Election 2022: Questions raised over Jo Dyer’s UK citizenship

The independent SA candidate is facing questions about her eligibility to run for parliament.

Boothby independent candidate Jo Dyer. Picture: Naomi Jellicoe

Independent South Australian candidate Jo Dyer is facing questions about her eligibility to run for parliament amid issues with her attempt to revoke her dual citizenship.

Ms Dyer is the independent candidate for Boothby, the state’s most marginal seat at the federal election, and has dual British ­citizenship.

She told the Adelaide ­Advertiser she had applied to ­rescind her British citizenship ­before she announced her candidacy, but it was yet to processed.

Ms Dyer said the British government had informed her the application would be delayed by several months due to Covid.

In her qualification checklist, Ms Dyer had declared the “date of losing foreign citizenship” was December 8 last year.

Along with her signed declaration, she had supplied a supporting document showing her application to Britain’s Home Office was “submitted” on the same date. The British government received her application at 6.53am that morning with a payment of £372 but there is no ­evidence showing it was processed or the citizenship revoked.

The Australian Constitution requires any federal candidate who is a “citizen or subject of a ­foreign power” to be disqualified from being elected as a member of parliament.