Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Bill [Lords]

I am sorry the hon. Gentleman thinks I have missed the point, but I think I have exactly addressed the point, by saying that there is an available route. I do not accept that it is a difficult route. Indeed, many hon. Members have made representations to the effect that EU membership citizenship is too easy to get. If that is the case for other EU countries, hon. Members would presumably think it was the case for the Republic of Ireland. Let me deal briefly with new clause 3. The House will not be surprised to know that I shall ask it to resist the amending provision. We believe that the revised policy on the situation of the Gurkhas meets the concerns of Parliament on the issue. It is not open to civil servants dealing with applications to disregard the published policy; it is established case law that policy must be followed and it would be unlawful not to give effect to it. The policy we now have follows the commitments given by the Home Secretary, following the vote in the House of Commons, and I can confirm that officials are, of course, following it. The policy provides certainty that the Ghurkhas discharged before 1997 will be allowed to apply for settlement. The proposed amending provision would also have the effect of altering the position of those Gurkhas discharged after 1 July 1997. The logic of the distinction between those who served pre-1997 and those who served after was recognised by the High Court, as it is recognised by common sense. The problem is that the new clause would make the rules for Gurkhas since 1997 inconsistent with those of Commonwealth soldiers. It was that principle that the campaign was trying to establish. In the context of new clause 5, my hon. Friend the Member for Walthamstow (Mr. Gerrard) raised the important question of what would happen if an application for probationary citizenship failed. Given that the Bill relates to citizenship—not to settlement, which is covered by other Acts and rules—the answer is that citizenship would not be granted. Status is covered elsewhere, under settlement rules. As my hon. Friend said, there would be several options for those affected. If a person with permanent residence applies for British citizenship and the application fails, that will not affect that person's permanent residence status. That is probably the category about which he is most concerned. If a person with probationary citizenship applies for citizenship, it will be open to that person to apply for permanent residence once he or she has accumulated the right amount of qualifying leave, as set out in clause 41. It will also be open to the Secretary of State to grant further probationary citizenship. What will happen to the individual concerned will depend on his or her settlement rights—backed up by the European convention—rather than citizenship rights. Hon. Members on both sides of the House have raised the important issue of transitional arrangements. I told the Committee that I would return to the issue. The original clause 39 was found not to be acceptable. I trust that Government amendment 17, tabled in the name of my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary, alongside assurances that I intend to give the House will address the concerns raised by hon. Members about transitional arrangements. I am also announcing today that, as part of our package of transitional measures, we have decided that to give those who are currently in the UK on a route to settlement time to adjust to the new system, we will allow the earned citizenship provisions to commence in July 2011.