Briefing: what is the ‘right of abode’ in UK immigration and nationality law?
7 October 2025
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While the basic concept of the right of abode is relatively simple to explain, the real questions are often who has it and why —
While the basic concept of the right of abode is relatively simple to explain, the real questions are often who has it and why —
A child born abroad to British citizen parents who were themselves born abroad is not automatically British at birth. While this might be no shock
Last weekend’s reshuffle saw Yvette Cooper replaced as Home Secretary by Shabana Mahmood, who was previously the Lord Chancellor. In addition, Angela Eagle, previously the
Update: this route is currently suspended and new applications cannot be made. Family reunion applications submitted before 3pm tomorrow, including those currently under appeal, will
A “returning resident” is a resident of the United Kingdom with settled status who returns to the country after a lengthy absence abroad. Ordinarily, when
In this briefing we will take a look at what is really going on with the main features of the contemporary asylum system: arrivals, the
Anybody over the age of ten who applies for registration or naturalisation as a British citizen needs to meet the so-called “good character requirement”. This
An adult who is not a British citizen can apply to become one. This process is known as naturalisation. People will normally be eligible to
Over and over again we hear that refugees should claim asylum in the first safe country the reach. There are variations on the theme. Genuine
Asylum lawyers like me tend to focus on just one clause of the Refugee Convention: the definition of a refugee. This is the gateway to
While the basic concept of the right of abode is relatively simple to explain, the real questions are often who has it and why — which can very complicated to answer. We’ve put together this explainer to address those questions. If you spot something missing or incorrect in this post,...
A child born abroad to British citizen parents who were themselves born abroad is not automatically British at birth. While this might be no shock to immigration lawyers, occasionally the story of a family finding out their child is not British in these circumstances will make headlines. One such example...
Last weekend’s reshuffle saw Yvette Cooper replaced as Home Secretary by Shabana Mahmood, who was previously the Lord Chancellor. In addition, Angela Eagle, previously the Minister of State for Border Security and Asylum, and Seema Malhotra, previously the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Migration and Citizenship, have both been moved...
Update: this route is currently suspended and new applications cannot be made. Family reunion applications submitted before 3pm tomorrow, including those currently under appeal, will continue to be assessed under these rules. This post is intended for refugees (including those with humanitarian protection), their families and their friends trying to...
A “returning resident” is a resident of the United Kingdom with settled status who returns to the country after a lengthy absence abroad. Ordinarily, when a person refers to “returning residents” they might be talking about a temporary resident who leaves for a short time, for example on holiday or...
In this briefing we will take a look at what is really going on with the main features of the contemporary asylum system: arrivals, the backlog, detention, removal and resettlement. The focus is on what caused the backlog and what consequences will flow from the large number of decisions being...
Anybody over the age of ten who applies for registration or naturalisation as a British citizen needs to meet the so-called “good character requirement”. This is a mandatory requirement set out in the British Nationality Act 1981. Where a person is deemed by the Home Office not to be “of...
An adult who is not a British citizen can apply to become one. This process is known as naturalisation. People will normally be eligible to apply for naturalisation under section 6 of the British Nationality Act 1981 if they: This post focuses on the final requirement: intention to settle. British...
Over and over again we hear that refugees should claim asylum in the first safe country the reach. There are variations on the theme. Genuine refugees claim asylum in the first safe country. Refugees should or even must claim asylum in the first safe country. The asylum seekers coming to...
Asylum lawyers like me tend to focus on just one clause of the Refugee Convention: the definition of a refugee. This is the gateway to formal recognition as a refugee and is therefore of vital importance to any person seeking asylum. From this definition, set out at Article 1A(2) of...