British national
| British citizenship and British nationality law |
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Classes of British national status and other status |
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British national, occasionally United Kingdom 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 Nationals (Overseas);
- British Overseas Citizens;
- British Overseas Territories Citizens;
- British Protected Persons; or
- British Subjects (as defined in the British Nationality Act 1981)
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 Union purposes
The term British national for European Union purposes refers to a subset of United Kingdom nationals who are entitled to be regarded as European citizens under the treaties constituting 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.