‘If the government really follows through with blocking refugees from getting citizenship, the UK will be taking a huge step backwards.’
Refugee charities have criticised Labour’s decision to block thousands of refugees from applying for citizenship if they arrived in the UK via dangerous routes such as small boat crossings.
Home Office guidance for staff assessing people who have applied for naturalisation says that, from Monday 10 February, applicants who have “made a dangerous journey will normally be refused citizenship”.
Kolbassia Haoussou, Director of Survivor Leadership at Freedom from Torture, said: “Make no mistake, this is a dark moment in British history. If the government really follows through with blocking refugees from getting citizenship, the UK will be taking a huge step backwards.”
Enver Solomon, CEO of the Refugee Council, said: “This change flies in the face of reason. The British public want refugees who have been given safety in our country to integrate into and contribute to their new communities, so it makes no sense for the government to erect more barriers.”
He added: “So many refugees over many generations have become proud hard working British citizens as doctors, entrepreneurs and other professionals.
“Becoming a British citizen has helped them give back to their communities and this should be celebrated, not prevented. We urge ministers to urgently reconsider.”
Labour MP Stella Creasy reacted to the decision on X, stating: “If we give someone refugee status, it can’t be right to then refuse them route to become a British Citizen.
“To say they can have a home in our country, but never a place in our society and be forever second class.”
Creasy also pointed out that under the new rules, Paddington Bear, the beloved character who arrived in London from Peru as a stowaway, would not be able to obtain a British passport.
A Home Office spokesperson said: “There are already rules that can prevent those arriving illegally from gaining citizenship.
“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.”
Olivia Barber is a reporter at Left Foot Forward
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