Citizenship and Race

Abstract

British citizenship was recognised as a statutory right by the Supreme Court in O in 2022, and not one conferred by the common law. The requirements of citizenship are laid down in the British Nationality Act 1981, as amended. Legal changes to the rules of British citizenship are therefore constrained by rules of statutory interpretation, rather than any broader constitutional principles. Recent deprivation of citizenship laws and judicial decisions have reinforced a de facto stratification of British citizenship, with British citizens from racialised and minoritised communities more vulnerable to losing their citizenship. This is not a new phenomenon but has its origins in the way British subjecthood across the British Empire was racialised. This was done both in terms of immigration rules covering travel within the Empire, and also in terms of the differences in treatment afforded to different groups in the colonies and dominions. Today citizenship law in the UK can be seen as an extension of public order legislation, exercised against large number of the British population who live in the shadow of deprivation orders which may be used against them if they step out of line.

Keywords: Public law, Constitutional Law, Citizenship, Race, Racism, Belonging, Empire, British Empire, Imperialism, Judicial Review, Rule of law