Bermudians without family ties to the UK are unlikely to retain British passports granted in 2002 if the Island goes independent, according to a letter from Governor Sir John Vereker to the Bermuda Independence Commission.

And the BIC will have an informal meeting with members of the United Nations decolonisation committee today in New York.

Further details of nationality and citizenship would be a matter for negotiation if Bermuda goes Independent, Sir John wrote in a letter sent to BIC chairman Bishop Vernon Lambe this week.

However the Governor added that he had no reason to think those details would be different from the arrangements made for any other former British Territory.

He said:?The main elements of these were that British nationality was withdrawn from the majority of those acquiring citizenship of the new state, but that provision was made for its retention where the person concerned had a residual connection ? for example through a parent or grandparent ? with either the United Kingdom or a remaining Overseas Territory.?

Britain gave all Overseas Territories citizens the right to hold British passports in 2002. The passports give OT citizens the right to live and work in Britain and the European Union. As of last March, more than 3,600 Bermudians has applied for the passports.

Details regarding nationality would have to be examined should Bermuda go Independent in order to prevent anyone ? such as long-term residents ? falling through the cracks between the UK and Bermuda, and becoming stateless.

As for the question of referendum or General Election to decide the issue, the UK has the final say and does lean towards a referendum ? however Sir John stated in the letter that, as with the details regarding nationality and citizenship, it is not yet necessary to specify the details of that process.

Details pertaining to the process would include a stipulation of the majority necessary in a referendum for a decision on Independence to be made.

A BIC Press statement yesterday gave an update on the Commission?s progress so far.

On Valentine?s Day a BIC delegation left Bermuda for a fact-finding mission in New York and Washington, where members met with the US State Department, Department of Homeland Security, the Federal Aviation Administration, and the United Nations.

The delegation ? commissioner David Rowntree, administrative assistant Deborah Evans, Government liaison to the BIC and Constitutional lawyer Philip Perinchief, and Bishop Lambe ? said the trip had steered them into fields of inquiry that they had not previously known existed.

?To date, we have explored and had answered questions concerning pre-clearance, visa waivers, re-entry privileges, international passport recognition, relevant treaties, aviation and shipping registries,? Bishop Lambe said.

Yesterday the delegation attended the elections of the new Decolonisation Committee or Special Committee 24 (SC-24), where Dr. Julian R. Hunte of St. Lucia was returned as chairman, the Bishop said.

The chairman ?warmly and specifically welcomed the Bermuda delegation?, he added ? along with Dominica, Bolivia, Cuba, Timor-Leste, Indonesia, Fiji and Papua New Guinea.

All SC-24 delegates were then invited to a special informal consultation with the BIC scheduled to take place today.

?Further meetings will be held with technical staff of the Decolonisation Unit and various permanent representatives of East Timor (the newest independent nation), the Bahamas, St. Kitts and Nevis, Jamaica, Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, and the ambassador to the UK mission to the UN Adam Thompson, whose offices we thank for arranging this visit to the UN,? Bishop Lambe said via e-mail last night.

The BIC delegation returns to Bermuda tomorrow.