Bahamas Independence Act 1973

3 Retention of citizenship of United Kingdom and Colonies by certain persons connected with the Bahamas. U.K.

(1) Subject to subsection (5) of this section, a person shall not cease to be a citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies under section 2 of this Act if he, his father or his father’s father—

(a) was born in the United Kingdom or in a colony F1 . . .; or

(b) is or was a person naturalised in the United Kingdom and Colonies; or

(c) was registered as a citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies; or

(d) became a British subject by reason of the annexation of any territory included in a colony.

(2) A person shall not cease to be a citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies under the said section 2 if either—

(a) he was born in a protectorate or protected state; or

(b) his father or his father’s father was so born and is or at any time was a British subject.

(3) A woman who immediately before the appointed day is the wife of a citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies—

(a) shall not cease to be such a citizen under the said section 2 unless her husband either does so at the same time or has already done so; and

(b) if she would, apart from paragraph (a) of this subsection, have ceased to be such a citizen under that section at any time and her husband subsequently ceases to be such a citizen under that section, she shall cease to be such a citizen when her husband does so.

(4) Subject to subsection (5) of this section, the reference in subsection (1)(b) of this section to a person naturalised in the United Kingdom and Colonies shall include a reference to a person who would, if living immediately before the commencement of the M1 British Nationality Act 1948, have become a person naturalised in the United Kingdom and Colonies by virtue of section 32(6) of that Act.

(5) In this section—

(a) references to a colony shall be construed as not including references to any territory which, on the appointed day, is not a colony for the purposes of the M2 British Nationality Act 1948 as that Act has effect on that day, and accordingly do not include references to the Bahamas, and

(b) references to a protectorate or protected state shall be construed as not including references to any territory which, on the appointed day, is not a protectorate or a protected state (as the case may be) for the purposes of that Act as it has effect on that day;

and subsection (1) of this section shall not apply to a person by virtue of any certificate of naturalisation granted or registration effected by the Governor or Government of a territory which by virtue of this subsection is excluded from references in this section to a colony, protectorate or protected state.

Textual Amendments

F1 Words in s. 3(1)(a) repealed (8.11.1995) by 1995 c. 44, s. 1(1), Sch. 1 Pt. II Gp. 1

Marginal Citations

M1 1948 c. 56.

M2 1948 c. 56.