Nick Xenophon has confirmed he holds dual British citizenship and may not be eligible to sit in Parliament, becoming the seventh MP whose position has fallen under a cloud.
Though born in Adelaide, Senator Xenophon's father Theo was born in Cyprus, which remained a British colony until 1960. He migrated to Australia in 1950, where Senator Xenophon was born.
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Xenophon confirms 'useless' British citizenship
The key crossbench senator says he will refer himself to the High Court and continue working after the shock discovery he is a British overseas citizen.
Travel documents show Theo came to Australia on a British passport. As a result the UK considers him a "British overseas citizen", a class of citizenship that confers few rights on the holder.
Senator Xenophon said the citizenship category was "useless" except to his "political opponents" who he said had worked hard to use it to remove him of Parliament.
![Nick Xenophon holds a press conference at the British Hotel, North Adelaide, on Saturday.](http://web.archive.org./web/20170820192112im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/g/x/z/v/j/5/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gxzu0g.png/1503155791329.jpg)
"There are people on both sides who hate me," he said when asked who he was referring to.
"To those politicians and their staff beavering away at this, presumably over many many hours and days, I say: 'Didn't you have anything better to do with your time given the urgent and serious problems and challenges that South Australia and our nation faces?'
"No wonder so many Australians are disgusted by our current broken state of politics. No wonder so many Australians are repulsed by politicians and the political class."
He said he would remain in Parliament and continue to vote until the High Court had ruled over his eligibility under section 44 of the constitution, which holds that dual citizens may not sit in Parliament.
![Senator Nick Xenophon after confirming his dual citizenship status.](http://web.archive.org./web/20170820192112im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/g/x/z/v/s/8/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gxzu0g.png/1503155790993.jpg)
"No wonder so many Australians hate politicians because they spend so much time … trying to score points like this," he said.
He is the seventh member to fall foul under section 44.
Senator Xenophon's status under section 44 appears to be even less clear than that of some of his colleagues. The section states that any person who is "under any acknowledgement of allegiance, obedience, or adherence to a foreign power, or is a subject or a citizen or entitled to the rights or privileges of a subject or citizen of a foreign power."
But Senator Xenophon's "British overseas citizens" status appears to grant few privileges. He is not entitled to hold either a United Kingdom nor European Union passport.
His voice breaking with emotion as he stood outside The British Hotel, a pub in North Adelaide, Senator Xenophon told reporters that he knew in his "heart of hearts" that his loyalty was entirely to Australia.
If the High Court did find Senator Xenophon was invalidly elected, his seat would likely fall to Tim Storer, who ran on the fourth and final position on the Nick Xenophon Team's South Australia ticket.
Confusion over the eligibility of members of Parliament snowballed from being an embarrassment for individual members to being a crisis for the government with revelations that the Nationals leader and Deputy Prime Minister, Barnaby Joyce, held New Zealand citizenship and his deputy, Fiona Nash, British.
Fairfax Media earlier revealed that the Nick Xenophon Team member Rebekha Sharkie would withdraw her support from the government on questions of confidence and supply unless Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull removed the two senior Nationals from his cabinet until the High Court had adjudicated on their eligibility.
Should the High Court force the resignation of Coalition members the government would lose its one seat majority. It had planned to go on as a minority government with support from the crossbench.
Ms Sharkie's decision - coming after Bob Katter removed his support - could leave the government entirely dependent on the independent MP Cathy McGowan for its survival.