Historical background information on nationality Version 1.0 Page 1 of 23 Published for Home Office staff on 21 July 2017 Contents Contents ..................................................................................................................... 2 About this document................................................................................................... 4 Contacts ................................................................................................................. 4 Published ................................................................................................................ 4 British Nationality law ................................................................................................. 5 Before 1914 ................................................................................................................ 5 The position at common law ................................................................................... 5 Acquisition of British subject status by birth ........................................................ 5 Crown’s dominions .......................................................................................... 5 Extra-territorial jurisdiction ............................................................................... 5 Mandated and Trust territories ..................................................................... 6 Protectorates and protected states .............................................................. 6 Acquisition of British subject status by descent ................................................... 6 The 18th Century ................................................................................................ 6 The 1705 Act – Electress Sophia of Hanover .................................................. 6 The 1708 Act ................................................................................................... 7 Naturalisation by Act of Parliament .................................................................. 8 The Act of 1772 ............................................................................................... 8 19th Century ....................................................................................................... 8 The Naturalization Act 1844 ............................................................................ 8 The Act of 1847 ............................................................................................... 8 The Naturalization Act 1870 ............................................................................ 8 Denization .................................................................................................... 9 1870 to 1914.................................................................................................... 9 Between 1915 and 1948 .......................................................................................... 10 British Nationality and Status of Aliens Act 1914 .................................................. 10 The 1918 Act ........................................................................................................ 10 The 1922 Act ........................................................................................................ 10 The 1933 Act ........................................................................................................ 11 The 1943 Act ........................................................................................................ 11 The period before the 1948 Act ............................................................................ 11 1949 to 1982 ............................................................................................................ 12 The British Nationality Act 1948 ............................................................................ 12 Page 2 of 23 Published for Home Office staff on 21 July 2017 British subjects without citizenship .................................................................... 13 Section 13(1) ................................................................................................. 13 Section 13(2) ................................................................................................. 13 Potential citizens ............................................................................................ 14 Sections 4 and 5 of the British Nationality Act 1948 .......................................... 14 Section 4 – birth ............................................................................................. 14 Section 5 (descent) ........................................................................................ 14 Section 12 ......................................................................................................... 15 Independence ....................................................................................................... 16 The independence process ............................................................................... 16 Withdrawal of citizenship of the United Kingdom and Colonies ..................... 17 Exceptions to loss .......................................................................................... 17 Development of the Right of Abode ...................................................................... 18 The Commonwealth Immigrants Act 1962 ........................................................ 18 The Commonwealth Immigrants Act 1968 ........................................................ 18 Patriality and right of abode .............................................................................. 18 After 1983 ................................................................................................................. 19 The British Nationality Act 1981 ............................................................................ 19 British citizenship .............................................................................................. 19 British Dependent Territories citizenship ........................................................... 19 British Overseas citizenship .............................................................................. 19 British subjects .................................................................................................. 20 British protected persons .................................................................................. 20 The British Nationality (Falkland Islands) Act 1983 ............................................... 20 Hong Kong ............................................................................................................ 20 The British Overseas Territories Act 2002 ............................................................ 21 Specific independence provisions to note ................................................................ 22 Aden (South Yemen) ......................................................................................... 22 Burma ............................................................................................................... 22 Cyprus ............................................................................................................... 22 Ireland ............................................................................................................... 22 Malaysia ............................................................................................................ 23 Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland ............................................................ 23 Antigua and Barbuda/Belize .............................................................................. 23 St Christopher and Nevis .................................................................................. 23 Dominica, Kiribati, St Lucia, St Vincent & the Grenadines, Solomon Islands and Tuvalu ............................................................................................................... 23 Page 3 of 23 Published for Home Office staff on 21 July 2017 About this document This document provides background information about the history of nationality law and can be used in conjunction with guidance to assess citizenship claims. Contacts If you have any questions about the document and your line manager or senior caseworker cannot help you or you think that the document has factual errors then email the Nationality policy team. If you notice any formatting errors in this document (broken links, spelling mistakes and so on) or have any comments about the layout or navigability of the guidance then you can email the Guidance Rules and Forms team. Published Below is information on when this version of the guidance was published: version 1.0 published for Home Office staff on 21 July 2017 Related content Contents Page 4 of 23 Published for Home Office staff on 21 July 2017 British Nationality law The history of British nationality law falls into 4 periods, which are marked by key pieces of legislation before 1915 between 1915 and 1948 between 1949 and 1983 after 1983 Depending on when a person was born, you may need to consider how they were affected by different pieces of legislation. Before 1914 The position at common law Before nationality legislation existed, there was a system of “Allegiance”. Feudal lords demanded the allegiance of their local communities and those lords, in turn, swore allegiance to the monarch. As the powers of the monarchy increased, the concept of allegiance broadened