HC Deb 14 December 1993 vol 234 c527W
Mr. Allen

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what attempts the Home Office made to legally deprive Mrs. Naheem Ejaz of Bracknell, Berkshire, of her citizenship before moving to deport her;

(2) what is the total cost to the taxpayer of the failed attempt to deport Mrs. Naheem Ejaz of Bracknell, Berkshire.

Mr. Charles Wardle

One of the requirements for naturalisation under section 6(2) of the British Nationality Act 1981 is that the applicant is married to a British citizen. Mrs. Ejaz's husband has never been such a British citizen. When this came to light, Mrs. Ejaz was informed that her naturalisation was a nullity. Since her certificate on naturalisation was considered not to have been granted to her lawfully in the first place, it was not thought necessary to proceed to formal deprivation of citizenship under section 40 of the 1981 Act.

It is not the practice of the immigration and nationality department routinely to record the administrative costs of individual case handling. The cost of detaining Mrs. Ejaz prior to her planned removal in September 1992 was £550. The legal costs in her case have not yet been finally determined.