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British Nationality Bill
28 JANUARY 1981
Ki m. He asked for an assurance that there was no hidden motive behind the Bill. I am glad to give that assurance. I stress that the proposals are in no way directed particularly at Hong Kong. As my right hon. Friend reaffirmed, the proposed legislation is in no way intended to weaken our links, to which we attach great importance.
My hon. Friend asked particularly that the terms of schedule 1, which deals with naturalisation, should be carefully examined in Committee. We can, of course, examine the matter in Committee. My hon. Friend also asked that the Government should endeavour to avoid any stricter entry requirements to foreign countries being imposed on citizens of British Dependent Territories as a result of the proposals. We should certainly press any such countries to ensure that existing freedom of travel is maintained.
The hon. Member for York asked about passports. It is envisaged that, as at present, all passports will bear the inscription "British passport" on the front cover, no matter where they are issued. Passports issued in the dependencies will, again as at present, additionally bear the name of the issuing dependency on the front cover. The citizenship or status of the holder will appear on page 1 of the passport.
Mr. Lyon: Does that mean that the citizen of a British Dependent Territory and a British overseas citizen will carry the same passport as a British citizen full and proper?
Mr. Raison: All passports will be marked "British passport" on the front cover. Where they refer to a dependency, they will carry the name of the dependency. If there is any uncertainty remaining, I shall write to the hon. Gentleman.
I want now to deal with another important point that featured prominently in the debate. We have been accused of racism. I reiterate that that is a ridiculous claim. Clause 1 makes a substantial change to the automatic acquisition of British citizenship by birth in the United Kingdom. The new provision has been attacked on various grounds. We recognised in the White Paper that there were practical difficulties to be overcome.
Nevertheless, there are strong arguments in favour of confining the acquisition of citizenship by birth to children who have parents who really belong to the United Kingdom, in the sense of either being British citizens or being settled here. The present arrangements mean that citizenship is acquired by many children whose parents are here only temporarily, as students or visitors, for example, or who are working here for short periods or are here illegally. Any child who obtains our citizenship in this way and then leaves with his parents will at present transmit that citizenship in due course to his own children born abroad. With air travel and much greater mobility, the situation today is very different from that which existed when concepts like jus soli grew up. The arguments for continuing to confer citizenship in the present in- discriminate manner are clearly weak.
Let me say, too, that although we have hitherto adopted the so-called jus soli or automatic entitlement to citizenship by birth, continental countries have generally adopted the jus sanguinis, which means that citizenship is conferred on those born in the country concerned only “if ́ they have a parent who is a citizen. We are not, however, proposing to go as far as that. The child of someone lawfully settled here will be eligible for British citizenship by birth.
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There is no intention of requiring proof that a child is entitled to citizenship when registration of birth takes place. There is no question of someone walking in the footsteps of the registration officer in the hospital, asking people that sort of question. The remarks of the hon. Member for Lambeth, Central about perinatal mortality are therefore clearly even more absurd than they seemed at the time that he made them. We are a signatory to the United Nations convention on the reduction of statelessness, and that will have an important bearing on any problems that might arise from this provision.
Mr. Tilley: I made it clear that the matter could be handled in one of two ways. If it is not to be done at birth by the registrar, how shall we avoid the situation in which many children will grow up with themselves and their parents not knowing their nationality, or whether they are stateless? When will it be done?
Mr. Raison: In many cases there is no special reason why it should be examined, but it may happen when the child reaches the stage of requiring a passport, although even there we shall basically be relying on the declarations of applicants for passports and their parents, and on those who act as sponsors to passport holders. I repeat that we realise that there are difficulties. I believe that in Committee I shall be able to explain how we intend to resolve these difficulties, and I believe that our scheme will work.
In designing our citizenship we are clearly looking for some kind af commitment on the part of those who seek to acquire it. Citizenship is a mixture of rights and duties. The country that grants it needs to protect those to whom it gives it, but at the same time the citizen has obligations to the country of his choice. Thus, we are looking for commitment in the proposal that those who have our citizenship but were not born here will not automatically be able to transmit citizenship to their children if they are born overseas, although Crown servants whose commit- ment is obvious will be able to do so.
Once a minor born in such circumstances returns to the United Kingdom with his parents for a period of three years he will be entitled to acquire citizenship. I know that there is concern about the problem of people working for firms abroad. Clause 3(3)(a) enables a child born overseas to be registered within one year of its birth if one of its parents is a British citizen working full-time for a company or association established in the United Kingdom. Subsection (3)(b) goes a stage further and extends the right to register a child in this way if one of the parents is working in a firm that is established outside the United Kingdom, provided that the employee is on secondment from the United Kingdom-based firm.
I recognise that some people feel that we ought to go still further and extend the right to register children within a year of their birth in any case where a British citizen is working abroad. I am not convinced that that should be done, since it might well involve building up large numbers of citizens born overseas whose future is not demonstrably with the United Kingdom. However, in many cases the new provisions for transmission of citizenship for women will ensure that the children are British citizens. There is also the three years return provision, and in exceptional cases there is a discretion to register any minor under clause 3(1). That is likely to be used where the child's future clearly lies with the United Kingdom.
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