July 15, 2025
By JamRadio Newsdesk |
“In 99 Years, We’ll Be Gone”: Chagossians Slam UK’s Expiring Citizenship Offer
London, July 15, 2025 — The UK government is facing mounting criticism after quietly confirming that the citizenship route for Chagossians — descendants of a people forcibly exiled by Britain in the 1960s and ’70s — will expire in just two years, leaving thousands at risk of permanent statelessness.
Frankie Botemps Chair of Chagossian Voices speaks a meeting at Parliament earlier this year
The announcement, buried in a government update released today, confirms that the 2022 route to British citizenship will close on 23 November 2027. Those born before 23 November 2004 must apply by that date. Those born between 2004 and 2027 will have until their 23rd birthday to apply. After that, the door shuts — potentially for good.
The move comes as the UK finalises a treaty with Mauritius that will strip the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) — the Chagossians’ homeland — of its status as a British Overseas Territory. Once the treaty enters into force, Chagossians will lose their right to claim British Overseas Territories Citizenship (BOTC) through BIOT, severing their legal identity as the status of Overseas Territority will cease to exist.
Members of the Chagossian community bring their fight to Westminster
“A Manufactured Deadline for a Manufactured Displacement”
Human rights groups say the expiry date is a cruel echo of the original injustice — when Britain forcibly expelled the Chagossian people to make way for a US military base on Diego Garcia. “This is not just administrative housekeeping,” said one legal advocate. “It’s a manufactured deadline for a manufactured displacement.”
The Nationality and Borders Act 2022 was intended to correct decades of exclusion, offering citizenship to descendants of those born on the Chagos Islands. But critics say the time-limited nature of the scheme — and the lack of proactive outreach — amounts to a trap cloaked in redress.
“No Justice Without Permanence”
Campaigners argue that the government’s refusal to make the route permanent betrays the spirit of the Windrush reforms and the Wendy Williams Lessons Learned Review. “You cannot claim to right historic wrongs while setting arbitrary expiry dates on justice,” said one Chagossian community leader.
The Home Office insists that British citizenship rights remain available — but only for those who apply in time. For many, especially those in Mauritius and Seychelles with limited access to documentation, that’s a near-impossible hurdle.
A Legacy of Silence
The Chagossian diaspora has long accused the UK of erasing their identity, denying them the right to return, and now — denying them the right to belong. With the treaty expected to enter into force by mid-2026, the clock is ticking.
In an exclusive statement to JamRadio, Frankie Bontemps, Chair of Chagossian Voices, said:
“With the current deal for 99 years, Chagossians will not be allowed back — so how can this be fair? In 99 years, I’ll be gone, and so will my son or grandchildren. What about those born there? Where are the human rights — as human beings? There are military bases around the world with civilians living there. There are Filipinos working on the base in Diego Garcia. I went there in 2011 — thousands of them. Why can't Chagossians live there too?”
JamRadio contacted the Home Office for comment after hours; no response had been received at time of publication. We will continue to follow this story and offer any relevant updates.
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