TNAG-1125-FCO40-1400-British-Nationality-Act-1981-and-the-Dependent-Territories-1982 — Page 44

DSR 11C

As to the UK, (a) and (b) of the attached draft Declaration

simply continue the existing coverage of certain CUKC and

British subjects viz those with the right of abode in the UK,

in the terms in which they appear in BNA 1981.

C

4.

The 'Gibraltar clause' (section 5 of BNA 1981), which was

adopted in October 1981, reads

'A British Dependent Territories citizen who falls

to be treated as a national of the United Kingdom for

the purposes of the Community Treaties shall be

entitled to be registered as a British citizen if

an application is made for his registration as such

a citizen.'

We worked over several months preparing - with considerable

difficulty a new definition based on the assumption that

its coverage should be restricted so far as possible to the

categories covered by the present definition, to accord with

the line taken by Government spokesmen during debate on the

clause. My letter of 11 December 1981 to the Home Office refer

5. Late last month when we were about to submit the draft

definition on this basis for Ministers' approval the Attorney-

General of Gibraltar visited the FCO to discuss draft proposals

for changes in Gibraltar legislation in consequence of BNA 1981

These amendments have been prepared in pursuance of our request

that dependent territories should revise their immigration and

associated Ordinances to accord so far as possible with the

Home Secretary's view expressed in Parliament on 28 January 198

that BDTCs who derive that citizenship from a connection with

a particular territory should have the right of residence there

This is the effect of the amendments which Gibraltar Ministers

/are