TNAG-0901-FCO40-1111-Implications-for-Hong-Kong-of-changes-in-British-nationality-1979 — Page 146

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HKK 310/1

RELIVED IN REGISTRY NO. 51 2 1 JUN 1979

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PROPOSED CHANGES IN BRITISH NATIONALITY LAW: TWO CLASSES CF CITIZEN

1. I promised Mr Luce that I would provide him with a note on those aspects of the proposed changes in nationality law which are likely to cause problems for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office:-

2.

i) the transmission of citizenship to children born overseas, on which I will submit separately; and

ii)

the principle of two citizenships.

One of the most important proposals in the Green Paper of April 1977 (Cind 6795, copy attached) is the abolition. of citizenship of the United Kingdom and Colonies and the creation of two citizenships:

a) British Citizenship. British citizens are to have

an unqualified right of free entry to the

United Kingdom (Green Paper, page 5, top);

b)

British Overseas Citizenship.

British overseas

citizens have no such right (Green Paper, page 6, top).

There are other differences between the two classes of nationality. It is thus evident that British overseas citizenship is a second-class status, Some British overseas citizens will have a right of entry to a dependency but many will not and their "returnability" will always be a matter of doubt to frontier control officers, making it difficult for them to travel.

RESTRICTED

13.

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