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General Scheme of BNA 1981
2.3 The BNA 1981 (which came into force on 1 January 1983) replaced the status of CUKC with three new citizenships, namely BC, BDTC and BOC and converted CUKC's (created by the BNA 1948) into citizens of the appropriate type. Part I of the BNA makes provision for the acquisition of BC status and Part II makes provision for the acquisition of BDTC status. Part II created a single citizenship (BDTC) for all who had the necessary connection with any of the Dependent Territories (including HK) listed in Schedule 6 to the BNA. A note prepared by the draftsman of the BNA is attached which summarises the effect of the Act. This note was circulated to each of the Legal Advisers to Government Departments in November 1981.
British citizenship "by descent" and "otherwise than by descent"
2.4 For present purposes it is important (see para. 4.14 et seq below)
distinguish between BC's "by descent" and BC's "otherwise than by descent". As a result of the BNA 1981 nobody becomes a BC merely by being born in the UK. Section 1(1) provides that children born in the UK after commencement only become British citizens if one of their parents is a BC or is settled in the UK. Section 2(1) makes provision for the acquisition of BC "by descent". The general effect of section
BC's 2 is that persons born overseas to British citizens automatically become BC's by descent at the time of their birth. However, parents who are BC's by descent cannot normally transmit their citizenship to children born overseas unless at the time of the child's birth they are in Crown or similar service outside the UK or are working for a Community institution within the EC. Thus, people who are BC's by descent have the disadvantage that they cannot transmit their citizenship to children born abroad.
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