Over 25 organisations working in Greater Manchester have signed an open letter calling for action on the Government’s citizenship ban. The letter is being sent to all MPs in Greater Manchester and the lead council members of all 10 Greater Manchester boroughs.
What is the citizenship ban?
On 10th February 2025, the Government made changes to the ‘Good Character’ guidance it uses when considering citizenship applications. These changes say that people who entered the UK ‘illegally’ and / or arrived through ‘dangerous routes’ will normally be refused British citizenship, no matter how long they have been in the UK.
In practice, these changes will most directly affect people who are long-term UK residents, who have been in the country for many years, often having undergone a long and traumatic journey through the UK asylum or immigration system, which can itself last years. Many of those affected will have originally arrived in the UK through an irregular route as people seeking asylum: in the absence of accessible safe and legal routes there is no other way to claim asylum in the UK. Their claim for protection will have subsequently been granted, and they will have rebuilt their lives with the aspiration to become full citizens in their new home. There will be people who have completed or are currently on an arduous ten year route to settlement in the UK because of their family and private life in the UK and who are now face never being able to realise their aspiration of becoming full citizens of the country.
These changes bring no benefit to anyone in our communities, have been introduced without Parliamentary scrutiny and are being experienced directly as an attack on people’s sense of belonging and security. As a result, organisations in Greater Manchester decided to act together to ask local politicians who represent us to support calls for the change to be reversed.
Take action!
A mixture of grass roots groups, local organisations and national charities working in Greater Manchester have come together to take this action.
If you would like to write to your local MP or other representative in your area to join calls for them to act on the citizenship ban, you can use our letter as a template for inspiration – find it here.
We are asking MPs:
- To raise the impact of the citizenship changes in Parliament, highlighting the negative impact it is having in constituencies;
- To work with colleagues to raise awareness with Ministers of the harms caused in constituencies, and asking for more information about the rationale for these changes, including the evidence base, any impact assessments that have been conducted and any attempts to monitor its consequences;
- To work with parliamentary colleagues to raise the impact in our city-region;
- To seek clarity on the situation for people who entered the UK as a child and are now, years later, applying for citizenship as an adult.
We are asking local councillors:
- To raise the impact of this change with the Home Office;
- To use formal and informal opportunities for influence and raising awareness;
- To work in collaboration with other Greater Manchester leaders to reject this change and attempts to divide our communities.
Signatories to the the GM letter:
Asylum Matters
Boaz Trust
Greater Manchester Immigration Aid Unit (GMIAU)
These Walls Must Fall
Action For Humanity
Action Together
BRASS Bolton (Befriending Refugees and Asylum Seekers)
Caring and Sharing Rochdale
Caritas Salford
Caritas Shrewsbury
Conversation Over Borders
The Eagles Wing support group, Bury
Greater Manchester Law Centre
Greater Manchester Migrant Destitution Fund
Growing Together Levenshulme
Macc
Manchester City of Sanctuary
Manchester Refugee Support Network
Middleton Co-operating
Rainbow Haven
Refugee Action
Refugee and Asylum seeker Voice ( RAS Voice)
Resolve Poverty
Revive
Shelter
Support for Wigan Arrivals Project
UK BME Anti-Slavery Network – BASNET
Visit from the Stork
