TheBritish Nationality Act 1981(c. 61) is anAct of the Parliament of the United Kingdom concerningBritish nationality since 1 January 1983.
In the mid-1970s the British Government decided to update the nationality code, which had been significantly amended since theBritish Nationality Act 1948 came into force on 1 January 1949. In 1977, aGreen Paper was produced by the Labour government outlining options for reform of the nationality code. This was followed in 1980 by aWhite Paper by the Conservative government that closely followed the Labour proposals.William Whitelaw, the Home Secretary under Prime MinisterMargaret Thatcher, was the chief author. TheBritish Nationality Act 1981 received Royal Assent on 30 October 1981 and came into force on 1 January 1983. Both major parties were in agreement on the new law.[1]
Subsequently, theBritish Nationality Act has been significantly amended, including:
Between 1962 and 1971, as a result of popular opposition to immigration byCommonwealth citizens fromAsia andAfrica, the United Kingdom gradually tightened controls on immigration by British subjects from other parts of the Commonwealth.
TheImmigration Act 1971 introduced the concept ofpatriality, by which only British subjects with sufficiently strong links to the British Islands (i.e. the United Kingdom, theChannel Islands and theIsle of Man) hadright of abode, the right to live and work in the United Kingdom and Islands.
Most of theBritish Nationality Act 1948 was replaced by the 1981 Act with effect from 1 January 1983. This added a requirement to hold right of abode at the commencement date to retain British citizenship.
The Act reclassifiedCitizenship of the United Kingdom and Colonies (CUKC) into three categories:
In 1968, with the passage of theCommonwealth Immigrants Act 1968 to modify the wording of theCommonwealth Immigrants Act 1962, some CUKCs were stripped of theRight of Abode in the United Kingdom. The Act sought to restore once again the link between citizenship and right of abode by providing that British citizenship—held by those with a close connection with either the United Kingdom or with theCrown Dependencies (that is to say, theIsle of Man and theChannel Islands), or both—wouldautomatically carry a right of abode in the UK. The other categories of British nationality would not hold such status based on nationality, although in some cases would do so under the immigration laws.
Whilst in opposition in 1977, theConservative Party askedEdward Gardner to chair a study group to provide advice on changes to the nationality laws. The resultantGreen paper, "Who Do We Think We Are?", was published in 1980 and its threefold definition of nationality formed the basis for the Government's legislation. Originally the paper proposed just two categories of British nationality, British citizenship and British Overseas citizenship. However, the British Dependent Territory governments successfully lobbied for an additional category of nationality, which would cater for those with close connections to any of the British territories.
The Act also modified the application ofjus soli (“right of soil”, that is, place of birth) as defining British nationality. Prior to the Act coming into force, any person born in the United Kingdom or a colony (with limited exceptions such as children ofdiplomats and enemy aliens) was entitled to CUKC status. After the Act came into force, it was necessary for at least one parent of a United Kingdom-born child to be a British citizen, a British Dependent Territories citizenor "settled" in the United Kingdom or a colony (apermanent resident).
Even following the coming into force of the Act, the vast majority of children born in the United Kingdom or colonies still acquire British nationality at birth. Special provisions are made for non-British UK-born children to acquire British citizenship in certain circumstances.
Under section 11(1) of the Act, a CUKC must have had the right of abode under the Immigration Act 1971, as it existed on 31 December 1982, to automatically become a British citizen on 1 January 1983 under the standard CUKC transition at commencement route of the Act.[2][3]
Section 39 of the Act then went on to modify the right of abode section of the 1971 measure, eliminating confusing wording as to whether right of abode could be obtained through a grandparent who was a CUKC from outside the UK.[2][3]
Some people born in the UK after 1983 may have been incorrectly told they were not eligible for aBritish passport, if their mother had been born in a Commonwealth country (e.g. Canada, or Australia) to a British-born grandparent, but later returned to the UK.[citation needed] In this case, the parent would have retainedright of abode from the grandparent, meaning they were already settled at the time of the child's birth (irrespective of whether they themselves were British nationals).
The Act made a variety of other changes to the law:
In some cases, transitional arrangements were made that preserved certain aspects of the old legislation. Most of these expired on 31 December 1987, five years after the Act came into force.
After the Falklands War, full British citizenship was granted to the Falkland Islanders by theBritish Nationality (Falkland Islands) Act 1983. Gibraltarians were also permitted to retain full British citizenship.
Following the Chagos Archipelago handover agreement, the British government is also due to introduce legislation to implement the agreement, including amending the British Nationality Act 1981 to reflect that the British Indian Ocean Territory is no longer an overseas territory following Parliament's ratification of the treaty.[9]
Irish citizens are once again able to register as British Citizens after the enactment of theBritish Nationality (Irish Citizens) Act in July 2025.
Critics argued that one of the main political motivations behind the new law was to deny mostHong Kong-born ethnic Chinese the right of residency in the United Kingdom in the years preceding theSino-British Joint Declaration in 1984, and later thehandover of Hong Kong (then the largest British colony by population) to the People's Republic of China in 1997.
However, CUKCs from Hong Kong had lost their right of abode in the United Kingdomin 1968, unless they were already resident in the United Kingdom before the Commonwealth Immigrants Act. This decision would eventually bereversed in 2021.
Special provisions made in the Act (for those who do not have another nationality and for those who lived a long time in the United Kingdom) means there is little pressure for any change to the current law.[citation needed] Similar legislation was later enacted inAustralia (1986), theRepublic of Ireland (2004) andNew Zealand (2005).
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The full text ofBritish Nationality Act 1981 at Wikisource