1033
British Nationality. Bill
28 JANUARY 1981
[Mr. Timothy Kaison]
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introvic- and coloniai tay nearly 20 years ago, This led to Wadi la Cibour Government's Green Paper, on pee -, cation
"main defect in our present
This is that our present culzcisão like, atted Kingdom and Colonies, as is name pie, Remates both to the United Kingdom and overseas territories. It does not identify those who belong to his country and have the right to live and enter here freely. In consequence it prevents the United Kingdom from basing its immigration policies on citizenship.
Our citizenship is in these respects different from the citizenship of many other countries, including our partners in the European Community. That is the particular weakness of the present whene. it does at rest on British citizenship that confers the "ight of anode on those who hold it. Nor does it convey the status of those who belong to our dependent territories.
Those who go into our third category, of British overseas citizenship, will also recognise that citizenship of the United Kingdom and Colonies hardly describes their present situation, when they may not be admitted to either the United Kingdom or the colonies. So the bæak-up of the United Kingdom and Colonies into the ice new categories therefor: brodog &. Lis what has happened.
It is entirely aght that in se Wino di present have Unae6 Kingdom and Colonies or Bedah-protected person status without abode should not be eit high and dry in terms of citizenship, but it does not make sense Gat this ink should be perpetuated from generation to generation. As may mị hi hon. Friend made clear, we shall continue to ake the United Kingdom passport holder voucher halers under the present scheme. In due course, however. Batist. overseas citize hip will die out and the State:
those who held it will expect to belong to the coutil; es where they live. It is worth adding that the present CUKC
status of those who will become istitisi, overseas citizens also cannot be transmitted indetinaciy by descent except in those cases where they live in foreign countries and can use consular registration. British overseas citizenship is essentially the same as that referred to in the Labour Party's Green Paper scheme for British overseas,citizens without abode. Any attempt to argue otherwise-can-easity be disproved.
I turn to what has been an important part of the debate, citizenship of the British Dependera Territories. A number { of my hon. Friends raised important jomis. As expected,
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British Nationality Bill
103.
argumen's for special treatment of one sort or another of behalf of individual territories were put forward. Som hon. Members asked for separate citizenships for cact territory, The Government recognise the strength of these tentiments – We alana our commitment to the territories apat maportance of maintaining our links with nationalny, however, we believe that the sedena: proposed in the Bill is the most satifactory way of braung seita the subject. No doubt the first choice of the dependencies generally would be to retain a common citizenship with that of the people of the United Kingdom useif, il faut was possible. If we are to have a distinctive etizenship for the United Kingdom, carrying with it the agat of abode in the United Kingdom, there must be other arrangements for the dependencies.
We believe inal the citizenship for the dependencies hould be a composite one. In reply to my hon, and learned Friend the Member for Darwen (Sir C. Fletcher-Cooke), › do not believe that it would be satisfactory to give each dependency its own citizenship. I doubt whether many dependencies would wish to have their own separate status. My hon. and learned Friend must recognise that some of them are very small countries. The idea of giving them citizenship would pose considerable problems. The proposed citizenship emphasises the British connection, which is basically what the dependencies want.
Mr. Alexander W. Lyon: Will it be the case, as now, that these colonies will be issued with a passport that says “British Dependent Territories (Hong Kong)” or “British Dependent Territories (Anguilla)"? if that is so, is there any difficulty in giving them an Anguillan passport or a Hong Kong passport?
Mr. Raison: I shall return to the question of how we see the passport evolving under the new scheme.
I wish to refer to Gibraltar, a subject raised by number of hon. Members, notably my hon. Friend the Member for Aberdeenshire, East (Mr. McQuarrie) and also the hon. Member for Glasgow, Central (Mr. McTaggart). They referred, understandably, to the close Ink -all share the sentiment-between Gibraltar and the Anited Kingdom and asked that Gibraltarians should become British citizens instead of, or in addition to, being caizens of a British Dependent Territory.
We have considered carefully the representations received to this effect. We recognise the strength of these sonimments and sympathise with them. However, for the reasons given by my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary we have concluded that citizenship of the dependent termories should apply in a uniform way throughout those ferndones, i want to refute completely the suggestion that
zenship of the Betish Dependent Territories is a „gio! materially affect the present position of Gibraltarians second-cias, etizenship, it is a parallel citizenship. It does in relation to the United Kingdom. The rights arising from Gibraltar's membership of the European Community will not be affected by the Bill. Nor is there any question in mesent circumstances of the administrative concession for ́entry into the United Kingdom, arising from the unique circumstances of Gibraltar, being withdrawn.
As the House might expect, my hon. Friend the Member for Howden (Sir P. Bryan) spoke of his special concern for the problems of Hong Kong, about which he knows so much. He stressed the desire of the people of Hong Kong to contribute to the links with the United
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