Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what criteria she plans to use in applying her discretionary powers to give an exception to the current ban on citizenship being granted to an asylum seeker who has arrived irregularly.

We have strengthened measures to make it clear that anyone who enters the UK illegally or who arrives without a required valid entry clearance or electronic valid authorisation having made a dangerous journey, including small boat arrivals, faces having a British citizenship application refused. The change applies to citizenship applications made from 10 February 2025, regardless of the time that has passed since the illegal entry took place.

However, citizenship applications have always been, and will continue to be, considered on a case-by-case basis considering all positive and negative factors. The Secretary of State may choose to apply discretion to grant citizenship on an exceptional basis where there are particularly exceptional, compelling, or mitigating circumstances and where necessary to comply with our international obligations.