New regulations are about to go into effect to bar those who have been convicted of major crimes from obtaining citizenship in the United Kingdom.
UK Citizenship Crackdown on Foreign Offenders
Secretary of State for the Home Department Suella Braverman speaks during the National Conservatism Conference at The Emmanuel Centre on May 15, 2023 in London, England.
On Monday, July 31, stricter regulations will apply to citizenship applicants who have served a 12-month jail term due to a change in the "good character" criteria. If an applicant has served a sentence of more than four years in prison, their request for British citizenship would likely be denied.
Prior to this change, Evening Standard said that applications from those who had spent between 12 months and four years in jail were similarly very unlikely to be accepted until 15 years had gone since the conclusion of the term. Applications from those who had served less than a year in jail were likewise likely to be denied until at least ten years had elapsed.
New guidelines are intended to be stricter and more specific on the good character standards, bringing the system in line with immigration regulations.
The Home Office has announced that due to the changes, the regulations under which some criminals might be awarded citizenship after a set number of years would be scrapped.
The British Home Secretary, Suella Braverman, made it clear that having British citizenship is a special honor.
"Those who commit crimes shouldn't be able to enjoy the breadth of rights citizenship brings, including holding a British passport, voting and accessing free medical care from the NHS [National Health Service] ... I am cracking down on abuse of the UK's immigration and nationality system, by introducing a tougher threshold so that serious criminals cannot gain British citizenship."
Braverman said this is just fair and right thing to do.
The Home Office has also said that certain applicants may be able to demonstrate exceptional circumstances in support of their application for British citizenship.
Also Read: UK Net Migration Reaches New Record High Despite Government Cutbacks, Student Visa Crackdown
Failure to Expel Foreign Offenders?
According to Daily Mail, this news comes after a watchdog last month criticized the Home Office for failing to expel foreign offenders. Based on a report, performance was not efficient, and there was an unacceptable absence of useful information and functional systems.
David Neal, the independent chief inspector of borders and immigration, said the number of deportations of foreign national offenders has dropped by more than half in recent years.
Meanwhile, a program that rewards ex-offenders with £1,000 ($1,200) for leaving the country may be misused.
The Home Office was reported to be handling the cases of 21,094 foreign criminals, including 6,030 in prison, 1,036 in immigration custody, and 13,212 in the general population. However, because of Covid limitations and legal challenges, the number of expulsions from the UK has declined from a peak of 6,437 in 2016 to a projected low of 2,676 in 2021.
Also Read: Illegal Migrants Commit Crimes' Very Quickly' After Arriving in UK, Suella Braverman Claims
