TNAG-0979-FCO40-1198-Implications-for-Hong-Kong-of-changes-in-British-nationality-1980 — Page 65

APPENDIX A

CONFIDENTIAL

2

COMMENTS ON THE GREEN PAPER SENT IN BY THE PUBLIC AND REPRESENTATIVE

ORGANISATIONS.

1. Up to date over 400 letters have been received from members of the public and interested bodies. Some of the correspondents have published their

comments.

All the suggestions were carefully considered before the proposals in this Paper were formulated. The more important ones are mentioned below,

with come further comments by the Government.

Two Citizenships

2. Although a few correspondents advocated a single British Citizenship, with a right of entry to the United Kingdom for everyone who is at present a citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies, there was more general support

for the idea of two citizenships on the lines suggested in the Green Paper.

3. There were different opinions, however, as to where the boundaries of

British Citizenship should be drawn, and appreciable support for the view

that those citizens of the United Kingdom and Colonies who have no ties with,

or right of entry to, the United Kingdom or an existing dependency in

particular those known as United Kingdom passport holders from E. Africa ·

should become British Citizens rather than British Overseas Citizens with the

corresponding limitation on the right to pass on citizenship further.

British Overseas Citizenship in this context was seen as a second class

citizenship.

It

4. Many correspondents were in favour of separate citizenships for the

dependencies, rather than having a common British Overseas Citizenship.

15 and 16 will be seen from paragraphs of the White Paper that, in view of the strength of feelings expressed by correspondents, and the colonies themselves, it is now proposed that there should be a separate citizenship of the British Dependent Territories in addition to British Citizenship and British Overseas

Citizenship.

Terminology

5. There were several interesting suggestions for the use of different

terminology, such as 'United Kingdom Citizen' rather than British Citizen, and British National (citizen of the relevant dependency)' instead of British Cverseas Citizen.