Caroline Sawyer, Helena Wray 5. Conclusion Although the territorial borders of the UK appear stable, in citizenship terms they are only now being consolidated. After a long historical period of gathering in people from all over the world from whom the British monarch claimed allegiance, citizenship law in the UK has developed since the mid-twentieth century largely to exclude those based abroad and to limit those who may come to or remain in the UK itself. Citizenship law has always been a tool of immigration policy and it is being used to define a nationality to which people may belong when previously belonging was a matter of geography and practice. At the beginning of the twentieth century, Britain had no clear or real boundaries – ius soli operated throughout the Empire, so that many people were British subjects who would never expect to go to the UK at all, and the borders were in practice open to immigrants. This meant in practice that anyone could come to the UK and be British in a single generation. Yet by the end of the century, legislation was already well developed that would confine both territory and population to the UK.69 The partial loss of ius soli in 1983 was a fundamental cultural change, the implications of which are only now working through. The provisions for being born British and becoming British might now look more like the situation in other European countries, but reaching that result has entailed a radical transformation. The abandonment of parts of the old Empire has often been painful and controversial. It was accomplished largely through redefining many British nationals as non-citizens and potential immigrants. Legislation towards this began in the 1960s when the concept of ‘patriality’ was first developed, before being consolidated in the Immigration Act 1971: British subjects who were not born in the UK, and did not have a parent or grandparent who was born there, were made subject to immigration control should they try to enter the UK. A variety of forms of British nationality was set up under the British Nationality Act 1981, of which only one, British citizenship, carries the automatic right of abode in the UK. The other British national categories are gradually being reduced, either because those in the categories cannot pass the nationality on, so they die out, or because some of the categories are transferred to British citizenship. The effective closing of the borders to non-European immigrants has likewise largely been accomplished legally if not actually. There is a significant section of the UK=resident population that has a dubious immigration status or no such status at all. As the culture changes from one of belonging by residence and participation to one of belonging by entitlement and descent, those present in the country, as well as those wishing to enter, have to be checked for legal compliance and this is becoming a more extensive feature of British life. Given the ambiguity that characterises British nationality law, some people who lack status do not realise it; sometimes queries are raised only on an application to renew a British passport, when it is said that it should not have been issued. Unlawful residents (first defined in 2002) are being separated out, and much political effort, public expense and media attention is devoted to their physical expulsion, although this often proves a problematic process for legal or practical reasons. Debate around the expulsion of irregular or even regular migrants who have been convicted of offences has become a primary conduit for the expression of hostility to the Human Rights Act. After many years of adding complexity, the previous Labour government’s last task before leaving office was a project of legal reform that aimed to ‘simplify’ both citizenship and immigration law, making them clearer and easier to operate while making naturalisation more difficult. Little was achieved however despite some popular resonance. 69 It is true that some overseas populations are now British citizens (Gibraltarians and Falkland Islanders), but this assists in the project of reducing the scope of non-citizen nationals and, more importantly, retains and strengthens valuable land claims for the UK. 28 RSCAS/EUDO-CIT-CR 2014/1 - © 2014 Authors