Ł MOU BE *
SECRET AND POHSONAL
Foreign and Commonwealth Office London SW1
REVIEW OF NATIONALITY LAW
Telephone 01-
Your reference
Our reference
GNN 1/15
Date 24 November 1975
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1. FCO telegram No 149 (Personal) of 26 February to Hong Kong asked for your assessment, both locally and internationally, of the adoption of each of three alternative ways of dealing with the future national status of citizens of the United Kingdom and Colonies (CUKCS) whose status derived from a connection with a present dependent territory.
2. You should know the background to this request and indeed to the current nationality Review. The present administration is committed to review the law of nationality with the aim of basing HMG's immigration policies on citizenship. In suggesting this review of our nationality laws the Home Secretary cited two main reasons why the current law should be amended. First, the nationality law as it now stands is fragmentary and difficult to find as there have been some 40 amending statutes to the British Nationality Act of 1948: on so basic an issue as nationality the law ought to be clearly set out. Secondly, there is a case for restructuring our nationality law to eliminate the present lack of coherence between it and our immigration law. This is a cause of both confusion and embarrassment at home and overseas and is due largely to the existence of unitary citizenship of the United Kingdom and Colonies. On the basis of these arguments a Working Group was set up under the Chairmanship of the Minister of State at the Home Office. This Working Group meets in private. As an initial step they asked for your assessment of a number of ways of dealing with the future national status of citizens of the United Kingdom and Colonies and the telegram under reference was sent in response to that request.
3.
The Working Group has since made considerable progress in formulating proposals under which at the date of the coming into force of the new Nationality Act (Royal Assent) all present CUKCS (and certain persons who are not CUKCS) with a defined connection with the United Kingdom would have a new citizenship which would clearly mark their relationship to this country and at the same time would confer on them the unrestricted right of entry into the United Kingdom. The term "patrial" which was
/introduced