Deprivation of British citizenship and withdrawal of passports
Over 1,000 citizenship deprivation orders were
made from 2010 to 2023
There have been at least 858 deprivation orders for fraud, and 222 orders for
the ‘public good’, since 2010. The exact number of successful appeals against
these orders is not known.
Commentators examining known ‘public good’ cases have suggested that
many of those affected are Muslims with South Asian, Middle Eastern or North
African birth or ancestry, some born in the UK. By contrast, most fraud cases
involve naturalised Albanians.
Deprivation used to be allowed only for
naturalised citizens
Deprivation of citizenship for fraud was introduced over 100 years ago, by
legislation passed in 1914. A power to deprive citizenship for certain types of
misconduct, including if a naturalised citizen had proven “disaffected or
disloyal”, was added shortly before the end of the First World War. Until 2003,
however, deprivation was only possible for naturalised citizens.
The Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 extended citizenship
deprivation to British-born dual nationals for the first time. This was possible
if they had done something “seriously prejudicial” to the UK’s vital interests,
but the test was later changed to “conducive to the public good”.
British citizens can also be refused a passport
or have their passport withdrawn
British passports are issued at the discretion of the Home Secretary under the
royal prerogative (an executive power which does not require legislation).
They can be withdrawn or withheld using the same discretionary power.
Withdrawal of passports is not the same as withdrawing citizenship. Someone
whose passport is withdrawn remains a British citizen but their overseas
travel is restricted. Home Office policy states this will be done “sparingly”,
such as where the person intends to travel abroad to engage in terrorism.
There is no right of appeal against having a passport withdrawn, but the
person can ask for an internal review by the government or apply for judicial
review by a judge. From 2013 to 2023, there were 97 cases of passport
withdrawal for national security reasons, according to the Home Office.
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Commons Library Research Briefing, 18 December 2024