Right of Abode (United Kingdom)

The right of abode is a status under United Kingdom immigration law that gives an unrestricted right to live in the United Kingdom. It was introduced by the Immigration Act 1971.

In current law, the right of abode is established by the British Nationality Act 1981 and subsequent amendments.

All British citizens have the right of abode in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

The right of abode in the UK is also conferred on a person who, on 31 December 1982:

For this purpose, the UK includes the Republic of Ireland prior to 1 April 1922.

No person born in 1983 or later can have the right of abode unless he or she is a British citizen.

It is essential that the person concerned should have held Commonwealth citizenship or British subject status on 31 December 1982 and has not ceased to be a Commonwealth citizen (even temporarily) after that date. For this reason, citizens of Pakistan and South Africa are generally not entitled to the right of abode in the UK as these countries were not Commonwealth members on 1 January 1983. Citizens of Fiji and Zimbabwe are still considered to be Commonwealth citizens (for nationality purposes) even after the two countries' withdrawal from the Commonwealth because the UK has not amended Schedule 3 to the British Nationality Act 1981.

A woman claiming the right of abode through marriage will cease to qualify if another living wife or widow of the same man:

However, this restriction does not apply to a woman who:

An individual may be able to claim the right of abode in the United Kingdom through more than one route. For example, a woman who was a New Zealand citizen and married to a British citizen on 31 December 1982, and who subsequently moves to the UK with her husband and naturalises as British citizen can claim the right of abode in the UK both through her British citizenship and through her status as a Commonwealth citizen who was married to a British citizen on 31 December 1982. Therefore, if she were to renounce her British citizenship, she would still be allowed to stay in the UK free from any immigration restrictions. However, if she were to renounce her New Zealand citizenship, she would permanently lose her ability to claim a right of abode through her Commonwealth citizenship and marriage to a British citizen on 31 December 1982, and would only be able to claim a right of abode through her British citizenship.

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