UK To Block Undocumented Migrants from Gaining Citizenship

On Wednesday, the British government announced that it would be tightening immigration rules, making it nearly impossible for undocumented migrants arriving via small boats to later obtain UK citizenship. According to the new guidance, migrants arriving by sea or hidden in vehicles will typically be denied 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,” said a Home Office spokesperson.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labour government is facing increasing pressure to reduce migration following the success of Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party, which garnered nearly four million votes during the last general election—an unprecedented achievement for a far-right party.

However, the changes have sparked criticism from some Labour MPs. “If we give someone refugee status, it can’t be right to then refuse them a route to become a British citizen,” said lawmaker Stella Creasy on X, adding that the policy would result in individuals being “forever second class.”

Free Movement, an immigration law blog, warned that the new rules could “block a large number of refugees from naturalising as British citizens, effective immediately,” describing the updated guidance as “incredibly spiteful and damaging to integration.”

This move follows ongoing debates among MPs about the government’s new Border Security, Asylum, and Immigration Bill, which seeks to grant law enforcement officials “counter-terror style powers” to break up criminal gangs involved in smuggling irregular migrants across the English Channel.

Both legal and undocumented immigration are major political issues, with both reaching historically high levels. The July 2024 election, which brought Starmer to power, saw these topics dominate discussions. Upon taking office, Starmer immediately scrapped the controversial deportation plan to Rwanda proposed by his predecessor, Rishi Sunak. Instead, he vowed to “smash the gangs” responsible for the rising migrant numbers.

Provisional figures from the interior ministry revealed that 36,816 people crossed the Channel between England and France in 2024, marking a 25% increase from 2023’s 29,437.