Getting a UK visa now becomes tougher

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"If people won't play by the rules in this country their journey to citizenship should be halted or slowed down," she added.

Minor offenders will be in for a three years' probationary citizenship and extra time may also be imposed on applicants who have been convicted of violent, drug-related or sexual offences.

"Parents whose children committed crime could be barred from citizenship or permanent residence in the UK," the home secretary said.

Amid opposition from the MPs, the prime minister has defended the moves saying, "Citizenship is not an abstract concept, or just access to a passport. I believe it is - and must be seen as - founded on shared values that define the character of our country."

These values were founded on a vision of citizenship that entailed both responsibilities and rights and it was on this basis that the government was advancing the concept of "earned citizenship," Brown said.

"In the future, the aspiring citizen should know and subscribe to a clear statement of British values, proceeding toward a citizenship explicitly founded not just on what they receive from our society but what they owe to it," he added.

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