Home Office suspends certain citizenship acquisitions for individuals born to EU parents exercising free movement rights

This change concerns prospective applicants born between 1 January 1983 and 1 October 2000 to EU parents living in the UK under the old free movement rights.

Old law

A child born in the UK between 1 January 1983 and 1 October 2000 was automatically British if at least one of their parents was a citizen of a country that was part of the EU or EEA at the time, and they were exercising EU treaty rights in the UK.

Current law

Children born to EU countries part of the EU/EEA at the time from 2 October 2000 to 29 April 2006 were no longer automatically British. They were only born British if at least one of the parents had citizenship of a country that was part of the EU/EEA at the time of birth, lived in the UK and had obtained indefinite leave to remain (also called permanent residence).

Recent changes

The Home Office has recently suspended all applications for British citizenship by individuals born in the UK between 1 January 1983 and 1 October 2000. The reason for this is a recent judgment by the High Court in the case of Roehrig. There, the judges decided that a child born in the relevant timeframe to EU parents living in the UK, and who did not possess indefinite leave to remain at the time of the birth, did not have an automatic right to British nationality.

The impact on the applicants

It is currently not possible for anyone to apply for British citizenship who was born between 1 January 1983 and 1 October 2000 to EU/EEA parents in the UK who did not possess indefinite leave to remain. The Home Office has confirmed that those who have already been recognised as British under these circumstances will not have their citizenship taken away. We will have to wait and see how the Home Office is translating this judgment into policy going forward.

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