The UK government has announced stricter immigration guidelines, making it nearly impossible for undocumented immigrants arriving by boat to be granted citizenship. The Home Office revealed the new measures on Wednesday (Feb. 12), stating that under the updated rules, individuals who enter the UK illegally, including those arriving by small boats or hiding in vehicles, will automatically have their citizenship applications denied.
The move has drawn criticism from some Labour Party MPs. Stella Creasy, MP for Walthamstow, remarked: "If we give someone refugee status, it can't be right to then refuse them route to become a British Citizen."
"It would deny, frankly, Paddington. Paddington did the same thing, he came by an irregular route and we couldn't give him a passport," she added. Creasy also warned that such measures could leave migrants as "forever second-class".
Paddington Bear, a beloved British literary character, was depicted as a refugee in the original story. Coming from Peru, he was orphaned by an earthquake and sent to England by his aunt after being unable to care for him herself, arriving by irregular means.
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