Citizenship deprivation is when an individual with British citizenship – whether that is acquired through birth, naturalisation, being a citizen of a British overseas territory or otherwise – has that citizenship removed by the British government, usually the Home Secretary.

Citizenship deprivation is an ‘executive power’, meaning it can be exercised unilaterally without the need for usual legal process – i.e. without anyone being convicted of any crime. A deprivation order can be made where it is deemed ‘not conducive to the public good’ for an individual to keep their citizenship.

The scope and usage of citizenship deprivation powers has expanded during the War on Terror, and they are used heavily though not exclusively on the vague pretence of ‘national security’ or ‘countering terrorism’.

(NOTE: CAGE represents cases of individuals based on the remit of our work. Supporting a case does not mean we agree with the views or actions of the individual. Content published on CAGE may not reflect the official position of our organisation.)