CCNFEDERACIAL
MEMORANDUM BY THE FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH SECRETARY
GEN 56
HANDLING OF CONSULTATIONS WITH COMMONWEALTH AND COLONIAL
GOVERNMENTS ON THE PROPOSED NEW NATIONALITY LAW
1. The present proposals as outlined in the draft consultative document circulated by the Home Secretary on 21 December en- visaged the creation of two citizenships in future:-
a. British Citizenship
b. British Overseas Citizenship.
2. This would represent a fundamental departure as there has been a common citizenship of the United Kingdom and Colonies since the British Nationality Act 1948, and in future millions of Citizens of the United Kingdom and Colonies (CUKCS) would become British Overseas Citizens. Persons who would fall in this category, however, do not with few exceptions at present enjoy the right of entry into the United Kingdom under the Immigration Act 1971, and one object of the proposals is to harmonize nationality and immigration policies and to align immigration law on nationality
law.
3. Although no rights of entry into the United Kingdom would be removed under the proposals for legislation to reform nationality law, there is danger, unless the ground is well prepared, of con- siderable fear and misapprehension arising. In particular:-
a. some CUKCs might think, however mistakenly, that
rights regarding settlement in the United Kingdom were being removed or that their chances of suc- cessfully applying for settlement were being worsened;
b. British Overseas Citizenship might be regarded
in some quarters as second class citizenship;
c. some countries, such as India, could regard the proposals as racially discriminatory in nature;
d. some Colonies, such as Gibraltar, the Falkland Islands and Hong Kong, might consider that the
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CONFIDENTIAL
/proposals