The British Nationality Act 1948 (
11 & 12 Geo. 6. c. 56) was an
Act of the
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace ...
on
British nationality law
The primary law governing nationality in the United Kingdom is the British Nationality Act 1981, which came into force on 1 January 1983. Regulations apply to the British Islands, which include the UK itself (England, Wales, Scotland, and Nor ...
which defined British nationality by creating the status of "Citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies" (CUKC) as the sole national citizenship of the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
and all of its
colonies
A colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule, which rules the territory and its indigenous peoples separated from the foreign rulers, the colonizer, and their '' metropole'' (or "mother country"). This separated rule was often or ...
.
The Act, which came into effect on 1 January 1949, was passed in consequence of the 1947
Commonwealth
A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...
conference on nationality and citizenship, which had agreed that each of the Commonwealth member states would legislate for its own citizenship, distinct from the shared status of "Commonwealth citizen" (formerly known as "British subject").
The CUKC consolidated British citizenship by putting Britain's colonial subjects on equal footing with those living in the
British Isles
The British Isles are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner Hebrides, Inner and Outer Hebr ...
, and was likely an attempt to avoid
decolonisation
Decolonization is the undoing of colonialism, the latter being the process whereby Imperialism, imperial nations establish and dominate foreign territories, often overseas. The meanings and applications of the term are disputed. Some scholar ...
. Similar legislation was passed in most of the other Commonwealth countries. The Act was largely the result of a bipartisan ideological commitment to "a definition of citizenship including Britons and colonial subjects under the same nationality" and at a time "before large-scale migration was considered possible".
It formed the basis of the United Kingdom's nationality law until the
British Nationality Act 1981, which came into force in 1983. Most of its provisions have been repealed or otherwise superseded by subsequent legislation, though parts remain in force.
Background to the Act
Broadly speaking, nationals of the United Kingdom, the
Dominion
A dominion was any of several largely self-governance, self-governing countries of the British Empire, once known collectively as the ''British Commonwealth of Nations''. Progressing from colonies, their degrees of self-governing colony, colon ...
s, and the various British colonies had always shared a common citizenship status of "British subject". However, in 1946 the
Canadian parliament
The Parliament of Canada () is the federal legislature of Canada. The Crown, along with two chambers: the Senate and the House of Commons, form the bicameral legislature.
The 343 members of the lower house, the House of Commons, are styled a ...
passed the ''
Canadian Citizenship Act'', which established a separate Canadian citizenship. In response, a Commonwealth conference met in London in 1947, where it was agreed that each of the Commonwealth member states would be free to legislate for its own citizenship, while still retaining elements of a common Commonwealth citizenship.
The resulting legislation passed by the United Kingdom for itself and its colonies was the ''British Nationality Act 1948'', which was introduced by a
Labour government. It marked the first time that married British women gained independent nationality, regardless of the citizenship of their spouses.
Legislation passed in the other Commonwealth countries included
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
's ''Nationality and Citizenship Act 1948'',
New Zealand
New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
's ''
British Nationality and New Zealand Citizenship Act 1948'', and
Southern Rhodesia
Southern Rhodesia was a self-governing British Crown colony in Southern Africa, established in 1923 and consisting of British South Africa Company (BSAC) territories lying south of the Zambezi River. The region was informally known as South ...
's ''Southern Rhodesian Citizenship and British Nationality Act, 1949''.
Provisions of the Act
The Act created the new status of "citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies" (CUKC) for people born or
naturalised in either the United Kingdom or one of its colonies. Provision was also made in certain circumstances for citizenship to be acquired by descent from a CUKC, or by registration.
Despite the fact that the
Channel Islands
The Channel Islands are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They are divided into two Crown Dependencies: the Jersey, Bailiwick of Jersey, which is the largest of the islands; and the Bailiwick of Guernsey, ...
and the
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man ( , also ), or Mann ( ), is a self-governing British Crown Dependency in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland. As head of state, Charles III holds the title Lord of Mann and is represented by a Lieutenant Govern ...
were neither part of the United Kingdom ''proper'' nor were colonies of it, article 33 of the Act provides that when the Act mentions colonies, it must be construed as including references to these Islands. Islanders were allowed, upon personal wish and not as a compulsory denomination, to be presented as "citizens of the United Kingdom, Islands and Colonies". This does not constitute a separate category of citizens but is merely a formal denomination.
[Legislation.gov.uk]
Section 33 of the British Nationality Act 1948
as originally enacted.
Reform of the Act, and subsequent Acts
Between 1962 and 1971, as a result of popular opposition to immigration by
Commonwealth
A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...
citizens from
Asia
Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...
and
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...
, the United Kingdom gradually tightened controls on immigration by British subjects from other parts of the Commonwealth.
The
Immigration Act 1971 introduced the concept of ''patriality'', by which only British subjects with sufficiently strong links to the British Islands (i.e. the United Kingdom, the
Channel Islands
The Channel Islands are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They are divided into two Crown Dependencies: the Jersey, Bailiwick of Jersey, which is the largest of the islands; and the Bailiwick of Guernsey, ...
and the
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man ( , also ), or Mann ( ), is a self-governing British Crown Dependency in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland. As head of state, Charles III holds the title Lord of Mann and is represented by a Lieutenant Govern ...
) had ''
right of abode'', the right to live and work in the United Kingdom and Islands.
Most of the 1948 Act was replaced by the
British Nationality Act 1981 with effect from 1 January 1983. This added a requirement to hold right of abode at the commencement date to retain British citizenship.
The Act today
The only significant provision of the Act to survive today is section 3, which concerns the
extra-territorial jurisdiction of the criminal courts over crimes committed by British subjects overseas. Generally, British criminal law does not apply to things done overseas, but there are some exceptions for acts done abroad by British subjects, such as murder. Section 3 restricted the scope of this jurisdiction to CUKCs (except in respect of crimes that would be against UK law even if committed by aliens). This was necessary so that, for example, a Canadian citizen who committed murder in Canada could not be prosecuted for it in a British court instead of in Canada.
As modified by section 51 of the British Nationality Act 1981, section 3 now restricts this jurisdiction to
British citizens,
British Overseas Territories citizen
A British Overseas Territories citizen (BOTC), formerly called British Dependent Territories citizen (BDTC), is a member of a class of British nationality granted to people connected with one or more of the populated British Overseas Territor ...
s,
British Overseas citizens and
British Nationals (Overseas)
British National (Overseas), abbreviated as BN(O), is a class of British nationality associated with the former colony of Hong Kong. The status was acquired through voluntary registration by individuals with a connection to the territory wh ...
. Note, however, that section 3 is subject to any subsequent legislation to different effect, such as section 72 of the
Sexual Offences Act 2003.
Furthermore, in spite of the fact that most of this Act has been repealed by the British Nationality Act 1981, for people born before 1983 the acquisition of new categories of British nationality created by the 1981 Act is often made dependent on one's nationality status prior to the effective date of the 1981 Act. This therefore means that many of the original provisions of the British Nationality Act 1948 are still relevant today.
See also
*
British nationality law
The primary law governing nationality in the United Kingdom is the British Nationality Act 1981, which came into force on 1 January 1983. Regulations apply to the British Islands, which include the UK itself (England, Wales, Scotland, and Nor ...
*
History of British nationality law
This article concerns the history of British nationality law.
Early English and British nationality law
British nationality law has its origins in England in the Middle Ages, medieval England. There has always been a distinction in English ...
*
Immigration Act
References
{{British nationality law
British nationality law
Immigration law in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 1948