Petition
Tuesday 8 July 2008
Presented Petition
Petition presented to the House but not read on the Floor
Ghurkhas (Citizenship and Pensions)
The Petition of the Havant Ex-Servicemen’s Club, the Havant Royal British Legion and others of like disposition.
Declares that the treatment of Ghurkhas is an ongoing disgrace: Ghurkhas who retired from the British Army after 1997 can automatically stay in the
UK, but those who retired earlier must apply for citizenship, and many have been refused and face deportation. Pension rights for years served by Ghurkhas before 1997 count at only around a quarter of the level of years served after that time.
Further declares their support for the fifty Nepalese soldiers who handed back their Long Service and Good Conduct medals in March 2008, in protest at the difference in treatment of Ghurkhas with other British soldiers, such as those from the Commonwealth.
The Petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urges the Secretary of State for Defence to ensure that all ex-Ghurkha soldiers and their families British citizenship on leaving the service.
And the Petitioners remain, etc.
—[Presented by Mr. David Willetts .] [P000228]
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