HC Deb 15 December 1999 vol 341 cc210-1W
Mr. Jim Murphy

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the entitlement of residents of St. Kitts to British citizenship. [102300]

Mrs. Roche

St. Kitts and Nevis is no longer a British dependent territory. A St Kitts and Nevis child may in certain circumstances have an entitlement to registration as a British citizen, but in most instances a number of years' residence in the United Kingdom is required on the part of the child and/or its parents. Adults may obtain British citizenship only by naturalisation, which is a discretionary matter rather than an entitlement, generally following some years' residence in the United Kingdom.