TNAG-0979-FCO40-1198-Implications-for-Hong-Kong-of-changes-in-British-nationality-1980 — Page 33

CONFIDENTIAL

should be a separate citizenship for those people connected with the

United Kingdom itself and that this should be called 'British Citizenship'.

The controversial issue, referred to a good deal in correspondence on the

Green Paper, is whether the boundaries of British Citizenship should be drawn

more widely than was contemplated therein, particularly in the transitional arrangements suggested; and this question is discussed further in paragraphs 20 and 26 below.

15. Next, the Government are impressed with the argument that positive.

recognition of the status of the remaining dependencies should be given in

citizenship terms. They do not think it is really practicable to establish

individual citizenships for each of the dependent territories; they vary in

size and political organisation. They believe that a better solution would

be to establish a separate citizenship for the dependencies as a whole; and

they will propose in the Bill that this shall be called 'Citizenship of the

British Dependent Territories'.

16. The establishment of a separate citizenship for the British Dependent

Territories would in no way alter the relationship between those territories

and the United Kingdom, nor the Government's obligations and commitments to

the dependent territories and to their citizens.

17. The people who are now Citizens of the United Kingdom and Colonies but

do not qualify either for British Citizenship or the Citizenship of British

Dependent Territories would become British Overseas Citizens.

Entitlement to British Citizenship

18. The Government will propose that when the new nationality law comes into

operation the people who should become British Citizens are those Citizens of

the United Kingdom and Colonies who have a close personal connection with the

United Kingdom. Generally speaking this means those people who or whose parents or grand-parents were born, adopted, naturalised or registered here.

In addition those Citizens of the United Kingdom and Colonies from overseas

who have been settled here for some time should also become British Citizens.

These provisions are set out in greater detail in paragraphs 32-33.

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