Parker, R (on the application of) v Secretary of State for the Home Department

Under section 2 of the Jamaica Independence Act 1962, a person born in Jamaica who became a Jamaican citizen on the appointed day ceased to be a Citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies, subject to limited exceptions. The exception for registration as a Citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies did not apply where Jamaica was no longer a colony on the appointed day. A person in that position therefore had no automatic entitlement to British nationality.

The claimant, born in Jamaica in 1958, sought permission to apply for judicial review of the Secretary of State’s decision that she had no automatic right to British nationality. She had acquired Citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies status at birth. Her father had acquired that status in 1948 and later became a British citizen by registration.

Permission was refused on the papers by a Deputy High Court Judge. On renewal, the central issue was whether the claimant or her father retained Citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies status after Jamaica became independent on 6 August 1962, particularly under the exceptions in section 2(3)(c) and section 2(4) of the Jamaica Independence Act 1962.

1. The renewed application for permission to apply for judicial review was refused. The claimant’s challenge had no real prospect of success.
2. Section 2(2) of the Jamaica Independence Act 1962 applied because the claimant and her father were born in Jamaica and became Jamaican citizens on 6 August 1962. They therefore prima facie ceased to be Citizens of the United Kingdom and Colonies on that date.
3. Section 2(4) did not assist the claimant because Jamaica had never been a protectorate or protected state.
4. Although section 2(3)(c) appeared to preserve status for a person registered as a Citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies, that provision was expressly subject to section 2(8). Section 2(8) required the reference to a colony to mean a territory that was a colony on the appointed day.
5. Jamaica was no longer a colony on 6 August 1962, having become an independent Commonwealth country. Section 2(3)(c) was consequently inapplicable, and neither the claimant nor her father retained the relevant status through that exception.
6. The reference to Article 8 did not raise an outstanding human-rights issue requiring determination. The sole issue was automatic entitlement to British nationality, and the claimant was not so entitled.

Permission to appeal was also refused, although the claimant was informed that she could seek permission from a higher court.

• Deputy High Court Judge: Permission to apply for judicial review was refused on the papers on 21 April 2015.
• High Court (Administrative Court): The renewed application was refused. Permission to appeal was refused, with liberty to seek it from a higher court.