§ Question proposed, That the clause stand part of the Bill.
§ 11.40 p.m.
§ The Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Mr. Anthony Kershaw)Perhaps I should say one or two words about the Bill, which I hope will not be very controversial. Clause 2 makes provisions regarding nationality matters consequent upon independence. Subsection (1) adds the Bahamas to the Commonwealth countries listed in Section 1 of the British Commonwealth Act 1948. The effect of that is that any Bahamian citizen will also be a British subject or a Commonwealth citizen in our law.
Subsection (2) provides that citizenship of the United Kingdom and Colonies 391 shall be withdrawn when a person becomes a citizen of the Bahamas on the appointed day, except, of course, those who are covered by the provisions of Clause 3. Subsection (3) withdraws citizenship of the United Kingdom and Colonies from those registered or nationalised who have some other citizenship or nationality. It is hard to say how many people will be involved but the best estimate we can make is an involvement of 600 to 900. I suppose that most of them would be citizens of other Caribbean countries or of the USA. It is to be supposed that such people have not closer links with the United Kingdom than they have with their other country. That is in accordance with our policy of not automatically taking as our citizens those who have no obvious connection with this country.
Subsections (4) and (5) of Clause 2 exclude from our citizenship those who after the appointed day decide to become Bahamian either by naturalisation or by registration. Subsection (6) withdraws from a married woman the wife of a citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies the right to have citizenship by registration which she could have up to now by virtue of her marriage to a person who will lose citizenship on the appointed day. That provision applies also to widows of those who would have lost their United Kingdom citizenship if they had been alive on the appointed day.
Subsection (7) extends the interpretation of persons who are citizens of the United Kingdom and Colonies by naturalisation to include persons who were at one time given local naturalisation in the Bahamas before the passing of the British Nationality Act 1948.
§ Mr. Goronwy Roberts (Caernarvon)I thank the Minister for explaining the clause, which is probably the most important clause in the Bill. May I confirm through the hon. Gentleman that, as presaged in the White Paper, the Bahamian are in complete accord with the British Government's view on the contents of the clause?
§ Mr. KershawYes, indeed.
§ Question put and agreed to.
§ Clause 2 ordered to stand part of the Bill.