mattthefat

While I sit here pleasantly awaiting someone in Sheffield to make a decision on an application, I dream up interesting things to do to keep other parts of the Home Office gainfully employed. Complaints department, sorted. Contact Centre, been there. Sheffield Decision Making Centre, got the tshirt. Parliamentary hotline department - looking forward to getting a personal autograph or selfie with my MP.

But there's all sorts of special departments in the Croydon HQ. Haven't done a Freedom of Information request yet, but like surfing whatdotheyknow.com to see what questions people ask. Also get a little freaked out with how much personal information people will disclose in the public domain! Eeek.

Another one is the Subject Access Request department. Is there anyone out there who's ever asked for access to their personal data held by the Home Office? I believe there's a fasttrack option, and a full data request option for the cost of 10 pounds. Without disclosing your own personal info, what type of info have people gotten back on themselves?

Yes - I know - too much time on my hands. Just wondered if anyone's ever done that. I'm not a lawyer, just an IT/privacy geek. Passing the time and striking out and starting a thread! Oooooh.

BritInParis

I've not needed to myself but I have recommended to other forum members that they should make a SAR to HMPO for the release of their own or their parents' nationality details when assessing eligibility for British citizenship for themselves or their children.

mattthefat

Interesting. So I imagine that's the process a whole bunch of Aussie MPs used to figure out their UK nationality status, and find out if their nomination was unconstitutional because they were eligible for dual citizenship.

Thanks much BiP. And thanks if you were the mod who moved my nerdy question to the right place.

BEVS

BiPs not a mod ,much as I would like him to be. Jerseygirl moved the thread.

Is there an Oz MP who is British then ? There has been a couple that have found out they were Kiwis , horror or horrors.

mattthefat

Yes - Barnaby Joyce who's about as Aussie as you can get. Raised on a sheep farm near Tamworth in rural NSW...oh wait a moment...I feel a sheep joke coming on!!!

The news headlines say that Barnaby should've known he was a kiwi. Maybe the love bites on the sheep that were discovered after they were sheared were the clue.

Oh wait a moment - Kiwis don't shear their sheep with anyone! (That one needs to be read with a kiwi accent)

Dammit - sorry Kiwi cuzzins. I've gone from Data Protection to sheep jokes. Aussies really are so cruel.

On the whole MP thing though, three MPs have referred themselves to the High Court for a ruling on their eligibility. However, questions are being asked of a number of others including former PM Tony Abbott who claims he renounced before being elected and I think there was some news about Bill Shorten but he tabled his documents in Parliament to show he had no case to answer. A couple of other questions about some Labor MPs are also being asked. Some others have Greek, Canadian and maybe there's an Italian in there somewhere too.

In fitting with the forum - here's a timeline https://www.theguardian.com/australi...n-it-explainer

While watching all of this unfold, I had a few comments:
1. How the heck did they get the Home Office to respond so quickly?
2. Did they have to pay 1.30 per minute and wait for someone to give dodgy advice from Sitel?
3. If they don't want to be Brit dual citizens, I'll happily take it!

Pollyana

Claims his mother signed him up for Italian citizenship and he didn't know about it.....hmmmm sounds like someone coming through Border Security with a suitcase full of dodgy meat and saying "My mother packed it for me...."

holly_1948

Sounds like a stupid constitution the Aussie's have.
It would make more sense to merely have the swearing in ceremony for MPs to include some verbiage such as "I swear I am an Australian citizen and hereby renounce and repudiate any other possible citizenships to which I might have past, present or future claim."
Done.

The Kiwis are not such bozos. The late Sir Edmund Hillary, KG remains a national hero in NZ. Despite holding the most prestigious British order of chivalry that is or was possible for any civilian.

mattthefat

Yeah - that damn pesky s.44 of the Constitution drafted in the UK over 100 years ago

And you are right. The Kiwis are not bozos. Edmund Hillary was a great climber because there are so many good mountains there. Us Aussies are all great swimmers because we're all trying to get out of the place

mattthefat

What a mess!

BritInParis

A SAR to HMPO won't help you unless you already hold a British passport. All those MPs would need to complete Form NQ - Sudmalis tweeted a picture of her completed application form which was then lauded by herself and the press as 'proof' she wasn't British. Err, no, you need to send it off first and wait for the Home Office to assess your eligibility (for the record she isn't a British citizen though).

The problem with S.44 is that when it was drafted Australia was still a dominion within the British Empire and everyone was a British subject. A 'foreign power' meant France or Germany, not the United Kingdom and New Zealand. Another hiccup was the High Court ruling in Sue v Hill in 1999 which stated for the purposes of the Constitution the UK was considered a foreign power. The UK explicitly does not consider other Commonwealth countries to be 'foreign' (hence the Foreign and Commonwealth Office) and Commonwealth citizens residing in the UK can vote and hold public office. There are several peers in the House of Lords who are solely Australian citizens.