TNAG-0980-FCO40-1199-Implications-for-Hong-Kong-of-changes-in-British-nationality-1980 — Page 226

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estimated one and a half million such citizens.

The majority

of them have the citizenship of another country (Malaysia) and

are permanently settled in that country.

Consequences for people settled in the UK or having the

Right of Abode there.

8.

Apart from the very small and unusual category (WP 19)

everyone who is a CUKC with the right of abode in the UK immediately before the new Act will become a British Citizen

(and so will have the right of abode in the UK) after it.

9. Those Commonwealth citizens who are not CUKCs but are

patrials under our Immigration laws (e.g. the Commonwealth

citizen who has a mother born in the UK) will not automatica-

lly become British citizens under the new Act but their right

of abode in the UK will be maintained for their lifetime.

10.

Commonwealth citizens and foreign nationals who are

legally settled in the UK will not acquire British citizenship

under the Act but the Act will not adversely affect their

position under the Immigration laws.

11. Apart from the category mentioned in para 19 of the

White Paper, nobody who has the right of abode in the UK or a

Dependent Territory should lose it by these provisions; and the BOCS, who will not have the right of abode in the UK, do

not now have it.

Main Provisions for Acquisition of British Citizenship or

Citizenship of the British Dependent Territories.

Consideration

12. The principal method of acquisition of citizenship would

be, as at presnt, by birth in the territory. is, however, being given to prevent acquisition of citizenship by children born in the UK after the new Act comes into force

to parents neither of whom is a British citizen and neither

of whom is free of conditions on their stay in the UK (WP 44) 13. Citizenship by descent would be transmissible in the

female line as well as the male line in future, i.e. a child

born overseas of a mother or father born in the UK would

become a British citizen and the child born overseas of a

mother or father born in a dependent territory would become

a citizen of the British Dependent Territories.

14. There will be transmission of British Citizenship only

to the first generation born outside the UK unless the parents

have close connections with the UK, an essential feature of which must be employment with a company of organisation

/based

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