History of British Nationality Law - Independence Acts

Independence Acts

See also: :Category:Independence acts in the Parliament of the United Kingdom

Many colonies became independent between 1949 and 1982. Under the independence legislation passed in the United Kingdom, a person connected with a particular colony generally lost CUKC on Independence Day if:

• they acquired citizenship of that country on independence; and
• they did not have specified connections to the UK itself or a place which remained a colony

Persons could in some cases lose CUKC even if they had migrated to the UK. In this case, only through naturalisation or registration could they regain CUKC.

Specific exceptions to the loss of CUKC on independence included:

• persons from the Malayan states of Penang and Malacca who, because of the wording of Federation of Malaya Independence Act 1957, did not lose CUKC at independence on 31 August 1957, as the law only provided for "the Malay States" for nationality purposes, whereas Penang and Malacca, at the time, were parts of the Straits Settlement. These persons, together with those born between 31 August 1957 and 31 December 1982 with a CUKC father, form the largest group of British Overseas citizens today. Most also hold Malaysian citizenship.
• CUKCs from Cyprus retained CUKC if habitually resident elsewhere in the Commonwealth (except Cyprus) immediately before 16 August 1960
• In 1981 the Independence Acts dealing with Belize and Antigua/Barbuda exempted persons who had acquired a Right of abode in the UK from loss of CUKC. Such persons would have become British citizens in 1983 due to their Right of abode status.

The only British dependent territory that gained independence after 1982 is Saint Kitts and Nevis, which became an independent Commonwealth country on 19 September 1983. British Dependent Territories citizenship was withdrawn unless there was a connection with a remaining dependent territory. Those that had acquired British citizenship before independence and became also Saint Kitts and Nevis citizens upon independence however do not lose their British citizenship.

In some cases (Singapore and the Federation of Malaya), citizenship statuses were created before independence was achieved. This resulted in unusual endorsements like "British subject: citizen of the State of Singapore" in British passports.