Can You Lose British Citizenship?

The legal basis

The power to deprive a person of British citizenship is in section 40 of the British Nationality Act 1981, with the right of appeal in section 40A. The Home Office applies it under its published deprivation and nullity guidance. There are two grounds:

Section 40(2): conducive to the public good

Section 40(2) reads: “The Secretary of State may by order deprive a person of a citizenship status if the Secretary of State is satisfied that deprivation is conducive to the public good.”

The Act does not define “conducive to the public good” or list the conduct it covers. The Home Office deprivation guidance is the place to read how the power is applied in practice.

Section 40(4) limits it: “The Secretary of State may not make an order under subsection (2) if he is satisfied that the order would make a person stateless.”

Section 40(4A): the exception added in 2014

Section 40(4A), inserted by the Immigration Act 2014, allows a section 40(2) order despite the statelessness bar, but only where three things hold: the citizenship status was obtained by naturalisation; the Home Secretary is satisfied that deprivation is conducive to the public good because the person has conducted themselves in a manner seriously prejudicial to the vital interests of the UK, the Islands, or a British overseas territory; and the Home Secretary has reasonable grounds for believing the person is able, under the law of another country, to become a national of it.

Section 40(3): fraud, false representation or concealment

Section 40(3) allows deprivation where the citizenship status was obtained by means of:

• fraud,
• false representation, or
• concealment of a material fact.

The statelessness bar in section 40(4) applies only to orders under section 40(2). It does not apply to section 40(3), so an order on this ground can be made even where the person holds no other nationality.

Section 40(6) makes a corresponding provision for older cases: registration as a citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies obtained by fraud, false representation or concealment of a material fact.

Sections 40(5) and 40(5A): notice

Section 40(5) requires the Home Secretary, before making an order, to give the person written notice specifying that a decision has been made to make the order, the reasons for it, and the person’s right of appeal.

Section 40(5A), inserted by the Nationality and Borders Act 2022, allows notice not to be given in specified circumstances, including where the Home Secretary does not have the information needed to give notice, or considers it should not be given in the interests of national security, the relationship between the UK and another country, or otherwise in the public interest.

How often it is used

We do not give a number here. The Home Office does not publish a routinely updated count of deprivation orders, and this site does not print a statistic it cannot source. Figures do appear from time to time in answers to parliamentary questions and in Home Office transparency data, and those are the places to look for one.

What can be said from the statute is that both grounds are narrow. Section 40(2) requires the Home Secretary to be satisfied that deprivation is conducive to the public good, and section 40(3) requires the citizenship to have been obtained by fraud, false representation or concealment of a material fact. Neither applies to ordinary conduct, and neither operates automatically. See our guide to applying for British citizenship.

The process

If the Home Secretary decides to deprive someone of citizenship, the process is:

1. The Home Secretary decides to make an order under section 40(2) or section 40(3).
2. Under section 40(5), written notice is given before the order is made, specifying the decision, the reasons for it, and the right of appeal. Section 40(5A) allows this step to be omitted in the circumstances it lists.
3. The order is made, and citizenship ends on that order.
4. Section 40A gives a right of appeal to the First-tier Tribunal. Where the Home Secretary certifies that the decision was taken wholly or partly in reliance on information that should not be made public, the appeal is to the Special Immigration Appeals Commission instead.

Section 40A also provides that where an order was made without prior notice, the time for appealing does not start until the person is given notice of the order, and that the order remains in effect while an appeal is pending, until it is finally determined or abandoned.

The right of appeal

If you are deprived of citizenship, you have the right to appeal. The appeal is to:

• The First-tier Tribunal is the default forum under section 40A(1).
• The Special Immigration Appeals Commission hears the appeal where the Home Secretary certifies that the decision was taken wholly or partly in reliance on information which, in their opinion, should not be made public in the interests of national security, in the interests of the relationship between the UK and another country, or otherwise in the public interest.

Note the difference from a refusal of a citizenship application, which carries no appeal at all: a deprivation decision does carry a statutory right of appeal. See our guides on challenging a citizenship refusal and what to do after a visa refusal.

The statelessness bar

The UK is a signatory to the 1961 UN Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness. This convention generally prohibits rendering a person stateless.

In UK law, section 40(4) prevents an order under section 40(2) where the Home Secretary is satisfied it would make the person stateless, subject to the section 40(4A) exception described above. This means:

• Where a person holds no other nationality, a section 40(2) order is barred unless the section 40(4A) exception applies.
• Where a person holds another nationality, section 40(4) does not bite, because the order would not make them stateless.

The bar is written to apply to section 40(2) only. An order under section 40(3), for citizenship obtained by fraud, false representation or concealment of a material fact, is not subject to it.

Dual nationality and the statelessness bar

Because section 40(4) bars a section 40(2) order that would make someone stateless, the practical reach of that ground differs depending on whether the person holds another nationality. This asymmetry is a matter of public and legal debate.

Section 40(3), for citizenship obtained by fraud, false representation or concealment of a material fact, is not limited in that way and applies whether or not another nationality is held.

If you are deciding whether to keep your original nationality when becoming British, see our dual citizenship guide and our guide on how British citizenship affects your other nationality.

Good character is a different thing

It is important to distinguish between good character issues in a citizenship application and deprivation of existing citizenship. They are different things:

• Good character: An issue that may prevent you from being granted citizenship in the first place. See our good character requirement guide for details. Affects applications, not existing citizens.
• Deprivation: an order under section 40 removing citizenship that has already been granted, on one of the two statutory grounds. Good character is not one of them.

There is no provision under which a conviction ends citizenship by itself. For how criminal records affect an application, see our criminal record and citizenship guide.

What does not cause loss of citizenship

To be clear about what does not cause loss of British citizenship:

• Living abroad for any length of time (unlike ILR, citizenship cannot lapse through absence)
• Minor criminal convictions
• Acquiring another nationality (the UK allows dual citizenship). Learn more about citizenship renunciation if you are considering giving up British nationality voluntarily.
• Failing to vote or participate in civic life
• Not having a British passport (a passport proves citizenship but is not citizenship itself)
• Divorce from a British spouse (citizenship is not dependent on the marriage continuing). See our spouse visa guide for details on the spousal route.

In summary

Nothing in section 40 requires a citizen to do anything to keep their citizenship. The two grounds on which it can be removed are:

• Section 40(3): how the citizenship was obtained. Fraud, false representation or concealment of a material fact in the application. There is no time limit written into the section. The Form AN guidance makes the same point to applicants: if you are granted citizenship on the basis of incorrect or fraudulent information you are liable to have it taken away, and you may be prosecuted. See our citizenship ceremony guide for what happens after approval.
• Section 40(2): conduct the Home Secretary considers makes deprivation conducive to the public good. The Act leaves the term undefined; the Home Office deprivation guidance sets out how it is applied.

For the rights that come with citizenship, see our guide to travel benefits.

Questions and answers