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by pltm
(PLTM) - Twenty-one persons are now British citizens after having been previously naturalised as British Overseas Territories citizens.
The new citizens accepted their certificates, and recited the Oath of Allegiance to Her Majesty the Queen and the Pledge of Loyalty to the United Kingdom (UK) at a ceremony held at Government House on June 12.
His Excellency the Governor Augustus J.U. Jaspert, presided over the ceremony, his second for the year. Eleven persons were previously registered at a similar ceremony in March.
Governor Jaspert congratulated the new citizens on their journey and acknowledged their commitment in taking this decisive step to make the Virgin Islands their home.
The Governor congratulated the newest citizens for persevering and highlighted the importance of the new found freedoms and responsibilities of being British.
“As an overseas Territory and part of the realm of Her Majesty, the Virgin Islands has special links with Great Britain. Our economic success in the global economy is founded upon the fact that we share a common legal system, but our connections go much further than that, through our history, our people and our culture,” he said.
Governor Jaspert added, “Today you have reaffirmed your desire to achieve that collective ambition. I congratulate you all on having preserved with the process and for having demonstrated your allegiance to the United Kingdom, as well as to your home in the Virgin Islands.”
The ceremony was chaired by the Registrar General, Mrs. Stephanie Benn who congratulated and welcomed the newest British citizens on their achievement. She encouraged the recipients to treat their certificates with special care and highlighted the registration process.
British citizens have the right to live and work in the United Kingdom or any other European Union country. They may also travel to the United States under the visa-waiver programmme for UK citizens.
British citizenship was extended to all British Overseas Territories (BOT) citizens as a result of the British Overseas Territories Act of 2002. Persons naturalised as BOT citizens following the enactment of the Act on May 21, 2002, do not automatically become British citizens but are eligible to register as British citizens.
The extension of British citizenship to British Overseas Territories citizens was part of the UK Government’s 1999 White Paper entitled Partnership for Progress and Prosperity, which outlined the UK’s policy in respect of the overseas territories.
The twenty-one persons registered as British citizens on Tuesday, June 12 are:
Henrietta Vanessa Pearl Alexander Matil George Brumant Colen Caldric Corea Marsha Audrey Camelia Corea Hector Arturo Cruz David Joy Suzanne Cheltenham- Greenaway K'Nesha Abeo Greenaway Maria Altagracia Williams Hatchett RJ Jamal Jackson Elizabeth Catherine Jeremiah Texford Olrick John Christopher Kissoon Vishawn Sabiki Moore Michele Donna Richmond- Phillips Kadijah Rashida Roberts Shamone Dian Roberts Nadeia Patricia Smith Cheryl Anne Patrick Turnbull Yokasta Altagracia Wells Yolanda Maria Manon de Williams Roseline Xavier
