fixed leave to remain.

What's being proposed?


Under the new law, the Home Office would be given the power to remove someone's UK citizenship without having to tell them.

The government says it would only use this in "exceptional" circumstances, such as if someone was in a war zone, or in hiding and impossible to contact.

But campaigners say that the move would chip away at citizenship protections, and is likely to disproportionately target ethnic minorities.

In a recent video posted to Instagram, actor Riz Ahmed called the measure "crazy, wrong and... racist".

What is the current law?


At the moment, the home secretary can strip someone of their citizenship for the following reasons:

*  It is "for the public good" and would not make them stateless

*  The person obtained citizenship through fraud

*  That person's actions could harm UK interests and they could claim citizenship elsewhere

The Home Office needs to notify the person, who in turn has the right to appeal - although this can be a lengthy process.

The Home Office also needs to believe that the person is eligible to apply for citizenship in another country. The UK has responsibilities under international law to avoid leaving people stateless.

How many people have been stripped of their citizenship?


The total figures aren't readily available.

However the Home Office says between 2010 and 2018, an average of 19 people per year were stripped of their citizenship where it was "conducive to the public good", and an average of 17 people a year because of fraud.

The immigration law website Free Movement says their research reveals that more than 460 people had their citizenship removed between 2006 and 2020 - 175 for national security reasons, and 289 for fraud.

Who are those people?


The most high-profile recent case of someone having their citizenship removed was Shamima Begum, one of three east London schoolgirls who travelled to Syria in 2015 to support the Islamic State group (IS).

Ms Begum was born in the UK to parents of Bangladeshi heritage and was 15 when she left.

In February 2020, a tribunal ruled that removing Ms Begum's citizenship was lawful because she was "a citizen of Bangladesh by descent", so removing her British nationality wouldn't make her stateless. Bangladesh said that was not the case and she would not be allowed into the country.

In February 2021, the Supreme Court decided that she wouldn't be allowed back into the UK to appeal against the decision.

Another person who had his citizenship deprived for national security reasons was Tauqir Sharif, an aid worker from Walthamstow. He moved to Syria in 2012 with his wife, and was stripped of his citizenship in 2017.

The Home Office said it believed Mr Sharif had links to a group aligned with al-Qaeda. He denied the claim, and called the system "unfair" and "racist".

What about other countries?


US-born citizens can't have their citizenship revoked because citizenship is a birth right guaranteed in the US constitution.

However, naturalised US citizens - that is, people who have immigrated to the US - can have their nationality stripped for a few reasons, including for being members of a proscribed group and for obtaining their US citizenship through fraud.

In Australia, a person can have their citizenship removed on national security grounds, if they are a dual citizen of another nation.

Citizenship can be removed for treason, disloyalty and other national security reasons in 14 EU states, including Greece, France and Romania.

In recent years, the UK has stripped more people of their citizenship than any other country apart from Bahrain, according to a report released by the Institute on Statelessness and Inclusion.


Anthony Loyd of the Times describes how he found Shamima Begum in a Syrian refugee camp


AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Elon Musk Unveils Grokipedia: An AI-Driven Alternative to Wikipedia
Russia’s President Putin Declares Burevestnik Nuclear Cruise Missile Ready for Deployment
US Administration Under President Donald Trump Reportedly Lifts Ban on Ukraine’s Use of Storm Shadow Missiles Against Russia
White House Announces No Imminent Summit Between Trump and Putin
China Presses Netherlands to “properly” Resolve the Nexperia Seizure as Supply Chain Risks Grow
Merz Attacks Migrants, Sparks Uproar, and Refuses to Apologize: “Ask Your Daughters”
Apple Challenges EU Digital Markets Act Crackdown in Landmark Court Battle
Shouting Match at the White House: 'Trump Cursed, Threw Maps, and Told Zelensky – "Putin Will Destroy You"'
‘No Kings’ Protests Inflate Numbers — But History Shows Nations Collapse Without Strong Executive Power
"The Tsunami Is Coming, and It’s Massive": The World’s Richest Man Unveils a New AI Vision
EU Moves to Use Frozen Russian Assets to Buy U.S. Weapons for Ukraine
Europe Emerges as the Biggest Casualty in U.S.-China Rare Earth Rivalry
“Firepower” Promised for Ukraine as NATO Ministers Meet — But U.S. Tomahawks Remain Undecided
The Sydney Sweeney and Jeans Storm: “The Outcome Surpassed Our Wildest Dreams”
Dutch Government Seizes Chipmaker After U.S. Presses for Removal of Chinese CEO
AI and Cybersecurity at Forefront as GITEX Global 2025 Kicks Off in Dubai
Ex-Microsoft Engineer Confirms Famous Windows XP Key Was Leaked Corporate License, Not a Hack
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
Wave of Complaints Against Apple Over iPhone 17 Pro’s Scratch Sensitivity
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Trump Says Ukraine Can Fully Restore Borders with NATO Backing
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Germany Weighs Excluding France from Key European Fighter Jet Programme
Cyberattack Disrupts Check-in and Boarding Systems at Major European Airports
Björn Borg Breaks Silence: Memoir Reveals Addiction, Shame and Cancer Battle
When Extremism Hijacks Idealism: How the Baader-Meinhof Gang Emerged and Fell
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
Trump Orders $100,000 Fee on H-1B Visas and Launches ‘Gold Card’ Immigration Pathway
France’s Looming Budget Crisis and Political Fracture Raise Fears of Becoming Europe’s “Sick Man”
Three Russian MiG-31 Jets Breach Estonian Airspace in ‘Unprecedentedly Brazen’ NATO Incident
European manufacturers against ban on polluting cars: "The industry may collapse"
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
Christian Brueckner Released from German Prison after Serving Unrelated Sentence
×