The British Nationality (Regularisation of Past Practice) Bill would deal with a legal issue that has come to light which casts doubt on the British citizenship of some people born in the UK to European Economic Area (EEA) or Swiss nationals between 1 January 1983 and 1 October 2000. The bill would amend the British Nationality Act 1981 to effectively confirm the British citizenship of these individuals.
British Nationality (Regularisation of Past Practice) Bill (193 KB , PDF)
On 19 June 2023, second reading of the British Nationality (Regularisation of Past Practice) Bill is scheduled to take place in the House of Lords. It is a government bill and it has completed its passage through the House of Commons.
The bill would deal with a legal issue that has come to light which casts doubt on the British citizenship of some people born in the UK to European Economic Area (EEA) or Swiss nationals between 1 January 1983 and 1 October 2000. A recent court case has brought into question whether EEA or Swiss nationals living in the UK during this period should have been considered “settled” for nationality purposes, and therefore whether children born in the UK to them at that time could be considered British citizens under the British Nationality Act 1981. Home Office guidance and government policy across the years had stated that people born to these nationals were British citizens and this was relied upon. However, since the judgment, the Home Office has had to pause any first-time passport applications from this group.
The government has committed to dealing with the situation as quickly as possible and is fast-tracking the legislation. The bill passed all its House of Commons stages on 6 June 2023 and it received cross-party support.
British Nationality (Regularisation of Past Practice) Bill (193 KB , PDF)
This bill seeks to implement the government’s commitments to modernise the asylum and immigration systems, establish a border security command and introduce enhanced powers and offences to tackle immigration crime and people smuggling gangs. It has completed its passage in the House of Commons and is scheduled to have its second reading in the House of Lords on 2 June 2025.
In October 2024, a House of Lords committee published a post-legislative review of the Modern Slavery Act 2015. The committee argued that the legislation was no longer world-leading. It suggested developments worldwide had led to the UK falling behind internationally and that recent immigration legislation had limited the act’s support infrastructure for victims. It called on government policy to recognise the difference between migrants coming to the UK willingly and victims of trafficking.
Integration and community cohesion have both been identified as important factors to enable people from different communities to live and work together. Like the previous Conservative government, the current Labour government has committed to policies intended to support integration in order to improve community cohesion. This briefing summarises how integration and community cohesion are conceptualised and measured and discusses the debate on effective integration strategies.
