Foreign Secretary Jack Straw has signed an order designating May 21 as the commencement date for the citizenship provisions of the British Overseas Territories Act 2002.

All British Overseas Territories Citizens, with few exceptions, will automatically become full British citizens with the right to live and work in Britain and the European Union.

Issuing of passports for Bermudians will be done through the British Embassy in Washington D.C. The bill rectifies the situation created by a series of nationality acts in the UK dating back to the 1960s under both Labour and Conservative Governments, which created immigration controls for certain categories of British citizens.

British lawmakers have been mulling the British Overseas Territories Bill since 1998.

One of the amendments to the bill was to include the Ilois people who were forcibly removed from the Chagos Islands, in the Indian Ocean, in the 1960s and 1970s, to make way for an American military base on Diego Garcia. People with connections with the Sovereign Bases on Cyprus are excluded.

During the Commons debate in February, Ben Bradshaw, a parliamentary under secretary of State, assured his colleagues that the law would be operative by May 21 which the 500th anniversary of the settlement of St. Helena.

The British Overseas Territories Bill also changes the name of British Dependent Territories to British Overseas Territories.