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Legal Terms – British Citizenship
British citizenship one of three types of citizenship that were substituted for UK and colonial citizenship by the British Nationality Act of 1981. The other two were *British Overseas citizenship and British Dependent Territories citizenship, which are now combined into *British Overseas citizenship.
On January 1, 1983, the Act came into effect, granting British citizenship automatically to all current citizens of the United Kingdom and its colonies who were eligible to the *right of residence in the United Kingdom as per the Immigration Act of 1971. Since then, obtaining citizenship has been possible through four main channels: naturalization, registration, birth, and descent. If a person is born in the UK and both of his parents are either British citizens or have settled there, meaning they are not subject to immigration regulations limiting their length of stay, then they have it by birth. If one of his parents is British, he gets British citizenship by descent if he was born outside of the country (although not, generally, if that citizenship was itself earned by descent). Those with ties to the Falkland Islands may apply for British citizenship under the terms of the British Nationality (Falkland Islands) Act of 1983. Certain Hong Kong residents were granted new rights to obtain British citizenship by the British Nationality (Hong Kong) Act of 1997. Ultimately, almost all British Overseas Territories nationals were granted full British citizenship by the British Overseas Territories Act 2002; the majority of them currently possess both types of citizenship. A juvenile may apply for registration, but adults may only do so if they have specific ties to the UK. In some circumstances (such as British nationals residing in overseas territories, British citizens abroad, British protected individuals, and
For British nationals who meet specific residency requirements, this is a right; in other cases, the Secretary of State may choose to grant it. Any adult may apply for naturalization, although approval is always based on discretion and has additional residency and other conditions (such as evidence of good character). A requirement imposed by the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act of 2002 is that applicants must show that they are familiar with British culture and way of life. The naturalization process may be expedited under the Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Act of 2009 if the applicant performs volunteer community service.
A citizen who has registered or been naturalized may lose their citizenship if they were granted it illegally, act disloyally, or get a sentence during the first five years that involves more than a year in jail. A number of clauses in the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act of 2006 also provide the Home Secretary the authority to deny someone their British citizenship or right to reside in the country if they believe that doing so would be "conducive to the public good" (s. 56). David Matthew Hicks, an Australian prisoner in Guantanamo Bay, sought British citizenship on the basis of his maternal ancestry, as permitted under the 2002 Act. On July 5, 2006, Hicks was awarded citizenship; however, a few hours later, section 56 of the 2006 Act took away that citizenship. The Home Secretary may, in extraordinary circumstances, take someone's citizenship without first telling them, as per the current Nationality and Borders Bill (2021).
British citizenship one of three types of citizenship that were substituted for UK and colonial citizenship by the British Nationality Act of 1981. The other two were *British Overseas citizenship and British Dependent Territories citizenship, which are now combined into *British Overseas citizenship.
On January 1, 1983, the Act came into effect, granting British citizenship automatically to all current citizens of the United Kingdom and its colonies who were eligible to the *right of residence in the United Kingdom as per the Immigration Act of 1971. Since then, obtaining citizenship has been possible through four main channels: naturalization, registration, birth, and descent. If a person is born in the UK and both of his parents are either British citizens or have settled there, meaning they are not subject to immigration regulations limiting their length of stay, then they have it by birth. If one of his parents is British, he gets British citizenship by descent if he was born outside of the country (although not, generally, if that citizenship was itself earned by descent). Those with ties to the Falkland Islands may apply for British citizenship under the terms of the British Nationality (Falkland Islands) Act of 1983. Certain Hong Kong residents were granted new rights to obtain British citizenship by the British Nationality (Hong Kong) Act of 1997. Ultimately, almost all British Overseas Territories nationals were granted full British citizenship by the British Overseas Territories Act 2002; the majority of them currently possess both types of citizenship. A juvenile may apply for registration, but adults may only do so if they have specific ties to the UK. In some circumstances (such as British nationals residing in overseas territories, British citizens abroad, British protected individuals, and
For British nationals who meet specific residency requirements, this is a right; in other cases, the Secretary of State may choose to grant it. Any adult may apply for naturalization, although approval is always based on discretion and has additional residency and other conditions (such as evidence of good character). A requirement imposed by the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act of 2002 is that applicants must show that they are familiar with British culture and way of life. The naturalization process may be expedited under the Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Act of 2009 if the applicant performs volunteer community service.
A citizen who has registered or been naturalized may lose their citizenship if they were granted it illegally, act disloyally, or get a sentence during the first five years that involves more than a year in jail. A number of clauses in the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act of 2006 also provide the Home Secretary the authority to deny someone their British citizenship or right to reside in the country if they believe that doing so would be "conducive to the public good" (s. 56). David Matthew Hicks, an Australian prisoner in Guantanamo Bay, sought British citizenship on the basis of his maternal ancestry, as permitted under the 2002 Act. On July 5, 2006, Hicks was awarded citizenship; however, a few hours later, section 56 of the 2006 Act took away that citizenship. The Home Secretary may, in extraordinary circumstances, take someone's citizenship without first telling them, as per the current Nationality and Borders Bill (2021).
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