The British Government has offered British citizenship, together with the right of abode, to people in the Overseas Territories who qualify. Citizenship will be non-reciprocal; residents of the UK will not have the right of abode in the Overseas Territories, as the size of the Territories and their populations would not allow the influx of possibly large numbers of outsiders.

Those in the Overseas Territories who do not want full British citizenship can remain British Dependent Territories Citizens. People who do take advantage of the new status will gain the right to travel freely throughout the European Union (EU) and, if they go to Britain to study, will be entitled to support themselves by working during that time.

The bill is likely to become law next year as the British Government needs time to work out the final details including how to go about issuing passports.

Who will get British citizenship automatically?

British Dependent Territory Citizens, including Bermudians to be renamed BOTCs at the time the new citizenship provisions come into force. Afterwards they will be able to transmit their British citizenship to their children automatically, in the same way as they can transmit BDTC at present (subject to certain limitations if they are born overseas). If you are not sure whether you or your relatives are BDTCs please contact those in your Territory who handle enquiries about BDTC status.

Will I have to apply?

No, not if you are a British Dependent Territories citizen already. The only people who will need to apply are those who acquire BDTC - to be renamed British Overseas Territories citizenship - by naturalisation or registration after the citizenship provisions come into force.

I am not yet a BDTC but hope to become one next year. What happens if the legislation goes through before I get my BDTC status? Can I still become a British Citizen?

A person who is naturalised or registered as a BOTC after the citizenship provisions come into force will be able to apply, via the Governor to the Home Secretary for registration as a British citizen. Grant of British citizenship to such a person will be discretionary.

Will BDTC status be abolished once British citizenship becomes available?

No. British Dependent Territories citizenship is being renamed British overseas territories citizenship, but the two statuses will be same.

Will I lose my British Dependent Territories Citizenship?

No. It will be possible for people in the territories to hold British overseas territories citizenship and British citizenship concurrently. For those who do not wish to give effect to their British citizenship, they can allow it to lie dormant. If at a later stage they wish to show that they have British citizenship (for instance by obtaining a British Citizen passport), they will be able to do so. It is anticipated that the majority of people will hold one passport, indicating both citizenships.

How will BOTCs go about getting a British citizen passport?

Information about passport application and issuing procedures will be published at a later date. The details have yet to be finalised.

Will my children get British citizenship?

Yes - if they are BDTCs now. And future children born to British citizen parents will automatically be British citizens if they are born in an Overseas Territory or the UK. If they are born outside the OTs or the UK, they will be British citizens if they have a parent who is a British citizen otherwise than by descent. There are also provisions whereby non-British citizen children can acquire the status by registration.

Is an illegitimate child entitled to British Citizenship?

If the child is a BOTC when the citizenship provisions come into force, he or she will then automatically acquire British citizenship. However, the status of illegitimate children born after the citizenship provisions have come into force will depend on the status of the mother - as it does at present with BDTC.

If she is not a British citizen she will not be able to transmit the status to a child born outside the OTs or the UK. (But if she is settled in the OTs or the UK, any child born to her there (legitimate or not) will be a British citizen otherwise than by descent). If the father of an illegitimate child is a British citizen, and there is evidence of paternity - for example, the father's name appears on the child's birth certificate - it may be possible to register the child as a British citizen.

Does a child adopted in a territory get British citizenship?

If the child is a BOTC when the citizenship provisions come into force, he or she will then automatically acquire British citizenship. A child adopted afterwards, who is not already a British citizen, will automatically acquire British citizenship at the time of the adoption if at least one of the adopters is a British citizen, and the adoption order is made by a court in the UK or in any Overseas Territory other than the Sovereign Base Areas.

I have married again and my second husband is a BDTC. My children from my first marriage do not have BDTC status because neither their father nor myself are BDTCs. Can my children become BCs?

Not automatically, unless they are legally adopted by their stepfather. If they acquire BDTC status by adoption before the citizenship provisions come into force, they will acquire British citizenship automatically, like most other BDTCs. If, however, British Overseas Territories citizenship is acquired after the citizenship provisions come into force, an application would need to be made for the children to be registered as British citizens.

I am a BDTC living in a different Overseas Territory or another country from where I was born. Will I be entitled to British citizenship?

Yes. Provided your BDTC status does not derive solely from a connection with the SBAs, the new law will apply to you wherever you are living.

What about others, i.e. non-British Dependent Territory citizens (BDTCs) resident in the Overseas Territories?

They will first have to acquire British overseas territories citizenship. If they wish to acquire British citizenship they will then need to apply via the Governor or High Commissioner to the Home Office for registration.

I am a British Overseas Citizen (BOC) who lives in an Overseas Territory. Am I entitled to British Citizenship under this new Bill?

No. The new provisions do not apply to any other types of British national.

Why are BOCs excluded?

British Overseas citizenship (BOC) is held by people who do not have sufficient connections with any of the present Overseas Territories or Britain itself to enable them to qualify for BDTC or BC. Many of them have access to or have acquired another citizenship.

I am a British Dependent Territory Citizen (BDTC) but I am also a citizen of another country; can I change my BDTC status to British citizenship (BC) and still keep my other citizenship?

The UK does not object to dual nationality. If the country of your other nationality has no objections to your being a BDTC as well, the acquisition of British citizenship should make no difference to your position with the authorities of the other country. However, in order to clarify your own position you might wish to check that the other country whose citizenship you hold has no restrictions on dual nationality.

I am a BDTC who has acquired another nationality e.g. US. Am I still entitled to British citizenship automatically?

Yes. It makes no difference that you have another nationality in addition to British Dependent Territories Citizenship.

I was born in a qualifying Overseas Territory. However, I went away to get work in another country (e.g. Jamaica) and there I acquired their nationality. I want to return (or have returned) to my original OT (of birth). Am I entitled to BC status?

Yes, if you are a BDTC. Your eligibility for British citizenship does not depend on where you are living at the time the new law comes into force, nor on where you may have lived previously.

If I do not want to take up my British citizenship, do I have to renounce it?

No, not unless you want to. You can allow it to lie dormant. If you change your mind and want to give effect to your British citizenship, you can apply for a British citizen passport at any time.

What happens if I formally renounce British citizenship? Can I get it back again?

Not automatically. To renounce it you have to apply, via the Governor, to the Home Secretary. You will have to apply again if you want it restored. (Please see separate attachment for Gibraltar)

What are the implications of British citizenship for my territory?

RECIPROCITY

Does the new Act mean that people in Britain will now be able to go and live in my Overseas Territory?

No. The offer of British citizenship is non-reciprocal as far as immigration rights are concerned. We have reached this decision following close consultation with the Overseas Territories Governments.

HUMAN RIGHTS

Is the British citizenship offer dependent on the Overseas Territories carrying out human rights changes?

There is no linkage with British citizenship. The offer of British citizenship was made to individuals not to territories. However, Britain places considerable importance on the observance of international standards of human rights. British citizens wherever they live (UK or OTs) are entitled to enjoy the same standards of human rights.

If I take up the offer of British citizenship will this affect my status in an OT?

No. Your status should remain unaffected. Questions on permanent residence and `Belongership' are for the governments of the OTs. British nationality is a matter of UK law.

INDEPENDENCE

What would happen if one of the Territories became independent?

The nationality consequences of independence would be dealt with in a separate Act of Parliament.

In the past, the usual practice was to withdraw British nationality from the majority of those acquiring citizenship of the new State on independence day, but to provide for its retention where the person concerned had a residual connection - for example, through a parent or grandparent - with the UK or a place that continued to be what nowadays would be referred to as a British overseas territory.

But it would be inappropriate to speculate on how such matters might be handled in the future, and the British Overseas Territories Bill does not give voice to any assumptions in that respect.