Outdated immigration laws are having profound consequences on illegitimate children whose fathers hail from Britain’s Overseas Territories.
Under current law, illegitimate children born before 2006 whose fathers have British Overseas Territory (“BOT”) citizenship are not entitled to inherit this status and tangentially are barred from claiming British citizenship.
Until the passage of the UK Immigration Act, 2014 (the “2014 Act”), no child born outside of marriage could inherit British citizenship from their father, only their mothers. This was changed after years of campaigning by activists with respect to the law as it stands in Britain, but the amendment in the law was not extended to the BOTs. UK lawmakers have claimed the BOTs were omitted from the scope of the 2014 Act because there was “not enough time” to consult the territories when the law was being drafted.
Since 2002, BOTs citizens have had an automatic right to claim British citizenship, so the fact that the rights to citizenship of a BOT does not apply to children whose fathers are from the jurisdiction unless the father was married to their mother at the time of the birth means British law and that of the BOTs is inconsistent and discriminatory. This anomaly has resulted in families with mixed citizenship status and entitlement. Illegitimate children are in effect being punished for the fact that they were born out of wedlock and activists are now challenging the legality of the provision and seeking reform. Additionally, large numbers of affected persons will be from black and ethnic minority communities which adds another layer of complication to the situation which is already seen as unequal and unfairly prejudicial of this group.
The UK’s parliament Joint Committee on Human Rights has noted that the discrepancy may also be a possible breach of human rights laws, and has called for a resolution to the issue. The committee, which is chaired by former acting leader of the Labour Party, Harriet Harman, has urged the Home Office to fix the anomalies in the citizenship laws.
