Speechless, many thanks for your interesting post. What Meg Hillier describes as the existing arrangements are clearly unsatisfactory when considered against the wishes expressed in the petition, and by posts here, arrse and elsewhere. The agreement with Nepal needs revising, at the very least so that members of the Brigade may apply for naturalisation without having to leave the Brigade for other units to do so. It is a bizarre situation that men serving in a Brigade of the British Army are prohibited from having UK citizenship, especially as they may be commanded by British officers! Whether or not Nepal would allow for dual nationality for serving and ex serving Gurkhas is of course for that state to decide, but in any case Gurkhas should be allowed the right to choose having served the required time (5 years?). If they then become UK citizens, the usual arrangements for family members would presumably be followed as in all other such cases. It is good to know of the Home Secretary's generous level of discretion in such cases. It would be even better to know that such procedures were agreed and laid down in law and were the inalienable right of these loyal servants of the Crown rather than at the behest of politicians, generous or otherwise. I very much doubt if a change to what I have suggested here would result in "jeopardising the special relationship that currently exists between the United Kingdom and Nepal". More likely it would jeopardise the cosy set up whereby we retain the use of the world's premier light infantry, but not the expense and inconvenience of care and accomodation for them in their old age. This is an unequal and dishonourable arrangement and should be revisited and revised immediately!