§ Baroness Hornsby-Smithasked Her Majesty's Government:
How many babies of non-United Kingdom citizens, illegal immigrants, foreign students and over-staying visitors were born in this country over the last five years and thereby became United Kingdom citizens, enabling the parents to claim excessive hardship if they are legally, under the conditions of entry, asked to leave this country.
§ The Minister of State, Home Office (Lord Elton)I regret that information on the number of children born in the United Kingdom to persons subject to immigration control is not available. Since January 1983 a person born in the United Kingdom is a British citizen at birth only if one of his or her parents is a British citizen or is settled here. The existence of British born children is a factor taken into account when deciding whether to remove a person under the Immigration Act 1971, but the presence of children who are British citizens does not in itself afford parents who are subject to immigration control any right to remain in this country, nor is it considered a factor which should lead automatically to the exercise of discretion in their favour outside the Immigration Rules.