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In general, a Commonwealth citizen is a person who has that status under British nationality law and may enjoy some privileges in the United Kingdom and less commonly, other Commonwealth countries. Each country can determine what special rights, if any, are accorded to non-nationals who are Commonwealth citizens. The term is largely confined to British nationality law and is not used in many other Commonwealth countries such as Australia and Canada. In British nationality law, a Commonwealth citizen is a person who is either a British citizen, British Overseas Territories citizen, British Overseas citizen, British subject, British National (Overseas) or a national of a country listed in Schedule 3 of the British Nationality Act 1981 (see below). Under the law, British protected persons are not Commonwealth citizens. The list of countries in Schedule 3 at any time may not accurately reflect the countries actually within the Commonwealth at that time. For example, when Fiji left the Commonwealth in 1987 and 1990, its name was not removed from Schedule 3. This may have happened because the British Government at the time wished to avoid the consequences of Fijian citizens in the United Kingdom suddenly losing the benefits of Commonwealth citizenship. In the United Kingdom, Commonwealth citizens (together with Irish citizens and British protected persons) are in law considered not to be "foreign" or "aliens", although British protected persons do not have all the civic rights that are enjoyed by Commonwealth and Irish citizens. This reasoning has not carried over to other Commonwealth countries - for example, in the High Court case of Sue v Hill, other Commonwealth countries were held to be foreign powers, while in Nolan v Minister for Immigration and Ethnic Affairs, the nationals of other Commonwealth realms were held to be 'aliens'. In the United Kingdom, Commonwealth and Irish citizens enjoy the same civic rights as British citizens, namely: * the right to vote in all elections (i.e., parliamentary, local and European elections) as long as they have registered to vote (they must possess valid leave to enter/remain or not require such leave on the date of their electoral registration application.〔Representation of the People Act 1983, Section 4(6)〕) * the right, unless otherwise disqualified, to stand for election to the British House of Commons as long as they possess indefinite leave to remain or do not require leave under the Immigration Act 1971 to enter or remain in the UK.〔Electoral Administration Act 2006, Section 18〕 * the right, if a qualifying peer or bishop, to sit in the House of Lords. * eligibility to hold public office (e.g., as a judge, magistrate, minister, police constable, member of the armed forces, etc.). The disabilities of Commonwealth citizens who are not British citizens are few but, in the case of immigration control, very important. Commonwealth citizens (including British nationals who are not British citizens) who do not have the right of abode are subject to immigration control, including control on the right to work and carry out business. In addition, Commonwealth citizens who are not British citizens may not be engaged in certain sensitive occupations, e.g., in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, in the intelligence services, and some positions within the armed forces. Nevertheless, under the United Kingdom's immigration arrangements Commonwealth citizens enjoy certain advantages: * Commonwealth citizens born before 1 January 1983 may by virtue of having a parent born in the United Kingdom and Islands have the right of abode therein – such persons are exempt from all immigration control. * Commonwealth citizens with a grandparent born in the United Kingdom and Islands may be admitted for up to five years on this basis, and thereafter be granted indefinite leave to remain. * Commonwealth citizens between the ages of 18 and 30 were eligible to be admitted for a "working holiday" for up to two years. This has since been replaced with the more restrictive Youth Mobility Scheme〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=UK Border Agency | Youth mobility scheme )〕 (now open only to youth of Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, and Monaco). * Commonwealth citizens, unlike other non-European Economic Area nationals, may not be required to register with the police while living in the United Kingdom. ==Applicable countries under UK nationality law== Countries whose citizens are Commonwealth citizens under Schedule 3 of the British Nationality Act 1981,〔(Schedule 3 : Countries whose citizens are Commonwealth citizens ), (British Nationality Act 1981 (c. 61) ), (legislation.gov.uk ).〕 although the list may not reflect the actual current membership in the Commonwealth, are as follows: Although does not appear in Schedule 3 of the Act, for electoral purposes, its citizens are considered to be Commonwealth citizens.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Who can register to vote? )〕 Also, for electoral purposes, the whole of Cyprus is considered to be a Commonwealth country; hence, anyone who holds a Cypriot passport or a Northern Cypriot passport is considered to be a Commonwealth citizen (but not a person who is solely a Turkish citizen without any form of Cypriot nationality). BN(O) passports are British nationals and Commonwealth citizens, but not British citizens. This has no bearing on the residency of a person though many persons in Hong Kong have this status. The status of BN(O) does not grant right of abode anywhere, not even within the United Kingdom.〔(), Written Answers, House of Lords (4 November 2008)〕 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「Commonwealth citizen」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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