Kenyan British Overseas Citizens petition Blair
The Nation/All Africa Global Media | 22.05.2002 09:28
Immigrants Protest At New UK Law
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Story Filed: Monday, May 20, 2002 6:30 PM EST
May 21, 2002 (The Nation/All Africa Global Media via COMTEX) -- A petition containing 3,000 signatures is to be presented to Prime Minister Tony Blair this week, on the issue of British Overseas Citizens living in Kenya.
In March this year, the British government withdrew the voucher system for Kenyans of Asian descent which stopped their right to live and work in the UK and made their children stateless.
The decision was implemented without publicity but now threatens to become a political hot potato for the British government.
BOCs is the term given by the British in 1981 to those citizens of Asian descent who had originally come to Kenya to help work on the railway at the end of the 19th century and stayed on.
In 1948, when Kenya was a British colony, they were given a choice of whether or not to register as British and a majority of them did.
When Kenya gained independence in 1963 many were again offered a further choice of becoming Kenyan citizens or remain British.
Many again decided to keep their British citizenship. But in 1981 their status was changed under new UK nationality laws, which created seven categories of British nationality. It meant people in East Africa became British Overseas Citizens.
The key difference in the new law was that the BOCs could not pass on their nationality to their children. Kenya also refused to grant them nationality, ruling that their parents had to be Kenyan, which resulted in them becoming stateless.
But there was a loophole.
A voucher system allowed the BOCs to settle in the UK and any of their children born there became British citizens.
Earlier this year the British government abolished the voucher system.
Yesterday organisers of the petition were due to meet lawyers before meeting the committee of MPs who deal with nationality. They are hopeful that by this evening they will know whether they have parliamentary support to take the matter further with the British government.
There are now estimated to be 3,000 BOCs in Kenya affected by the withdrawal of the voucher system.
The Home Office in the UK says that the voucher scheme was established in response to political pressures of its time and was no longer relevant.
The number of special vouchers issued has declined significantly since the early 1990s.
"None of the present day applicants is under pressure to leave the countries in which they are residing," the Home Office said.
by Paul Redfern
Copyright The Nation. Distributed by All Africa Global Media(AllAfrica.com)
KEYWORD: PanAfrica
Copyright © 2002, AllAfrica.com, all rights reserved.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Story Filed: Monday, May 20, 2002 6:30 PM EST
May 21, 2002 (The Nation/All Africa Global Media via COMTEX) -- A petition containing 3,000 signatures is to be presented to Prime Minister Tony Blair this week, on the issue of British Overseas Citizens living in Kenya.
In March this year, the British government withdrew the voucher system for Kenyans of Asian descent which stopped their right to live and work in the UK and made their children stateless.
The decision was implemented without publicity but now threatens to become a political hot potato for the British government.
BOCs is the term given by the British in 1981 to those citizens of Asian descent who had originally come to Kenya to help work on the railway at the end of the 19th century and stayed on.
In 1948, when Kenya was a British colony, they were given a choice of whether or not to register as British and a majority of them did.
When Kenya gained independence in 1963 many were again offered a further choice of becoming Kenyan citizens or remain British.
Many again decided to keep their British citizenship. But in 1981 their status was changed under new UK nationality laws, which created seven categories of British nationality. It meant people in East Africa became British Overseas Citizens.
The key difference in the new law was that the BOCs could not pass on their nationality to their children. Kenya also refused to grant them nationality, ruling that their parents had to be Kenyan, which resulted in them becoming stateless.
But there was a loophole.
A voucher system allowed the BOCs to settle in the UK and any of their children born there became British citizens.
Earlier this year the British government abolished the voucher system.
Yesterday organisers of the petition were due to meet lawyers before meeting the committee of MPs who deal with nationality. They are hopeful that by this evening they will know whether they have parliamentary support to take the matter further with the British government.
There are now estimated to be 3,000 BOCs in Kenya affected by the withdrawal of the voucher system.
The Home Office in the UK says that the voucher scheme was established in response to political pressures of its time and was no longer relevant.
The number of special vouchers issued has declined significantly since the early 1990s.
"None of the present day applicants is under pressure to leave the countries in which they are residing," the Home Office said.
by Paul Redfern
Copyright The Nation. Distributed by All Africa Global Media(AllAfrica.com)
KEYWORD: PanAfrica
Copyright © 2002, AllAfrica.com, all rights reserved.
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