UK passes law to block citizenship reinstatement for terrorists, serious criminals

London (Web Desk): The UK Parliament has passed a landmark law that prevents individuals involved in terrorism, extremism, and serious organized crimes from having their British citizenship reinstated immediately.

The "Deprivation of Citizenship Orders Act 2025" received royal assent on October 27, and the law fills the legal gap that emerged following a Supreme Court ruling in February 2025, which allowed individuals who lost their citizenship to potentially regain it if they won an initial appeal.

Under the new law, citizenship will not be restored simply by winning an initial appeal. Instead, a decision will only be enforced once all additional appeals have been completed. This means that if an individual is deemed a national security risk, the government will not be required to release them from immigration detention or allow them to return to the UK during the appeals process.

Another key provision of the law is that individuals will not be able to renounce their other citizenships to present themselves solely as British citizens in an attempt to exploit legal loopholes to regain UK nationality.

Security Minister Dan Jarvis stated that the UK government will not compromise on national security, emphasizing that the law makes it clear that individuals involved in terrorism or serious crimes will not receive any leniency.

The government clarified that the new law does not remove the right to appeal nor does it add to the grounds for deprivation of citizenship. The move is similar to the practice in cases of human rights and asylum, where a final decision is deferred until all stages of the appeal process are completed.