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25 PS/RS PS/RS
VC DechS
QUEEN ANNE'S GATE LONDON SWIH 9AT
Зо
May 1980
Den Dor
дай
NATIONALITY BILL
総
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has the largest interest in the Nationality Bill apart from the Home Office, and I naturally wish that where there is any difference of view between our two Departments we should if possible reach agreement before the matter goes to Home Affairs Committee. You and I are to meet on 2 June to try to reach agreement on titles of citizenships and the need for a common status; but there is another point on which there is disagreement and I would be grateful if you would have a look at it.
The point in question is the special arrangements to be made for the transmission of citizenship to children born abroad to British businessmen etc; the details are summarised in the note attached. The difference essentially is this. The Home Office wish to tie the concession for members of the overseas business etc community to those people who at the time the Act comes into force are our citizens of the first generation born abroad. These people (some of whom will be infents at the time) would, provided they had the required connection with a United Kingdom organisation or business, transmit citizenship to one further generation. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the
Department of Trade would prefer to say that the concession to pass on citizenship should be an ongoing privilege; that is, that for an indefinite number of generations, provided the necessary
connection is kept up with the organisation in the United Kingdom, British Citizenship should be transmitted further.
There is no doubt from the correspondence we have had that many businessmen and business firms will press for an ongoing provision and we must expect considerable pressure for this during the passage of the Bill from many of our own supporters.
I have considerable personal sympathy for people who wish to think ahead to the position, not only of their children, but of their grandchildren, but I am very anxious about the possible effects of an ongoing provision because of the uncertainty about the immigration commitment. In particular I am concerned that any
The Rt Hon Sir Ian Gilmour Bt MP
/concession we might