HC Deb 09 December 1980 vol 995 c298W
Mr. Skeet

asked the Secretary of State for Energy (1) what are the rights which accompany the status of citizenship of the British dependent territories as outlined in Cmnd. 7987;

(2) what are the rights which accompany the status of British overseas citizenship as outlined in Cmnd. 7987.

Mr. Raison

I have been asked to reply.

The forthcoming Bill will not deal with civic rights, which will continue to depend on the laws of the country or territory concerned. All such citizens will be entitled to protection overseas in the same way as any other British national, and will be eligible to hold passports describing their citizenship.

Mr. Skeet

asked the Secretary of State for Energy how many people are likely to be affected in each of the three categories of citizenship outlined in Cmnd. 7987 (a) British citizenship, (b) citizenship of the British dependent territories and (c) British overseas citizenship; and which are the countries particularly affected in the second and third categories.

Mr. Raison

I have been asked to reply.

Precise figures are not available. It is thought that about 57 million will become British citizens. About 3 million will become citizens of the British dependent territories by virtue of connections with the dependencies mentioned in appendix C to Cmnd. 7987. About 1.5 million people are likely to become British overseas citizens. A high proportion of them live in India, Malaysia and East Africa.