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Volume 8 1945~1948

Doc No.
Date
Subject

No. 271 NAI DFA 408/68

Department of External Affairs Memorandum for the Government on Nationality and Citizenship

Dublin, 16 January 1947

  1. The British have always regarded natural born Irish citizens as British subjects under the British Nationality and Status of Aliens Act, 1914. We have always protested against this claim and have insisted that Irish citizens were never British subjects. Legislative expression was given to our view in Section 33 of the Citizenship Act of 1935 which reads as follows:
    • (1) The British Nationality and Statue of Aliens Act, 1914, and the British Nationality and Status of Aliens Act, 1918, if and so far as they respectively are or ever were in force in Saorstát Éireann, are hereby repealed.
    • (2) The common law relating to British nationality, if and so far as it is or ever was, either wholly or in part, in force in Saorstát Éireann, shall cease to have effect.
    • (3) The facts or events by reason of which a person is at any time a natural-born citizen of Saorstát Éireann shall not of themselves operate to confer on such person any other citizenship or nationality.
  2. The British are now prepared to make legal provision under which natural born Irish citizens will cease to be regarded as British subjects. This is one of the matters to be discussed at a Commonwealth Nationality Conference to be held in London next month. Other matters on the agenda are the nationality of married women and the reciprocal grant of citizenship rights.
  3. The question of our attendance at the Conference has been the subject of informal discussions with the British Representative. It was explained to the Representative that our position is different to that of Britain and the other Commonwealth countries and that, unless the question of a separate arrangement for us were agreed to beforehand, our position at the Conference would be anomalous. Following further discussions, the British have accepted that point of view and have put forward the 'Five Principles' set out in the Annex,1 to which they would be prepared to give effect in their new Act and which would form the basis of our attendance at the Conference.
  4. Point (a) of these principles gives effect to our general view as regards the imposition of British status on our citizens by British law.
  5. Point (c) follows the general principles of our Act of 1935, i.e. our citizens in Britain would not, without naturalisation, have the legal position of British citizens but, generally speaking, they would have the same rights and privileges, subject to reciprocity, and would not be under the disabilities of aliens.
  6. Point (d) means that Irish citizens in Britain who wish to become naturalised there will not be obliged by British law to divest themselves of Irish nationality.
  7. The British apparently contemplate that citizens of other Commonwealth countries may become naturalised in Britain after two years' residence instead of the normal period of five years for aliens. Point (e) puts Irish citizens in the same position as citizens of Commonwealth countries from this point of view.
  8. With regard to point (b), the British Authorities stated at an early stage that a sine qua non of the amendment of their law to give effect to point (a) would be a provision for the retention of British nationality by existing British subjects who wish to retain that status. In our case such a provision would give rise to difficulties which the Minister for External Affairs has already discussed with the Government. The Minister will put his further views on the point before the Government at its next meeting.
  9. The Minister invites the attention of the Government to the attached draft of an aide mémoire which he proposes to hand to the British Representative.2

1 For these 'Five Principles' see paragraph three of No. 265 above.

2 See below No. 275.

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