British citizenship will be denied to “serious criminals” regardless of when or where the offence occurred, according to UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman, as part of the country’s tighter regulations that go into force on Monday.
The Indian-origin minister stated that she is cracking down on abuse of the British nationality system by raising the bar for individuals seeking citizenship.
The amendments repeal previous laws that allowed some criminals to be granted British citizenship when a predetermined number of years elapsed after the conclusion of their sentence, regardless of the sort of crime or where it was committed.
“British citizenship is a gift.” “Those who commit crimes should not be able to enjoy the breadth of rights that citizenship brings, such as holding a British passport, voting, and receiving free medical care from the NHS,” Braverman added.
“I am cracking down on abuse of the UK’s immigration and nationality systems by instituting a higher threshold to prevent serious criminals from obtaining British citizenship.” “This is the right and fair thing to do for our country,” she stated.
The British government has tightened the conditions for new applications from anyone who has served at least a 12-month prison sentence.
The UK Home Office stated that the government is reaffirming its commitment to preserving UK borders and ensuring that no one with a criminal record abuses the British immigration and nationality system.
The amended criteria are harsher and more precise on so-called “good character” standards, which are a major criterion for being awarded British citizenship, and look at whether an individual has followed UK law as well as showed respect for British residents’ rights and freedoms.
Criminal convictions, immigration offenses, and heinous behavior such as war crimes, terrorism, or genocide are among the conditions.
According to the Home Office, some exceptions to the tighter new standards would be considered on a case-by-case basis, such as if a person has mitigating circumstances that merit an extraordinary grant.
This might include someone who committed a small offense a long time ago but has made enough positive changes that they are now judged to be of excellent character, according to the report.
Previously, a four-year prison sentence was the anticipated threshold at which a British citizenship application would be denied.
According to the Home Office, the “toughened-up good character rules” will bring the criminality threshold for British citizenship in line with the government’s broader visa and immigration policies.
