one voluntarily: this would normally be by naturalisation in an overseas country. But it would be very expensive to set up and operate a checking process ich was reasonably effective in identifying such cases.
89. There is perhaps a stronger case for requiring an applicant for British Citizenship to renounce his former nationality before his naturalisation becomes complete-if only as a sign that he has a genuine attachment to this country and that he has not sought British Citizenship merely as a matter of expediency. However, this country has absorbed large numbers of immigrants in recent years from both foreign and Commonwealth countries, and it is to be expected that many of them will retain strong links with their countries of birth; and that they would hope, where the law of that country allows, to retain their original citizenship and perhaps pass it on to their children born here. If the retention of that citizenship on becoming a British Citizen will assist them in the process of settling down in this country then the Government would see this as a good reason for our not requiring them to renounce it.
90. Accordingly, the Government do not propose in the Bill to introduce any general restriction on the holding of other citizenships in addition to British Citizenship.
Resumption of Citizenship
91. Under the present law certain persons who have formally renounced Citizenship of the United Kingdom and Colonies as a condition of acquiring or retaining the citizenship of a Commonwealth country have an entitlement to resume their citizenship, on application. The Government think it right to widen this provision by applying it to people who in future have to renounce British Citizenship in order to obtain or keep the citizenship of a foreign country. In making this proposal the Government have in mind particularly the people who wish to acquire their foreign or Commonwealth spouse's nationality but who, if the marriage breaks down, would wish to return to the United Kingdom; and also those people who have settled overseas and have obtained the citizenship of other countries to assist them in their careers, but who would wish to return to the United Kingdom on retirement.
92. The Bill will therefore preserve the entitlement to resume citizenship for those people who have it now under the present law, and will provide also that a British Citizen who in future is required to renounce British Citizenship in order to acquire or retain another citizenship, whether foreign or Common- wealth, shall be able to resume British Citizenship. The Secretary of State will also have discretion to allow a person who renounced his British Citizenship for any other reasons to resume it. A person who resumes citizenship will be a British Citizen by birth, descent or grant according to the way he formerly held it. A person would be able to resume citizenship under this provision once only.
Renunciation of Citizenship
93. The Bill will contain provision enabling a British Citizen to renounce his citizenship if he either possesses, or is about to acquire, another one. The provision will be on the same lines as that contained in the present law.
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Deprivation of Citizenship
The present law contains provisions under which people who have acqued naturalisation or registration by fraud or false representation may be deprived of their citizenship; and naturalised people may be deprived on grounds of disloyalty or (in wartime) trading with the enemy. Suitable provision to deal with such matters will be included in the Bill.
E. CITIZENSHIP OF THE BRITISH DEPENDENT TERRITORIES
General Characteristics
95. The general nature of this citizenship has been referred to in paragraph 23. The Government's proposal will be that on the coming into force of the Act it should be conferred on those Citizens of the United Kingdom and Colonies with close connections with a dependency. These dependencies are:-- Belize, Bermuda, British Antarctic Territory, British Indian Ocean Territory, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands and dependencies, Gibraltar, Hong Kong, Montserrat, Pitcairn Islands Group, St Helena and dependencies, and the Turks and Caicos Islands.
96. In addition to the dependencies this citizenship may for the time being cover both of the remaining Associated States in the West Indies, that is Antigua and St Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla. These countries are independent of the United Kingdom, save in a few respects of which nationality is one. The estimated total number of citizens of the dependencies and the Associated States is about 3 million.
97. It is to be expected that when any of the dependencies becomes indepen- dent in the future, and as the Associated States achieve full independence, the people who hold Citizenship of the British Dependent Territories solely by connection with those territories will, unless they have close connections with other remaining dependencies, lose Citizenship of the British Dependent Territories as part of an independence settlement for which legislation would be passed at Westminster. This would be in accordance with what has been done on numerous occasions in the recent past when dependencies have obtained independent status.
98. It will be possible for a person to be a Citizen of the British Dependent Territories by connection with more than one dependency; for example, he might acquire citizenship by birth in one, and by descent because his father was born in another.
99. A Citizen of the British Dependent Territories will be eligible for a passport describing him as such. In addition, dependencies will be able to continue to issue passports with the name of the dependency on the cover and on the title page.
Acquisition and Loss of Citizenship of the British Dependent Territories
100. The means by which Citizenship of the British Dependent Territories will be acquired and lost after the coming into force of the new Act will follow the same general pattern as that proposed above for British Citizenship. It will
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