Amanda is a highly valued Law Friends Speaker, based at Great James Street Chambers. She specialises in immigration and public law, advising and appearing in numerous immigration matters. She has much experience in judicial review, which represents one of her areas of expertise.

Here Amanda shares another area of her expertise, showing how British citizenship is recognised or acquired. She states how the only remedy for a refusal to accept a client’s British citizenship status is judicial review. She helpfully refers to relevant case law, as well as her own experience working on cases throughout.

Key words/topics

Judicial review

British citizenship 

Refusal to accept a person is British

Refusal to register

Refusal to naturalise

British Citizen under the British Nationality Act 1981

“Historic unfairness”

Birth certificate

Non-British parents

Royal Prerogative

Public law challenge

R (Harrison) v SSHD [2003] EWCA Civ 432 at [33]

The Immigration Act 1971

Eder J. in R (Jayram Sinha) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2013] EWHC 711 (Admin)

Registration as a British Citizen

The British Nationality Act 1981

Naturalisation

“Good character”

Stanley Burnton LJ in R (SK (Sri Lanka)) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2012] EWCA Civ 16

Arunothayan, R (on the application of) v The Secretary of State for the Home Department [2015] EWHC 206 (Admin)

 R v Secretary of State for the Home Department, ex parte Al Fayed [2000] EWCA Civ 523, [2001] Imm AR 134

DA (Iran), R (On the Application Of) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2014] EWCA Civ 654