G.
CONFIDENTIAL
OTHER NATIONALITY MATTERS
The Status of British Subject
107. The term 'British Subject' has a long history, and in the 1948 Act
it was preserved as being the common status of all people connected with
the Commonwealth. It was laid down in the Act that the terms 'British
Subject' and 'Commonwealth citizen' were to be synonymous for that purpose. As time has gone on more and more Commonwealth countries have either dropped
the term 'British Subject' or, on becoming independent, have not adopted it.
The result is that at present the term is used as a common status in
nationality law only by the United Kingdom and Australia. The Government have
carefully considered the use of this term. It is out of date as a
description of all people connected with the Commonwealth and it is no longer
needed for common status purposes;
'Commonwealth citizen' will serve that
purpose satisfactorily. Apart from this there is the point that with the
adoption of titles such as 'British Citizen', the additional status of
'British Subject' might be confusing. 'British subject' is also used in the
current law to denote the status held by certain people such as British
Subjects without citizenship, and those Irish people who have asserted their right to it having held it before 1949. As will be explained below these
particular titles will be continued; but the only common status contained in
the Bill will be that of 'Commonwealth citizen'.
British Subjects without Citizenship
108. These people are referred to in paragraph 7 of the Green Paper which also explains that since no one born after 1948 can hold the status the numbers are
declining. Those who are settled in the United Kingdom, will under the
proposals in paragraph
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above, become British Citizens. The
Government will propose that the status of the remainder should be preserved,
as would that of women who have been registered as British Subjects by virtue
of marriage to husbands who are British Subjects without Citizenship.
The Irish
109. The status of citizens of the Irish Republic in United Kingdom law is
that they are neither British Subjects nor foreigners. They apply for
Citizenship of the United Kingdom and Colonies under the same ruleɛ as apply
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