The Nationality and Borders Bill: Navigating the New Immigration Rules with Gurpreet Singh Johal

What happens when the country you call home quietly decides you don’t belong?

This episode dives headfirst into that unsettling question through a raw, unfiltered conversation with Gurpreet Singh Johal, an immigration solicitor, human rights advocate, and brother of Jagtar Singh Johal, a British citizen arbitrarily detained in India for over four years without formal charges.

Through Gurpreet’s lived reality, this episode tears into the silent fractures shaping identity in modern-day Britain. The focus: the Nationality and Borders Bill, now the Borders Act 2022, and how a law sold as “protecting Britain” threatens to erode the very meaning of British citizenship.

Gurpreet brings professional insight as an immigration solicitor, but also the emotional weight of someone personally targeted by the system. He breaks down how citizenship is already incredibly scrutinised for non-European communities; immense documentation, good-character tests, years-long security checks. And despite all this, Clause 9 of the Act introduces a terrifying new power: the UK can now strip someone’s citizenship without notice.

For millions, particularly Black, Asian, and other minority communities, this isn’t an abstract policy. It’s a direct threat. And for people like Gurpreet, born and raised in the UK, it hits at something much deeper: that your belonging can be revoked simply because of where your ancestors came from.

He describes the chilling fear that he, his children, and his entire family could be made stateless, not because of wrongdoing, but because of political convenience, diplomatic tensions, or perceived threats to “global Britain.” A routine immigration rule used to target serious criminals has now widened into a catch-all clause that could be weaponised against people who dissent, challenge, or simply fall on the wrong side of political narratives.

And then, the conversation widens.

Because while Gurpreet is a solicitor, he is also a brother carrying a nightmare no family should endure. His younger brother Jagtar Singh Johal, known to most as Jaggi, was abducted in India, held incommunicado for 10 days, tortured, and accused of terrorist activities. Despite public claims by officials, India has never produced a single piece of evidence or formally charged him in four years. Instead, they have delayed, manipulated, and politically leveraged his case.

What is Jagtar’s alleged crime? Documenting Sikh history, writing about 1984, and sharing the stories of families who lost loved ones. Work that is lawful and protected in Britain. Work that is labelled “terrorism” in India.

This is where the Nationality Act becomes dangerous. Gurpreet’s activism, advocating for his brother’s human rights, is now something that could be interpreted as “damaging diplomatic relations” with India. Under Clause 9, that might be enough grounds for the UK to strip his citizenship. The message is chilling: your identity is negotiable; your rights are conditional.

It forces us to confront a brutal truth: in Britain today, a passport doesn’t guarantee protection. Citizenship doesn’t guarantee belonging. And the colour of your skin, or the country your parents came from, still dictates how secure your rights truly are.

Gurpreet speaks not just with legal expertise, but with the emotional exhaustion of a man battling two governments, two systems, and two narratives. He explains how activism within the Sikh community has been targeted, how homes have been raided, how dissent is labelled “terrorism,” and how community members live under the constant threat of political surveillance.

Yet through the darkness, he insists on accountability and hope. He believes in challenging unjust laws, in safeguarding British values, and in pushing for a government that protects all its citizens. His message is universal: if justice can fail one British citizen abroad, it can fail any of us. And if identity becomes something governments can confiscate, then no one is truly free.

This episode isn’t just about immigration law; it’s about belonging, fear, resistance, and the fragile promise of citizenship. It forces listeners to ask: Who gets to be British? Who decides? And what happens when your country claims you, until it doesn’t?

*Disclaimer: The perspectives expressed by the guest are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of our platform. This discussion is intended solely for knowledge-sharing and should not be interpreted as endorsement.Produced by Global Indian Series for the Global Indian Network.

Script by Rajan Nazran
original idea: Rajan Nazran

Introduction music: (https://freesound.org/people/SilverIllusionist)