Who is a British subject?
This page explains what a British subject is and what that status means. In some circumstances, British subjects are able to register as British citizens. The rules about British subject status changed in 1949 and again in 1983, so those dates are important when deciding if someone is a British subject. Until 1949, nearly everyone with a close connection to the United Kingdom was called a British subject. And all citizens of Commonwealth countries were British subjects until January 1983. Since that date, very few categories of people have qualified as British subjects. You became a British subject on 1 January 1983 if, up to that date, you were: • a British subject without citizenship, which means you were a British subject on 31 December 1948 who did not become a citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies, a citizen of a Commonwealth country, a citizen of Pakistan, or a citizen of the Republic of Ireland; • a person who had been a citizen of Eire and a British subject on 31 December
