It cannot be right in principle that entitlement to British nationality still varies according to whether it is one’s mother or one’s father who is British, or whether one’s parents are married or not.
This is from the May 2018 report from the Joint Committee on Human Rights which examines the Government’s proposed Remedial Order to amend the British Nationality Act of 1981.
Although the Committee welcomes the Government’s Remedial Order (a form of secondary legislation that corrects an incompatibility in UK Law with basic human rights), they state that:
- It’s unacceptable that your British nationality should depend on whether your parents were married
- People shouldn’t have to pay fees again when they are having to re-apply for nationality because of previous discrimination
- British Mothers should be able to pass on British nationality to their children in the same way as fathers can
- Significant discrimination persists in getting British Overseas Territory Citizenship
- The Government should act to remedy other discrimination in British Nationality Law as soon as possible.
The Committee look forward to receiving further information promised by the Home Office on how it intends to tackle wider discrimination issues in British Nationality Law. They also welcome them taking action on address similar discrimination when it comes to British Overseas Territories Citizenship.