Applications for British Citizenship: War Crimes Screening

Kevin Foster Excerpts

Thursday 19th November 2020 Written Statements

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department (Kevin Foster)]

I have made the Equality (War Crimes etc.) Arrangements 2020 and the Race Relations (Northern Ireland) (War Crimes etc.) Arrangements 2020 to enable a Home Office Minister to subject applications from certain nationalities for British citizenship to more rigorous scrutiny than others for the purposes of determining whether the applicant has committed, been complicit in the commission of, or otherwise been associated with the commission of war crimes, crimes against humanity or genocide.

The Equality (War Crimes etc.) Arrangements 2020 are made under paragraph (1)(1)(d) of schedule 23 to the Equality Act 2010, and replace the Equality (War Crimes etc.) Arrangements 2013. The corresponding Race Relations (Northern Ireland) (War Crimes etc.) Arrangements 2020 are made under article 40 paragraph 2(c) Race Relations (Northern Ireland) Order 1997 and replace the Race Relations (Northern Ireland) (War Crimes etc.) Arrangements 2013.

The condition for subjecting these applications to more rigorous scrutiny is that the applicant is a national of a state specified on a list approved personally by a Home Office Minister for the purpose of the arrangements.

I have reviewed and approved this list and I am satisfied the conditions set out in the arrangements are met in respect of the countries on the list.

The arrangements will be reviewed on an annual basis and will remain in force until revoked. I will update Parliament when new arrangements are made.

Copies of the arrangements will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

[HCWS589]