British & Commonwealth citizenship
Commonwealth nationality laws
British (history) Australian Barbadian Canadian (history) Indian Malaysian Maltese New Zealand Samoan Singaporean South African Tongan Irish citizens in the UK
Classes of citizens and subjects
British citizen British subject British Overseas Territories citizen British Overseas citizen British National (Overseas) British protected person Commonwealth citizen
Rights and visas
Right of abode Indefinite leave to remain Permanent resident (Australia) Permanent resident (Canada) Belonger status UK Ancestry Entry Clearance
Acts
Ireland Act 1949 British Nationality Act 1981 Falkland Islands (1983) Overseas Territories Act 2002 Canadian Citizenship Act 1946

United Kingdom national (less formally, British national) is a term used differently in various United Kingdom Acts of Parliament. Most commonly, it refers to the following classes of persons:

• British citizens;
• British Overseas Territories citizens;
• British Overseas citizens;
• British Nationals (Overseas);
• British subjects (as defined in the British Nationality Act 1981); or
• British protected persons

In some other Acts, e.g. the Atomic Energy Act 1989, the term "United Kingdom national" does not include British subjects and British protected persons.

Except for British protected persons, all the above are also Commonwealth citizens. British protected persons, like Irish citizens, are in a unique category in that they are neither Commonwealth citizens (British subjects in the pre-1981 definition) nor aliens.

European Community purposes

The term United Kingdom national for European Community purposes refers to a subset of United Kingdom nationals who are entitled to be regarded as European citizens under the treaties constituting the European Community and the European Union. They consist of:

• British citizens;
• British subjects (as defined in the British Nationality Act 1981) with the right of abode in the United Kingdom; and
• British Overseas Territories citizens who acquire their citizenship from a connection with Gibraltar.

See also

• British nationality law

Sources

• Home Office Nationality Instructions