UK bans citizenship for irregular migrants

The United Kingdom government has implemented stricter rules that significantly hinder refugees who arrive in the country via illegal routes, such as small boat crossings, from obtaining British citizenship.

The Home Office said it has updated its "good character" guidance, directing immigration workers to reject citizenship applications from people who entered the UK through unauthorized routes. This includes those who crossed the English Channel seaway from France in small boats or who concealed themselves in vehicles.

The new guidance, effective immediately, mandates that any person applying for citizenship who previously entered the UK illegally, will normally be refused, regardless of the amount of time that has passed since the illegal entry took place.

Opposition lawmakers and advocacy groups have condemned the new policy, demanding its immediate reversal.

Labour Party lawmaker Stella Creasy urged swift action from the government, writing on X: "This should be changed asap. If we give someone refugee status, it can't be right to then refuse them (a) route to become a British citizen."

According to the UK Home Office, refugees who arrive through official legal routes, such as resettlement programs, can apply for citizenship six years after receiving asylum, by spending five years on indefinite leave to remain, plus one additional year.

The new policy permanently bars irregular, or illegal, arrivals from applying for citizenship, removing the previous possibility of applying after 10 years under "good character" rules, despite international laws protecting people's right to seek asylum.

Legal experts have raised concerns.

Quoted by The Guardian newspaper, Colin Yeo, an immigration barrister, said the new policy breaches international law, specifically the Refugee Convention, which prohibits penalizing refugees for illegal entry if they present themselves without delay to authorities and show good cause for their illegal entry or presence.

"This is bad, full stop," Yeo said. "It creates a class of person who are forever excluded from civic life, no matter how long they live here. It's also a clear breach of the refugee convention."

Quoted by the BBC, Enver Solomon, chief executive of the Refugee Council, emphasized that many refugees aspire to integrate and contribute to their new communities, and that becoming a British citizen has historically facilitated this process.

Solomon said the move "flies in the face of reason. The British public wants refugees who have been given safety in our country to integrate into and contribute to their new communities".

The Guardian cited sources within the Home Office as explaining the guidance update was designed to replicate restrictions previously enforced under the now-defunct Illegal Migration Act, which had barred citizenship for irregular arrivals.

A Home Office spokesperson said: "There are already rules that can prevent those arriving illegally from gaining citizenship.

"This guidance further strengthens measures to make it clear that anyone who enters the UK illegally, including small boat arrivals, faces having a British citizenship application refused."