Deprivation of British citizenship and withdrawal of passports 1 Citizenship deprivation powers 1.1 When can someone be deprived of British citizenship? Section 40 of the British Nationality Act 1981 provides the government with the power to deprive a person of their British citizenship. The power also extends to the five other, less common types of British nationality. Specifically, the Home Secretary can make a deprivation of citizenship order in either of the following circumstances: • The person obtained their citizenship through registration or naturalisation and the Home Secretary is satisfied that it was obtained by fraud, false representation or concealment of a material fact. 1 A deprivation order can be made on this ground even if it would make the person stateless. • The Home Secretary considers that deprivation of citizenship is conducive to the public good. 2 A deprivation order cannot be made on this ground if it would make the person stateless, unless: – The person obtained their citizenship through naturalisation; and the Home Secretary considers that deprivation is conducive to the public good because the person has conducted themselves in a manner seriously prejudicial to the vital interests of the UK; and the Home Secretary has reasonable grounds to believe that the person is able to become a national of another country. 3 This means that someone who was born British and has no other nationality cannot be deprived of their citizenship. According to Home Office guidance, “false representation” means the applicant made the representation deliberately and dishonestly; an innocent mistake would not count. “Concealment of a material fact” means deliberate concealment that had a direct bearing on the original decision to grant 1 2 3 6 British Nationality Act 1981, section 40(3) British Nationality Act 1981, section 40(2) British Nationality Act 1981, section 40(4)-(4A) Commons Library Research Briefing, 18 December 2024