there would be large and growing numbers of people abroad who had the right to come to the United Kingdom at any time, but who might have scant connection with this country. The numbers would of course be all the greater if women as well as men could transmit their citizenship to their children born abroad.
48. But more and more people are spending part of their careers abroad and it might seem unfair if one member of a family who happened to be born when the family was temporarily overseas could not transmit his citizenship when his brothers (and sisters) who were born in the United Kingdom could do so. Difficulty would arise where such a person is in his turn temporarily abroad serving United Kingdom interests when his children are born. He might have few ties with the country of
his own birth, or of his children's birth. It would be natural for him to want to transmit British citizenship to his children born overseas. Further difficulty could arise where the person concerned had no claim to citizenship of the country in which
he was born as is for instance invariably the case with children of diplomats and so could not transmit the citizen- ship of that country to his child even if he wished to. The
Government consider that as a general rule a new British Citizenship should not be transmitted beyond the first
generation born abroad, but they recognise that some
circumstances might justify exceptions.
(a) Citizenship by voluntary act
49.
The present arrangements for acquiring citizenship by voluntary act, for example, registration and naturalisation, are extremely complicated and varied. Some people have an outright entitlement to registration notably women who are,
or who have at any time been, married to citizens of the United Kingdom and Colonies, and Commonwealth citizens who
have settled here continuously since 1 January 1973 and have completed 5 years' ordinary residence.
Others