INDEPENDENCE 4. What would happen if one of the Territories became independent?
The nationality consequences of independence would be dealt with in a separate Act of Parliament. In the past, the usual practice was to withdraw British nationality from the majority of those acquiring citizenship of the new State on independence day, but to provide for its retention where the person concerned had a residual connection – for example, through a parent or grandparent – with the UK or a place that continued to be what nowadays would be referred to as a British overseas territory. But it would be inappropriate to speculate on how such matters might be handled in the future, and the British Overseas Territories Act does not give voice to any assumptions in that respect.
