National security will be strengthened under a new law to prevent
British citizenship being reinstated to individuals considered a
risk following a successful initial appeal.
The Deprivation of
Citizenship Orders (Effect during Appeal) Bill will
ensure that citizenship is not automatically
reinstated after a successful appeal until all further
appeals are exhausted—protecting the public from potential
threats.
The bill addresses a gap in the law identified by the Supreme
Court, where it confirmed people automatically regain their
British citizenship if their initial appeal is successful – even
before further appeals have been determined.
This could mean individuals who the government still considers a
risk to the UK's national security can either be released from
immigration detention or return to the UK whilst further appeals
are still possible or are ongoing.
This change will also prevent a person from having British
citizenship reinstated and then renouncing any other
nationalities. This would mean any future decision to deprive
their citizenship following a successful further appeal, could
not be made as it would unlawfully render them stateless, meaning
they could also not be deported from the UK or prevented from
returning if they were already overseas.
Security Minister said:
Protecting our national security and keeping the British public
safe is the first duty of this government and the foundation of
our Plan for Change. The power to deprive someone of their
British citizenship is an essential tool, and helps protect us
from some of the most dangerous people.
We must close this gap in the law and prevent British citizenship
being reinstated to individuals until all appeals have been
determined. This is the right thing to do if we believe someone
is a threat to our national security, and it will make Britain
safer.
Deprivation decisions
on ‘conducive to the public good' grounds are taken only in the
most serious cases by the Home Secretary, where it is in the
public interest to do so because of the individual's conduct or
the threat they pose to the UK.
The change in the law follows the similar approach taken in
asylum and human rights appeals cases, where asylum is not
granted to a person appealing a rejection until all further
appeals, up to the Court of Appeal, have been determined.
This narrowly focussed bill, consisting of two clauses, makes no
change to a person's existing right to appeal any decision to
remove their British citizenship, and doesn't widen the
reasons for which a person could be deprived of their
citizenship.
