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British & Commonwealth citizenship
Commonwealth nationality laws
British (history) Australian Barbadian Canadian (history) Indian Malaysian Maltese New Zealand Singaporean South African Irish citizens in the UK
Classes of citizens and subjects
British citizen British subject British Overseas Territories citizen British Overseas citizen British National (Overseas) British protected person Commonwealth citizen
Rights and visas
Right of abode Indefinite leave to remain Permanent resident (Australia) Permanent resident (Canada) Belonger status UK Ancestry Entry Clearance
Acts
Ireland Act 1949 British Nationality Act 1981 Falkland Islands (1983) Overseas Territories Act 2002 Canadian Citizenship Act 1946

In British nationality law, the term British subject has at different times had different meanings. The current definition of the term British subject is contained in the British Nationality Act 1981.

Before 1949

Prior to 1 January 1949, the term "British subject" in British nationality law was used to describe any person who owed allegiance to the British Crown, wherever he was born in the British Commonwealth and Empire. Within the Empire, the only people who were not British subjects were the rulers of native states formally under the "protection" of the British Crown, and their peoples. Although their countries may for all practical purposes have been ruled by the imperial government, such persons are considered to have been born outside the sovereignty and allegiance of the British Crown, and were (and, where these persons are still alive, still are) known as British protected persons.

Between 1947 and 1951 each of the various existing members of the Commonwealth of Nations created its own national citizenship (the Irish Free State had done so in 1935, but left the Commonwealth in 1949). In 1948, the Parliament of the United Kingdom passed the British Nationality Act 1948, which came into effect on 1 January 1949 and introduced the concept of "Citizenship of the UK & Colonies".

1949 to 1982

From 1 January 1949, every person who was a British subject by virtue of a connection with the United Kingdom or one of her crown colonies became a Citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies.

However, UK & Colonies citizens, in common with citizens of other Commonwealth countries, also retained the status of British subject. From 1949, the status of British subject was also known by the term Commonwealth citizen, and included any person who was:

• a citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies;
• a citizen of any other Commonwealth country; and
• one of a limited number of "British subjects without citizenship".

In the third category were mainly people born before 1949 in the Republic of Ireland, India and Pakistan who did not acquire citizenship of their country or any other Dominion (in the case of those born in India and Pakistan), or who applied after 1949 for restoration of their British subject status (for those connected with Ireland).

Hence, from 1949 to 1982, a person born in London, England, would have been a British subject and Citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies, while someone born in Sydney, Australia, would have been a British subject and Citizen of Australia.

British subjects in other parts of the Commonwealth

Between 1949 and 1982 (and as late as 1987 in Australian law), the status of British subject was a common status held by citizens of countries throughout the Commonwealth, and many Commonwealth countries had statutes defining the term "British subject" in their laws, in much the same way as the status of Commonwealth citizen is now defined. In contrast, the British Nationality Act 1981 now provides that, as far as United Kingdom law is concerned, no person is a British subject except as provided by the Act.

In South Africa, South Africans ceased to be British subjects when the country became a republic outside the Commonwealth in 1961, and the Commonwealth Relations Act 1962 removed all reference to British nationality.

In Canada, the term "British subject" was replaced by "Commonwealth citizen" when the Canadian Citizenship Act 1947 was replaced by the Citizenship Act 1977, which came into force on 15 February 1977.

In New Zealand, the status of British subject ceased to be defined by New Zealand law when the British Nationality and New Zealand Citizenship Act 1948 was replaced by the Citizenship Act 1977, which came into force on 1 January 1978. However, s. 2 (Interpretation) of the Act still contains a reference in the definition of "Alien" to "...Commonwealth citizen (British subject)...".

In Australia, the status of British subject in Australian law was retained until it was removed by provisions of the Australian Citizenship Amendment Act 1984 which came into force on 1 May 1987. Hence between 1 January 1983 and 1 May 1987 a British citizen and an Australian citizen were both British subjects under Australian law, but not under United Kingdom law.

Most other Commonwealth countries did not define the term "British subject", preferring from the outset to use the term "Commonwealth citizen" instead.

After 1983

On 1 January 1983, upon the coming into force of the British Nationality Act 1981, every Citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies became either a British Citizen, British Dependent Territories Citizen or British Overseas Citizen.

The use of the term "British subject" was discontinued for all persons who fell into these categories, or who had a national citizenship of any other part of the Commonwealth. The category of "British subjects" now includes only those people formerly known as "British subjects without citizenship", and no other. In statutes passed before 1 January 1983, however, references to "British subjects" continue to be read as if they referred to "Commonwealth citizens".

British citizens are not British subjects under the 1981 Act. The only circumstance where a person may be both a British subject and British citizen simultaneously is a case where a British subject connected with Ireland (s. 31 of the 1981 Act) acquires British citizenship by naturalisation or registration. In this case only, British subject status is not lost upon acquiring British citizenship.

The status of British subject cannot now be transmitted by descent, and will become extinct when all existing British subjects are dead.

Loss of British subject status

British subjects, other than by those who obtained their status by virtue of a connection to the Republic of Ireland prior to 1949, automatically lose their British subject status on acquiring any other nationality, including British citizenship, under section 35 of the British Nationality Act 1981.

Access to British citizenship

British subjects may normally become British citizens through one of the following routes:

Residence in the United Kingdom

• After 5 years residence the United Kingdom, and holding Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) or its equivalent for at least 12 months, a British subject may apply for registration as a British citizen under section 4 of the British Nationality Act 1981.
• If married to a British citizen, it is possible to apply for naturalisation as a British citizen after 3 years residence in the United Kingdom provided ILR is held on the day of application.

Both of these options confer British citizenship otherwise than by descent and hence children born subsequently outside the United Kingdom will normally have access to British citizenship.

Holding no other nationality

British subjects who hold no other citizenship or nationality, and have not lost or renounced any other citizenship or nationality after 4 July 2002 (whether voluntarily or otherwise) may apply to be registered as British citizens. This is through s4B of the British Nationality Act 1981, in force from 30 April 2003.

• Holding permanent residence in another country does not in itself cause a bar to registration, provided the nationality of that country is not acquired before application for British citizenship is made. Subsequent acquisition of another citizenship or nationality does not cause loss of British citizenship.
• Registration under this section confers British citizenship by descent and hence those British subjects permanently resident in the United Kingdom should normally consider section 4 registration or naturalisation instead.
• Most British subjects connected with Ireland also hold Irish citizenship and hence are ineligible to apply for British citizenship under this section

Other terms

Although the term "British subject" now has a very restrictive statutory definition, there is no problem with the word "subject" per se. Accordingly, nationals of countries of which Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II is Head of State may still be referred to as "Her Majesty's subjects", while British nationals may accurately (if circuitously) be described as "subjects of Her Majesty in right of the United Kingdom".

The term "United Kingdom national" (sometimes referred to as "British national"), is used in differently in various statutes, but most commonly means British citizens, British Overseas Territories citizens, British Overseas citizens, British Nationals (Overseas), (and usually) British subjects (as defined in the 1981 Act) and British protected persons. British protected persons are an especial grey area; they are neither Commonwealth citizens (i.e. British subjects in the old sense), nor aliens. Although they are not traditionally considered to be British nationals, since they are not considered to be stateless under international law, they must be nationals of the United Kingdom.

The continued use of the term "British subject" to cover a very restricted class of British nationals, contrary to the commonly-understood meaning of the term, together with the lack of a common definition for the term "United Kingdom national", creates a difficulty for those who have to draft laws and regulations in the United Kingdom. In order to cover the various classes of British nationals, the following lengthy wording is currently used in drafting:

''A person who is:

''(a) a British citizen, a British Overseas Territories citizen or a British Overseas citizen; or

''(b) a person who under the British Nationality Act 1981 is a British subject; or

(c) a British protected person (within the meaning of that Act).

See also

• British nationality law
• History of British nationality law