F.
BRITISH OVERSEAS CITIZENSHIP
103
G. OTHER NATIONALITY MATTERS
The Status of British Subject
106
British Subjects Without Citizenship
107
Citizens of the Irish Republic
108
The Use of 'British Subject' in Other Statutes British Protected Persons
110
111
Miscellaneous Provisions
112
H. AMENDMENTS TO THE IMMIGRATION ACT
113
Appendix A: Summary of Comments on the Green Paper
B: Summary of the Existing Law and Practice
C: List of Dependencies
D: Glossary of Terms
ii
A. INTRODUCTION
1. his White Paper on the law of nationality appears just over 3 years after ne publication by the previous Government in April 1977 of a con- sultative document (a Green Paper) entitled 'British Nationality Law: Discussion of Possible Changes' (Cmnd 6795). In that document the Government invited comment on a number of ideas for changing the law, which in the main is to be found in the British Nationality Act of 1948.
2. The present Government have studied the comments received both before and since they took office. In all, more than 400 contributions have been received, both from individuals and from representative bodies. Many of the rep- resentative bodies have been those concerned with immigrants already in this country. There have been relatively few comments from people connected with the United Kingdom for generations, save in the matter of passing on citizenship to children born overseas. A summary of the principal comments made in the correspondence will be found at Appendix A.
3. The present Government agree with many of the ideas that were put forward in the Green Paper, and they have taken account of the views put forward by correspondents and others. As is generally recognised, the subject is a complex one; work on the preparation of a Bill is in progress, but it will take sometime to complete, and it may well throw up further points for considera- tion. The Government have decided however to publish in this White Paper an outline of their ideas on the shape of the new nationality law.
4. The present Act has been in force for over 31 years, during which there have been great changes in the structure of the Commonwealth. Ideas of citizenship which were suitable in 1948 are no longer so, and our citizenship laws are out of date. Arrangements have now to be devised which will be suitable for the changed circumstances and will endure for a very long time ahead.
The Scope of the Bill
5. The Bill will deal only with the law of nationality, and any consequential amendments to the Immigration Act which will be needed because the right of abode will have to be defined in terms of citizenship. But proper safeguards will be proposed for those people who are lawfully settled in the United Kingdom* immediately before the Act comes into force, but who do not acquire the citizenship which gives the right of abode. The Bill will not affect adversely their position under the immigration law.
6. There are of course a number of statutes dealing with other subjects which include references to people's status under nationality legislation. The Govern- ment do not think it would be appropriate to include amendments to those statutes in nationality legislation; any changes that are thought necessary can be made when there are other reasons for amending them. This matter is touched on again in paragraph 110.
7. In the course of explaining the Government's proposals it will be necessary to refer to our present citizenship structure, and a summary of the way in which
* In this paper references to the United Kingdom include references to the Channel Islands
and to the Isle of Man; and references to dependencies do not include them.
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