Undocumented migrants who arrived or arriving in the UK after making a “dangerous” journey or via irregular routes will not be allowed to claim citizenship, the Home Office said on Wednesday, in an updated immigration guidelines.
The new rules which took effect on February 10, 2025, emphasised that migrants arriving by sea, or hidden in the back of vehicles will be refused citizenship.
“A person who applies for citizenship from 10 February . . . having made a dangerous journey will normally be refused citizenship”, the new guidance stated.
It also clarified that “any person applying for citizenship from 10 February 2025, who previously entered the UK illegally will normally be refused, regardless of the time that has passed since the illegal entry took place.”
A dangerous journey includes travelling by small boat or concealed in a vehicle or other conveyance, according to the guidance.
“This guidance further strengthens measures to make it clear that anyone who enters the UK illegally, including small boat arrivals, faces having a British citizenship application refused”, a home office spokesperson said.
A person close to Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper, said the move was part of a package of policies relating to the new border security bill, illegal working and returns.
Previously, refugees who had arrived by irregular routes would need to wait 10 years before being considered.
But Prime Minister Keir Starmer, on Wednesday, said that the government was working to close a “legal loophole” after a court granted a Palestinian family of six the right to live in the UK, following an application to join a relative already based in Britain through a scheme designed for Ukrainian refugees.
Conservative leader, Kemi Badenoch, labelled the decision “completely wrong” and “crazy”.
Badenoch urged Starmer to review the application of Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which enshrines the right to a family life, in the UK.
The Illegal Migration Act, passed by the previous Conservative government, stated that anyone who arrived in the UK via irregular routes would be barred from obtaining citizenship.
