1. Background

2. Acquisition and loss

3. Rights and privileges

4. Restrictions
     United Kingdom    European Union  

5. Controversy

6. References
     Citations    Sources    Publications    Case law    Legislation    Correspondence  

British Overseas citizenship (BOC) is a class of British nationality largely granted under limited circumstances to people connected with former British colonies. Individuals with this nationality are British nationals and Commonwealth citizens, but not British citizens. Nationals of this class are subject to immigration controls when entering the United Kingdom and do not have the automatic right of abode there or any other country.

This nationality was created to accommodate former colonial subjects who do not have close ties to the United Kingdom or its remaining overseas territories. About 12,000 British Overseas citizens currently hold active British passports with this status and enjoy consular protection when travelling abroad.^[1] However, individuals who only hold BOC nationality are effectively stateless as they are not guaranteed the right to enter the country in which they are nationals.

Background

All British nationals previously held a common nationality, as Citizens of the United Kingdom and Colonies (CUKCs), and had the unrestricted right to enter and live in any British territory.^[2] This was gradually restricted by Parliament from 1962 to 1971, when subjects originating from outside of the British Islands first had immigration controls imposed on them when entering the United Kingdom.^[3] As Britain withdrew from its remaining overseas possessions during decolonisation, some former colonial subjects remained CUKCs despite the independence of their colonies. After passage of the British Nationality Act 1981, CUKCs were reclassified in 1983 into different nationality groups based on their ancestry, birthplace, and immigration status: CUKCs with the right of abode in the United Kingdom or were closely connected with the UK, Channel Islands, or Isle of Man became British citizens while those connected with a remaining colony became British Dependent Territories citizens (BDTCs). 1.5 million people^[4] who could not be reclassified into either of these statuses and were no longer associated with a British territory became British Overseas citizens.^[5][6]

Acquisition and loss

Naturalisation as a British Overseas citizen is not possible. It is expected that BOCs will obtain citizenship in the country they reside in and that the number of active status holders will eventually dwindle until there are none.^[7] Currently, it is only possible to transfer BOC status by descent if an individual born to a BOC parent would otherwise be stateless.^[8] Due to the broad nature of the governing Acts that determine BOC eligibility, there are a variety of circumstances in which an individual could have acquired the status.^[5] These include:

• CUKCs connected with a former colony or protectorate who did not acquire that country's citizenship on independence^[9] (applicable particularly to some former colonies, such as Kenya, that did not grant citizenship to CUKCs born or naturalised in that colony)^[10]
• persons who remained CUKCs on independence of their colony, but retained the status based on a connection to another colony which subsequently became independent before 1983^[11]
• persons who remained CUKCs on independence of their colony (applicable to the former Straits Settlements of Penang and Malacca, as well as Cyprus)
• British subjects born before 1949 who did not acquire citizenship of a Dominion (Australia, Canada, Ceylon, India, the Irish Free State, New Zealand, Newfoundland, Pakistan, South Africa) or Southern Rhodesia when these countries introduced citizenship laws^[11]
• BDTCs connected with Hong Kong who failed to register for British National (Overseas) status and would otherwise have been stateless after the transfer of sovereignty to China on 1 July 1997^[12]
• women who acquired CUKC by marriage on or after 28 October 1971^[13]
• persons registered as CUKCs by descent before 1983 based on birth in a non-Commonwealth country to a CUKC father^[13]
• minor children who acquired CUKC by registration at the British high commission of an independent Commonwealth country on or after 28 October 1971^[13]
• eligible descendants of Sophia of Hanover who have never been members of the Catholic Church^[14]

Several early independence acts did not remove CUKC status from certain citizens of newly independent states. In the former Straits Settlements of Penang and Malacca, around one million Straits Chinese were allowed to continue as CUKCs with Malayan citizenship when the Federation of Malaya became independent in 1957. Consequently, when Malaya merged with North Borneo, Sarawak, and Singapore to form Malaysia in 1963, CUKC status was not rescinded from individuals already holding Malayan citizenship.^[15] Similarly, when Cyprus became independent in 1960, Cypriots who were not resident in Cyprus for the five years leading up to independence and were also living in another Commonwealth country would not have lost CUKC status.^[16]

British Overseas citizenship can be relinquished by a declaration made to the Home Secretary, provided that an individual already possesses or intends to acquire another nationality. BOC status may also be deprived if it was fraudulently acquired. There is no path to restore BOC status once lost.^[17]

Rights and privileges

British Overseas citizens are exempted from obtaining a visa or entry certificate when visiting the United Kingdom for less than six months. They are eligible to apply for two-year working holiday visas and do not face annual quotas or sponsorship requirements.^[18] When travelling in other countries, they may seek British consular protection. BOCs are not considered foreign nationals when residing in the UK and are entitled to certain rights as Commonwealth citizens. These include exemption from registration with local police, eligibility to serve in non-reserved Civil Service posts, and voting eligibility in UK and EU elections. British Overseas citizens can also be conferred British honours, receive peerages, and be sitting members of the House of Lords. If given indefinite leave to remain (ILR), they are also eligible to stand for election to the House of Commons and local government.^[19] ILR status usually expires if an individual leaves the UK and remains abroad for over two years, but this limitation does not apply to BOCs. Prior to 2002, BOCs who entered the UK on a work permit were automatically given indefinite leave to remain.^[20]

BOCs may become British citizens by registration, rather than naturalisation, after residing in the United Kingdom for more than five years and possessing indefinite leave to remain for more than one year. Registration confers citizenship otherwise than by descent, meaning that children born outside of the UK to those successfully registered will be British citizens by descent. Becoming a British citizen has no effect on BOC status; BOCs may also simultaneously be a British citizen.^[21] BOCs who do not hold and have not lost any other nationality on or after 4 July 2002 are entitled to register as British citizens.^[22]

Restrictions

BOCs who hold no other nationality are de facto stateless because they are deprived of entering the country that claims them as nationals.^[23] The Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 allowed these individuals to register as British citizens, after which statelessness was generally resolved for people who were solely BOCs.^[22] However, there remain circumstances in which BOCs are effectively stateless after 4 July 2002, including:

• a BOC is also a citizen of a country that considers acquisition of a foreign passport to be grounds for citizenship deprivation (e.g. Malaysia). A Malaysian-BOC dual national applying for a BOC passport would consequently have their Malaysian citizenship deprived.^[24]
• a BOC is also a citizen of a country that only permits dual citizenship for minors and requires renunciation of all other nationalities before a certain age (e.g. Japan). A Japanese-BOC dual national would potentially have their Japanese citizenship revoked at age 22.^[25]

United Kingdom

British Overseas citizens are subject to immigration controls and have neither the right of abode or the right to work in the United Kingdom.^[26] BOCs are required to pay a "health surcharge" to access National Health Service benefits when residing in the UK for longer than six months.^[27]

European Union

Unlike full British citizens, British Overseas citizens are not European Union citizens and do not have freedom of movement in the EU.^[28] However, they are exempted from obtaining a visa when visiting the Schengen Area.^[29]

Controversy

The creation of different British nationality classes with a disparity in United Kingdom residency rights between the several classes drew criticism for institutionalising an inherently racist system. The vast majority of people who were classified as British citizens in 1983 were white, while those assigned BDTC or BOC status were predominately Asian.^[30] The deprivation of full nationality rights was particularly distressful for the Indian diaspora in Southeast Africa, many of whom migrated to Africa during colonial rule while working in the civil service.^[31] As former East African colonies gained independence, aggressive Africanisation policies and an increasingly discriminatory environment in the post-colonial countries against the Asian population caused many among them to seek migration to Britain.^[32] While CUKCs without strong ties to the British Islands were already subject to immigration controls starting in 1962, the subdivision of nationality reinforced the idea that British identity depended on race.^[33] Parliament ultimately granted remaining BOCs who held no other nationality the right to register as full British citizens in 2002.^[22]

Prior to 2002, British Overseas citizens from Malaysia had been able to petition for British citizenship after renouncing Malaysian citizenship.^[34] After passage of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002, these requests were no longer considered. However, a number of Malaysian BOCs continued their applications after this change in immigration policy and renounced their Malaysian citizenship after being given incorrect legal advice. Due to differences in how the governments recognise nationality renunciation, both the British and Malaysian governments consider this group of individuals nationals of the other country and refuse to give them any form of permanent status.^[35] Debate over ultimate responsibility for this group of BOCs continues while they remain stateless without a territory that they have a guaranteed right to remain in.^[36]

References

Citations

Sources

Publications

• {{cite journal |last=Dixon |first=David |title=Thatcher's People: The British Nationality Act 1981 |journal=Journal of Law and Society |year=1983 |volume=10 |issue=2 |pages=161–180 |jstor=1410230 |doi=10.2307/1410230 |ref=harv}}
• {{cite journal |last=Evans |first=J. M. |title=Immigration Act 1971 |journal=The Modern Law Review |year=1972 |volume=35 |issue=5 |pages=508–524 |jstor=1094478 |doi=10.1111/j.1468-2230.1972.tb02363.x |ref=harv}}
• {{cite book |last=Hansen |first=Randall |date=2000 |title=Citizenship and Immigration in Post-war Britain |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qj8GEjW91oEC |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=0-19-924054-X |ref=harv}}
• {{cite journal |last=Hansen |first=Randall |title=The Kenyan Asians, British Politics, and the Commonwealth Immigrants Act, 1968 |journal=The Historical Journal |year=1999 |volume=42 |issue=3 |pages=809–834 |jstor=3020922 |ref=harv}}
• {{cite report |last=Low |first=Choo Chin |title=Report on citizenship law : Malaysia and Singapore |publisher=European University Institute |year=2017 |issue=3 |hdl=1814/45371 |ref=harv}}
• {{cite journal |last=McKay |first=James |title=The Passage of the 1962 Commonwealth Immigrants Act, a Case-Study of Backbench Power |journal=Observatoire de la société britannique |year=2008 |issue=6 |pages=89–108 |doi=10.4000/osb.433 |ref=harv}}
• {{cite journal |last=White |first=Robin M. |title=Nationality Aspects of the Hong Kong Settlement |journal=Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law |year=1988 |volume=20 |issue=1 |pages=225–251 |url=https://scholarlycommons.law.case.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1702&context=jil |ref=harv}}

Case law

• {{cite BAILII |litigants=Chin and Another v Secretary of State for the Home Department |court=UKUT |division=IAC |year=2017 |num=15 |courtname=auto |ref={{sfnref|Chin and Another v Home Secretary [2017] UKUT 15 (IAC)}}}}
• {{cite AustLII |litigants=Re Canavan |link=Re Canavan |court=HCA |year=2017 |num=45 |date=27 October 2017 |courtname=auto |ref={{sfnref|Re Canavan [2017] HCA 45}}}}
• {{cite BAILII |litigants=Teh v Secretary of State for the Home Department |court=EWHC |year=2018 |num=1586 |courtname=auto |ref={{sfnref|Teh v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2018] EWHC 1586 (Admin)}}}}
• {{cite BAILII |litigants=The Queen v. Secretary of State for the Home Department, ex parte: Manjit Kaur |court=EUECJ |year=2001 |num=C19299 |eucase=C-192/99 |courtname=auto |ref={{sfnref|Kaur [2001] C-192/99}}}}

Legislation

• {{wikicite |reference={{cite EU regulation |serial=2018/1806 |date=14 November 2018 |description=listing the third countries whose nationals must be in possession of visas when crossing the external borders and those whose nationals are exempt from that requirement |eurlextag=CELEX:32018R1806}} |ref={{sfnref|Regulation (EU) No 2018/1806}}}}
• {{wikicite |reference={{Cite legislation UK |type=act |year=1981 |chapter=61 |act=British Nationality Act 1981}} |ref={{sfnref|British Nationality Act 1981}}}}
• {{wikicite |reference={{Cite legislation UK |type=act |year=2002 |chapter=41 |act=Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 |section=12}} |ref={{sfnref|Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002}}}}
• {{wikicite |reference={{Cite legislation UK |type=act |year=1983 |chapter=2 |act=Representation of the People Act 1983 |section=4}} |ref={{sfnref|Representation of the People Act 1983}}}}

Correspondence

• {{cite letter |author=D Hjiej-Andaloussi |recipient=Luke Lo |subject=Freedom of Information Request |language=English |date=14 February 2019 |url=https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/541288/response/1311215/attach/2/FOICR%2052291%20Luke%20Lo%20final%20response.pdf |accessdate=22 March 2019 |ref={{sfnref|FOI Letter on Passports}}}}
• {{cite letter |author=Director, Immigration and Nationality Policy Directorate |recipient=Beverley Hughes and the Home Secretary |subject=British Overseas citizens – Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Bill |language=English |date=19 June 2002 |url=https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200506/ldlwa/60503wa1.pdf |accessdate=21 February 2019 |ref={{sfnref|INPD Letter on BOCs}}}}

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