Immigration Corner | The removal of British citizenship

Dear Mr Bassie,

Can a person's British citizenship be taken away for any reason? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

- GC

Dear GC,

It is possible for a person's British citizenship to be taken away, if it is obtained fraudulently. This is termed 'removal of citizenship.'

The British authorities may take away persons' British citizenship if it is found that those persons obtained their registration or naturalisation by fraud, giving false information, or concealing facts that would have affected the decision to give them British citizenship, thereby depriving them of British citizenship. This is known as 'deprivation of citizenship.'

There are many reasons for depriving a person of citizenship and these might include the following reasons. If persons had concealed information that might show that they are not of good character, such as having convictions overseas.

Another reason may be that persons may have obtained indefinite leave to remain in the United Kingdom by claiming to hold a different nationality than what they really are.

A person may have obtained citizenship as the spouse of a British citizen, but he/she was not validly married to that person. Another reason could be that a person used false documents to obtain citizenship, or cheated in the Life in the United Kingdom test.

The British authorities may also take away a person's British citizenship if, in the authorities' opinion, it would be in the public interest to do so and that person would not be made stateless as a result of the removal (deprivation) of British citizenship.

If a person is deprived of citizenship, that person stops being a British citizen on the date that a deprivation order is issued and after, that he/she is no longer able to hold a British passport. Any rights that person may have to live in the United Kingdom may also be lost and it should be noted that in serious cases, he/she may be removed from the United Kingdom.

Please note that further information on deprivation of British citizenship can be found in Chapter 55 of the nationality instructions.

Just to be complete, if it is believed that someone has obtained British citizenship by fraud, false representation or concealing material fact, those person can refer this to the British deprivation team using a referral form which is in Annex A of Chapter 55 of the nationality instructions. The person referring the matter must be prepared to explain the reasons why it is thought that the person being reported should have their citizenship removed and give details of any evidence which might prove this.

- John S. Bassie is a barrister/attorney-at-law who practises law in Jamaica. He is a justice of the peace, a Supreme Court-appointed mediator, a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, a chartered arbitrator and a member of the Immigration Law Practitioners Association (UK). Email:lawbassie@yahoo.com