HONG KONG NATIONALITY ORDER IN COUNCIL
RIEFING NOTE
FALKLAND ISLANDS
COMPARISON BETWEEN HONG KONG AND FALKLAND ISLANDERS
LINE TO TAKE
DII
1.
Not appropriate to draw a comparison. Over three-quarters of the Falkland
Islands' population of 1,800 automatically became British citizens as well as
British Dependent Territories citizens on 1 January 1983 because they had the
right of abode in the United Kingdom. The remaining 400 or so became British
Dependent Territories citizens only in accordance with the general principles of
the British Nationality Act 1981.
2.
The House will recall that the Act which gave these 400 or so British
citizenship was introduced by my noble friend Baroness Vickers. During the course
of the debates on the Bill the Government made plain its view that it would be
contrary to the principle and intention of the 1981 Act to give a person British
citizenship if their connections were with a dependent territory and not with the
United Kingdom. Thus to give the Falkland Islanders British citizenship even when
their connections lav with the Falkland Islands alone would be contrary to the
logic of the Act. Nevertheless, the Government did not seek to resist the Bill. But we made it very plain that we considered the Falkland Islanders situation to be
unique, and that to grant them British citizenship was not to be taken as a
precedent for other dependent territories.
most of your lordships at the time.
This view was generally accepted by