Deadline brings confused citizens

LABOR MP Katy Gallagher could be the latest federal politician caught in the citizenship fiasco after documents released yesterday revealed she did not officially cease to be a British citizen until after the 2016 election.

She received confirmation from the British Home Office in August last year that her renunciation of British citizenship had been officially registered. She had written to British authorities in April 2016, enclosing payment and the needed document, but they took months to process it.

Ms Gallagher has received legal advice from a British nationality law expert that she would not be ineligible to sit in Parliament as she took “all reasonable steps” to renounce her citizenship.

She was a British citizen by descent through her father, who was born in the UK in 1939. She could also be an Irish citizen by descent from his father.

Ms Gallagher has posted a message on Facebook saying she does not believe she should refer herself to the High Court.

Liberal senator Zed Seselja denied holding dual citizenship by descent but did not produce proof.

There are questions over whether the ACT senator holds Croatian citizenship by descent given both of his parents were born in Yugoslavia in the 1940s.

“I examined the citizenship laws of both the now defunct Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the Republic of Croatia. Neither confers citizenship upon me,” he wrote in his disclosure.

Croatian law says a child born to a Croatian mother and father abroad becomes a citizen by descent.

But that may not apply to him because Croatia did not declare independence from Yugoslavia until 1991, long after his birth in 1977.

All 76 senators were required to declare details of their status by last Friday as part of a bid to end the fiasco that has engulfed federal politics since July.

All 150 lower house MPs will be forced to disclose their status today along with their spouse’s status and details of their parents’ and grandparents’ birthplaces.

The deadline has been moved to 9am from 8pm to deal with the issue as soon as possible. MPs could be fined or face jail time for false disclosures.

Parliament voted to implement the register yesterday morning.

Minister for Defence Industry Christopher Pyne said it looked like at least three MPs would be referred to the High Court by the end of the week.

Labor MPs Susan Lamb and Justine Keay had a “serious cloud” over their status, he told ABC radio.

There are also questions over Labor MP Josh Wilson and Senator Glenn Sterle.

It comes after ousted dual citizen Barnaby Joyce was re-elected in a landslide at the New England by-election on Saturday. He will be sworn in again this week.