HC Deb 24 January 1940 vol 356 c608W
Mr. David Adams

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he will now accept applications for naturalisation from the inhabitants of Palestine who have upwards of five years' residence in that mandated territory in the same way as he accepts such applications from those inhabitants who have been employed from five years upwards in the High Commission's administration in Jerusalem?

Mr. M. MacDonald

Applicants for the grant of a certificate of naturalisation as a British subject are required by Section 2 of the British Nationality and Status of Aliens Act, 1914, to show that they have either resided in His Majesty's dominions for a period of not less than five years in the manner required by that Section of the Act, or have been in the service of the Crown for not less than five years within the last eight years before the application. Residence in Palestine does not constitute residence in His Majesty's dominions, and such residence cannot, therefore, be counted as a qualification for naturalisation as a British subject.