Expulsion is an act by a public authority to remove a person or persons against his or her will from the territory of that state. A successful expulsion of a person by a country is called a deportation. A country cannot deport its own citizens, as citizens have an absolute right to remain in their native country. On rare occasions, when citizenship was obtained on false grounds, an individual may have their citizenship divested and can be deported. Democratic countries prohibit the exile or deportation of native-born citizens.
Legal limits on deportation of citizens
States may deport individuals who were once recognised as citizens in certain limited situations.
Denaturalisation occurs when a naturalised citizen is found to have obtained citizenship through misrepresentation, including concealing their criminal history; their citizenship may then be revoked, after which they can be deported.
Mistaken deportations, though illegal, have also occurred, with countries deporting their own citizens after wrongfully identifying them as foreign nationals. Such cases often arise due to administrative errors, outdated records, or lack of documentation to prove citizenship status.
In the context of dual citizenship, some countries, such as the United Kingdom, have the power to divest a person of citizenship if they are a dual national and their presence is deemed ‘not conducive to the public good,’ including allegations of terrorist connections. Since the individual retains another nationality and is not rendered stateless, they may subsequently be deported.
