No reinstatement of British citizenship to those considered a risk

A bill has been introduced prevent British citizenship being reinstated to people considered a national security risk following a successful initial appeal.

The Deprivation of Citizenship Orders (Effect during Appeal) Bill will make sure that citizenship is not automatically reinstated after a successful appeal until all further appeals are exhausted.

Currently, people automatically regain their British citizenship if their initial appeal is successful – even before further appeals have been determined.

This change will also prevent a person from having British citizenship reinstated and then renouncing any other nationalities. This would mean any future decision to deprive their citizenship following a successful further appeal, could not be made as it would unlawfully render them stateless, meaning they could also not be deported from the UK or prevented from returning if they were already overseas.

Security Minister Dan Jarvis said: "Protecting our national security and keeping the British public safe is the first duty of this government and the foundation of our Plan for Change. The power to deprive someone of their British citizenship is an essential tool, and helps protect us from some of the most dangerous people.

"We must close this gap in the law and prevent British citizenship being reinstated to individuals until all appeals have been determined. This is the right thing to do if we believe someone is a threat to our national security, and it will make Britain safer."