Citizenship Bans for People Who Enter the UK Illegally
People who entered the UK illegally (on or after 7 March 2023) will be subject to lifetime citizenship bans, according to new Guidance issued by the Home Office in July 2023. The Guidance states:
“Under the Illegal Migration Act 2023, you will not be eligible for citizenship if you meet all of these criteria:
- You entered or arrived from 7th March 2023 onwards
- You entered illegally. This means you needed permission to enter the United Kingdom
- but entered:
- without permission, or with permission that was obtained by deception
- in breach of a deportation order
- without a valid entry clearance if it was required; or
- without a valid electronic travel authorisation if one was required.
- You did not come directly from a country in which your life and liberty were threatened because of your race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion
This includes where you entered as a child and are now applying as an adult. It also applies if you left the UK following an illegal arrival meeting the criteria above and later re-entered lawfully – you remain ineligible for citizenship.”
Additionally, people will not be eligible for citizenship if they enter Jersey, Guernsey or the Isle of Man, or an overseas territory in the same way. A list of British Overseas Territories is here.
If this applies to you and you are not eligible for citizenship, the Home Office states that your application is “highly likely to be refused without consideration” and they will keep the fee. The only exception where they would at least consider the application is “where the UK’s obligations under the Human Rights Convention would be breached.” Under the Human Rights Convention, the UK has various duties (detailed here) which include protecting the right to private and family life, prohibition of slavery and forced labour, and others.
You can read the Illegal Migration Act 2023 in full here. Brought by Suella Braverman and Lord Murray of Blidworth, both Conservative MPs, it furthers the UK Government’s aim to control the borders. When introducing the Illegal Migration Act 2023, Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick stated,
“If you enter the UK illegally, you will not be able to build a life here. Instead, you’re liable to be detained and you will be removed either back to your home country if it’s safe to do so or a safe third country such as Rwanda.”
The Government has alluded to the creation of new safe and legal asylum routes, but as of yet nothing has been formally announced.
In 2022, the top ten nationalities claiming asylum were Albania, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Bangladesh, Eritrea, India, Sudan, and Pakistan, and there were 132,182 asylum cases awaiting an initial decision.
It is important to note that people who entered the UK illegally before 7 March 2023, or who came here lawfully (for example, with a visa or other permission to be in the UK) are not affected and continue to remain eligible for citizenship, subject to meeting the relevant criteria.
Please contact Descartes Solicitors if you wish to obtain immigration advice from our friendly team. You can call us at 0208 995 3556 or email info@descartessolicitors.co.uk.
By Tiffany Carpenter