Dominions To Have Separate Citizenship

Chronicle (Levin), 20 February 1948, Page 2

Dominions To Have Separate Citizenship

Received Thursday, 7 p.m. LONDON, Feb. 18.' Provision for each Dominion to have separate citizenship is made in the I British Nationality Bill, which was introduced in Parliament today. The Bill is a sequel to a conference of the Commonwealth self-governing couutries in London last year, following the pasaing of .the Canadian Citizenship Act. Under its terms, and when sihiilar legialation has) been adopted by the Dominions (Canada adopted the Canadian Citizenship '.Act in 1946), people living in the United Kiugdom and the colonies will be United Eingdom and colonial eitizens; New Zealanders will be New Zealand eitizens, Australians will be Australian eitizens, and so on. At^ the same time they will also be British subjeets. This will, for instauce, entitle a New Zealander living in Britain or in any other , Dominionto become a United Kingdom and

colonial eitizen or a citizen of another Dominion by formal procedure. Whether he will still Teraain a Kew Zealand eitizen also will depend upon the New Zealand legislation. Similurly, a United Kingdom and. colonial citizen living in New Zealand is expeeted to be able to apply for New Zealand citizenship. The Bill is regarded as a further indication of Commonwealth-development 'and the reeognition of - the right of every- Dominion to s'ettle for itself who its eitizens shall be. Another pfovision under the Bill is that British women ..already married to aliens may revert to j their previous status as British subi jects, and in future British women I marrying aliens will retain their British nationality. At tlie- Commonwealth conference last year . the Dominions emphasised that they wislied to keep the concept of the genefal fellowship of'tlie CommonwTea}th. . At the samC time many of them desired to have the status of their own people clearly recognised. . As i'ar as foreign countries are concerned it vri.ll lead to. the reeognition of New Zealanders, for, instance, as eitizens of a separate, selfgoverning cohimu'nity, It is also implied that New Zealanders who rehew their ^passports in London,. for .example, will not as hitherto receive British passpqrts, but New Zealand. , . ; 1 4