British Overseas Territories Act 2002
The British Overseas Territories Act 2002 changes the British Dependent Territories to British Overseas Territories, and British Dependent Territories Citizenship to British Overseas Territories Citizenship. This change is supposed to reflect the no longer "dependent" status of these territories, but may create confusion due to the close similarity between the terms "British Overseas Citizen" and "British Overseas Territories Citizen".
The Act also extends British citizenship to all British Overseas Territories Citizens the right to register as British Citizens, and thus acquire the right of abode, except those whose connection is solely with the military outposts known as the Sovereign Base Areas in Cyprus.
- Those persons who held British Overseas Territories citizenship (BOTC) on 21 May 2002 (except those solely connected with the Sovereign Base Areas) automatically acquired British citizenship on that date if they did not already possess it. Most people from Gibraltar and the Falkland Islands already held full British citizenship under earlier legislation, or had the right to register as British.
- Persons who acquire BOTC after 21 May 2002 and do not already have British citizenship (mainly those naturalised as BOTCs after that date) may register as British citizens if they wish under s4A of the 1981 Act.
Until their successful claim against the British Government in the High Court over their eviction from their Territory, those connected to the British Indian Ocean Territory which houses the United States military base of Diego Garcia were to be excluded as well, but are now included. The accession of the whole island of Cyprus to the European Union would possibly have made the sole exclusion of the Sovereign Base Areas untenable, as they would become the only Cypriots (as well as the only British Overseas Territories citizens) not to have the right to live and work in the United Kingdom. However, in 2004, only the Greek part of the island was admitted, and the issue has not surfaced.
Read more about this topic: History Of British Nationality Law
Famous quotes containing the words british, territories and/or act:
“Death is an incident producing clay. Use it, mold it, learn from it.”
—John Gilling, British screenwriter. Dr. Knox (Peter Cushing)
“Curiosity doesn’t matter any more. These days people don’t want to be transported to emotional territories where they don’t know how to react.”
—Hector Babenko (b. 1946)
“It is not enough to ask, ‘Will my act harm other people?’ Even if the answer is No, my act may still be wrong, because of its effects on other people. I should ask, ‘Will my act be one of a set of acts that will together harm other people?’ The answer may be Yes. And the harm to others may be great. If this is so, I may be acting very wrongly, like the Harmless Torturers.”
—Derek Parfit (b. 1943)