GURKHAS RIGHT TO REMAIN

That this House recalls the Government's announcement in September 2004, following a lengthy 18 month review of policy, that Gurkhas who had served in the British Army and who wanted to settle in the UK with their families should be allowed to do so and that immigration rules would be changed to enable this; was therefore alarmed to learn that this offer had only been extended to cover those Gurkhas who had served at least four years and been discharged after 1st July 1997, the date at which their brigade's headquarters had moved to the UK from Hong Kong; notes that Nepalese Gurkhas have played an active front line part in the British Army's activities in times of war and peace for nearly 200 years, with approximately 300,000 of them fighting alongside UK soldiers in both World Wars and other conflicts since, with 45,000 of them either killed or wounded in the process; and believes that, given the exceptional service they have given to the UK, their ties to the nation should be immediately interpreted as sufficiently strong as to warrant their fast track eligibility for either the right to remain or citizenship.