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British nationality law is the law of the United Kingdom which concerns citizenship and other categories of British nationality. The law is complex due to the United Kingdom's historical status as an imperial power. ==History== (詳細はEnglish law and Scots law have always distinguished between the Monarch's subjects and aliens, but British nationality law was uncodified until the British Nationality and Status of Aliens Act 1914 codified existing common law and statute, with a few minor changes. Some thought the single Imperial status of British subject as increasingly inadequate to deal with a Commonwealth with independent member states. In 1948, the Commonwealth Heads of Government agreed that each member would adopt a national citizenship, but that the existing status of the British subject would continue as a common status held by all Commonwealth citizens. The British Nationality Act 1948 established the status of ''Citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies'' (CUKC), the national citizenship of the United Kingdom and colonies on 1 January 1949. Until the early 1960s there was little difference, if any, in UK law between the rights of CUKCs and other British subjects, all of whom had the right at any time to enter and live in the UK. Independence Acts, passed when the remaining colonies were granted independence, contained nationality provisions. In general, these provisions withdrew the status of CUKC from anyone who became citizens of the newly independent country, unless one had a connection with the UK or a remaining colony (e.g. through birth in the UK). Exceptions were sometimes made in cases where the colonies did not become independent. (Notable cases include Penang and Malacca, which were made part of the Federation of Malaya; and Hong Kong, which became part of the People's Republic of China: CUKC status was not withdrawn from CUKCs from Penang and Malacca, and a new British nationality status was created for Hong Kong.) Between 1962 and 1971, as a result of fears about increasing immigration by Commonwealth citizens from Asia and Africa, the UK 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 UK, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man) had ''right of abode'', the right to live and work in the Islands. The principal British nationality law is the British Nationality Act 1981, which established the current system of multiple categories of British nationality, viz. ''British citizens'', ''British Overseas Territories citizens'', ''British Overseas citizens'', ''British Nationals (Overseas)'', ''British subjects'' and ''British protected persons''. Only British citizens and certain Commonwealth citizens have the automatic right of abode in the UK. The 1981 Act ceased to recognise Commonwealth citizens as British subjects. There remain only two categories of people who are still British subjects: those (formerly known as British subjects without citizenship) who acquired British nationality through a connection with former British India, and those connected with the Republic of Ireland before 1949 who have made a declaration to retain British nationality. British subjects connected with former British India lose British nationality if they acquire any other. In spite of the fact that the 1981 act repealed most of the provisions of 1948 act and the nationality clauses in subsequent independence acts, the acquisition of new categories of British nationality created by the 1981 act was often dependent on nationality status prior to 1 January 1983, the date the 1981 act came into effect, so many of the provisions of the 1948 act and subsequent independence acts are still relevant. Not taking this into account might lead one to the erroneous conclusion, for example, that the 1981 act's repeal of the nationality clauses in the Kenya Independence Act of 1963 restored British nationality to those who lost their CUKC status as a result of Kenya's independence in 1963. This is one of the reasons for the complexity of British nationality law; in complicated cases, determining British nationality status requires an examination of several nationality acts in their original form. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「British nationality law」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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