Lords considers British Nationality (Regularisation of Past Practice) Bill

The British Nationality (Regularisation of Past Practice) Bill will retroactively change the law so that any children born in the UK between January 1983 and October 2000 to parents of EU/EEA or Swiss nationality are confirmed as British citizens.

Bill-fast tracked

The bill was fast-tracked as the government have stated the importance of quickly resolving the citizenship status of the cohort affected. Applications from this cohort have been paused since October 2022 but can progress once the bill becomes law.

• Read a briefing on this bill from the House of Lords Library 

Remaining stages completed

Because no amendments were put forward by members of the Lords, the bill's committee stage, report stage and third reading took place without debate.

Catch up

• Catch up on Parliament TV
• Read the Lords Hansard transcript

Next steps

As both Houses have now agreed on the text of the bill, it now awaits the final step of Royal Assent when it will become an Act of Parliament (law).

What's happened so far?

During second reading, members discussed the main issues in the bill and drew attention to specific areas where they think changes will be needed.

Topics covered during the debate included: 

• efficiency of the passport application process
• communication with affected individuals.

Members speaking

Lord Murray of Blidworth (Conservative), Minister for Migration and Borders at the Home Office, opened the debate and responded on behalf of the government. 

Members speaking in the debate included: 

• Lord German (Liberal Democrat), former Minister for Europe in the National Assembly for Wales
• Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede (Labour), Lords Labour Spokesperson in the Home Office and former delegate to the Council of Europe.

Catch up

Find out more about the issues discussed: catch up on Parliament TV or read the Lords Hansard transcript.  

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