United Kingdom By Caroline Sawyer and Helena Wray1 1. Introduction The citizenship regime of the UK is a mixture of ius sanguinis and ius soli, and is arguably relatively generous in its naturalisation schemes. This remains true even in the current political climate when the government is committed to severely curtailing ‘net migration’ and has enhanced and made increasing use of its powers to remove citizenship. The British regime for attributing citizenship at birth to those born in the UK fits well within the prevailing systems of Europe and accords with the European Convention on Nationality, although, in common with most other jurisdictions, the UK has not ratified that Convention. Naturalisation is possible through regular residence in any capacity but settled status must always be obtained first and must usually be held for at least one year and this will only be granted as a consequence of certain types of immigration leave.2 However, the implications of the partial loss of ius soli in 1983 and subsequent events have arguably entailed a fundamental shift in the meaning of being British. Historically, the system has been indistinct in ways that could be inclusive or exclusive but, as the entire immigration and nationality regime from initial entry through to deprivation of nationality has been toughened, the absence of unassailable rights, even for long-term residents or nationals, may be felt by some groups and individuals in particular. Just as the abandonment of responsibility towards non-UK British subjects in the later twentieth century demonstrated many ethical and legal problems, so the shift from residence as the basis for belonging to a stricter system of entitlement or exclusion raises many questions of principle and justice. Perhaps the defining characteristic of British citizenship law historically has been its ambiguity which has been observable in respect of terminology and of rights; of legal boundaries; and of conceptual boundaries, with a particular blurring between citizenship and immigration statuses. Changes over the past decade have resolved some historical uncertainties and injustices but have also succeeded in creating new ones. 1.1 Ambiguity of terminology and of rights Terms such as ‘nationality’ and ‘citizenship’, along with other forms of membership status, have not each represented a single identifiable set of rights. This confusion is closely linked to the UK’s history as a retreating imperial power. The scope of British nationality has shrunk from including everyone born in a vast empire at the end of the 1 Caroline Sawyer was the author of the report published in 2009. Helena Wray updated and revised the report comprehensively in 2012 and in 2014. The present version covers citizenship-related legislative developments up to December 2014. 2 Settled status requires ‘ordinary residence’ in the UK with no immigration restrictions on one’s stay i.e. indefinite leave to remain (s. 33 Immigration Act 1971). RSCAS/EUDO-CIT-CR 2014/1 - © 2014 Authors 1