The argument appears to be that refugees will be allowed to *apply* for citizenship, but that they will be refused as standard unless they can detail "exceptional" circumstances. Which a) is quite clearly not what the Refugee Convention requires and b) poses the question of what "exceptional" means. - ThreadSky

lottelydia.bsky.social • 16 days ago

The argument appears to be that refugees will be allowed to *apply* for citizenship, but that they will be refused as standard unless they can detail "exceptional" circumstances. Which a) is quite clearly not what the Refugee Convention requires and b) poses the question of what "exceptional" means.

Reposted from CJ McKinney

Lifetime ban on citizenship (other than on an exceptional basis) for refugees who enter the UK illegally is compliant with the Refugee Convention obligation to facilitate citizenship for refugees, Home Office minister says hansard.parliament.uk/lords/2025-0...

Comments

okramom.bsky.social•15 days ago

“Exceptional” means white 🙃

drjdunnehowrie.bsky.social•16 days ago

Not being a refugee or some other Kafkaesque formulation, probably

davidandress.bsky.social•16 days ago

*insert paint chart meme*

lottelydia.bsky.social•16 days ago

Saying that you will allow refugees to apply for citizenship but that these applications will always be refused -- and then claiming that this abides by the Convention -- is farcical. It's like saying women are free to *apply* for a job, but will be rejected, then claiming no gender discrimination.

brokenrites.bsky.social•15 days ago

It's infuriating how "British Values" don't seem to apply to the HO.
Eg. Creating an underclass of people who will never have the right to vote isn't upholding democracy

lottelydia.bsky.social•16 days ago

As a reminder, the convention states that signatories should 'as far as possible facilitate the assimilation and naturalization of refugees. They shall in particular make every effort to expedite naturalization proceedings and to reduce as far as possible the charges and costs of such proceedings.'

lottelydia.bsky.social•16 days ago

It also states that 'Except where this Convention contains more favourable provisions, a Contracting State shall accord to refugees the same treatment as is accorded to aliens generally' -- basically, if other migrants are allowed to apply for citizenship, you have to allow refugees to do so.

lottelydia.bsky.social•16 days ago

Anyway. Fuck the Home Office. A good reminder that the institution is irredeemable -- it's easy on the left to pretend that it was just nasty Theresa May who corrupted the department, but it has always, in fact, been bad. Abolish it.

llyfrgellbabel.bsky.social•16 days ago

May wouldn't have been able to do half the stuff she did had not the preceding Labour government spent years diligently doing the work to enable her.

malcolmwilson01.bsky.social•15 days ago

What is your basis for saying this?

Genuinely, as someone whose dad was a lifelong civil servant, who spent two years seconded into the civil service, working across government departments including the Home Office, and who knows the Perm Sec there, I don’t see this.

Please cite your evidence.

sasooli.bsky.social•15 days ago

I mean the Home Office is responsible for *some* useful stuff, like fire and rescue services. But it's mainly dedicated to the police and border/immigration enforcement, which are both areas where the current system is much worse than just having no system at all.

malcolmwilson01.bsky.social•15 days ago

I detest what the government is doing, but is that how the civil service works? Really?

nateo.bsky.social•15 days ago

I've personally heard civil servants slag off the Home Office more times than I can count. I've heard civil servants working for the Home Office slag off the Home Office. I know civil servants that have left the Home Office in disgust. I dunno, maybe they have the right idea?

mrbollocks.bsky.social•15 days ago

Home Secretary is one of those positions where being a terrible person is a prerequisite. May cleared a very high bar to be generally considered the worst.

But yes. Abolish the Home Office.

scornflakegrrrl.bsky.social•15 days ago

All those immigration rules dreamed up by people who wouldn’t even know what it means to uproot your life and rebuild it somewhere else, growing new roots and social networks. Doing everything to discourage it and then blaming people for not integrating

kinelfire.bsky.social•16 days ago

How much does applying for citizenship cost, again? And where does that fee go? Are unsuccessful applicants refunded?

radekcdydd.bsky.social•16 days ago

£1300 but with other fees it adds up to £1500. A freedom of information request revealed that it costs the Home Office dramatically less than that to process applications. And unsuccessful applicants are not refunded.

kinelfire.bsky.social•16 days ago

Thank you. I want to be shocked by the behaviour of the Home Office, but I'm not. The exploitation of migrants is disgusting, every step of the way.

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