Clause 43
Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Bill [Lords]
Public Bill Committees, 11 June 2009, 3:00 pm
Phil Woolas (Oldham East & Saddleworth, Labour)
Clause 43 rights what some see as a wrong and is consequential to clause 47. The reason that clause 43 appears earlier than, but is consequential to, clause 47 is because it relates to sections of the British Nationality Act 1981. Section 1(1) of the 1981 Act currently provides for a person born in the UK or a qualifying territory to acquire British citizenship automatically at birth, if born to a parent who is either a British citizen or is settled for nationality purposes in the UK or qualifying territories.
Section 1(3) of the 1981 Act currently provides for a person born in the UK to register as a British citizen if, while they are a minor, their father or mother becomes either a British citizen or becomes settled for nationality purposes in the UK. Under subsection (1), a person born in the UK to a foreign and Commonwealth parent who is currently serving in the UK armed forces acquires British citizenship automatically at birth, or, under subsection (3), they may register as a British citizen because the parent is recognised as being settled in the UK for nationality purposes. Section 50 in part 2 of the 1981 Act sets out the definition of settled in the UK or qualifying territory for nationality purposes, which requires the person to be ordinarily resident and to be free from immigration time control.
The Home Office lawyers have advised that the application of that definition to foreign and Commonwealth members of the UK armed forces is now ambiguous following changes to Ministry of Defence recruitment and training practices, which means that those foreign and Commonwealth persons eligible for recruitment to the UK armed forces are no longer expected to have indefinite leave to remain in the UK. However, since 1997 members of the UK armed forces continue, as before, to be exempt from immigration control while subject to service law during the period of their service in the UK armed forces.
The Government wish to maintain the current rights to citizenship of children born in the UK or a qualifying territory to a parent who is, or who becomes, a foreign and Commonwealth member of the armed forces. That is because the right has existed in law and has been asserted by this class of person since commencement of the 1981 Act. It is also because the Government are committed to improving the lives of service personnel, their families and veterans, as outlined in the MOD Command Paper from July 2008, “The Nation’s Commitment: Cross-Government Support to our Armed Forces, their Families and Veterans”, by amending section 1 of the 1981 Act to accommodate that group of persons. The current ambiguity in the application of the definition of “settled” to that group will be removed and the existing rights will be maintained. This is therefore a good opportunity to clarify the law in relation to those who serve in the armed forces.
Damian Green (Ashford, Conservative)
I thank the Minister for that explanation. The change is welcome and necessary, and I can imagine the pleasure with which he makes it, given his recent brushes with the interaction between our armed forces and our immigration law. I can see that he would like to get over this ground very lightly, and I am glad that he has done so.
Nicholas Winterton (Macclesfield, Conservative)
Although he rose very positively to his feet to do it.