Falkland Islands status is a

legal status Legal status is the status or position held by an entity as determined by the law. It includes or entails a set of privileges, obligations, powers or restrictions that a person or thing has as encompassed in or declared by legislation. Jack Balki ...

in the

Falkland Islands The Falkland Islands (; es, Islas Malvinas, link=no ) is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and about from Cape Dubouzet ...

(the Falklands form of

belonger status Belonger status is a legal classification normally associated with British Overseas Territories. It refers to people who have close ties to a specific territory, normally by birth or ancestry. The requirements for belonger status, and the right ...

) defined by section 22(5) of the

Falkland Islands Constitution The Falkland Islands Constitution is a predominantly codified constitution documented primarily within the ''Falkland Islands Constitution Order 2008'', a statutory instrument of the United Kingdom. The Constitution, in its present form, was made ...

and the Falkland Islands Status Ordinance, 2007 and is considered to be the closest thing to citizenship that the Falkland Islands can grant. The

Executive Council of the Falkland Islands The Executive Council of the Falkland Islands is the policy making body of the Government of the Falkland Islands, exercising executive power by advising the Governor. It has an equivalent role to that of the Privy Council in the United Kingdom. T ...

considers applications for Status four times a year in January, April, July and October and advises the

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

as to whether or not they may be granted. If the application is unsuccessful, the applicant has the right to appeal to the

Supreme Court of the Falkland Islands The politics of the Falkland Islands takes place in a framework of a constitutional monarchy and parliamentary representative democratic dependency as set out by the constitution, whereby the Governor exercises the duties of head of state in th ...

. According to the 2012 census, a majority of those with Falkland Islands Status are

British Citizens British nationality law prescribes the conditions under which a person is recognised as being a national of the United Kingdom. The six different classes of British nationality each have varying degrees of civil and political rights, due to the ...

, with 11% coming from 58 other countries (including 18 Argentine nationals).

Eligibility

Before 1 January 2009

Before the current

came into force on 1 January 2009, Falkland Islands Status was defined by the 1985 Constitution, under which a person was eligible for Falkland Islands Status if they were: *(a) a citizen who was born in the Falkland Islands; or *(b) a citizen who was born outside the Falkland Islands **(i) whose father or mother was born in the Falkland Islands; or **(ii) who is domiciled in the Falkland Islands and whose father or mother became, while resident in the Falkland Islands, a citizen by virtue of having been naturalised or registered as such or as a British subject or as a citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies; or *(c) a citizen by virtue of having been so naturalised or registered while resident in the Falkland Islands; or *(d) a Commonwealth citizen who is domiciled in the Falkland Islands who either **(i) was ordinarily resident in the Falkland Islands for the seven years immediately preceding 1st September 1997; or **(ii) has been granted such status under the provisions of an Ordinance providing for the grant of that status to Commonwealth citizens who have been ordinarily resident in the Falkland Islands for a period of at least seven years and has not, in accordance with the provisions of that Ordinance, lost or been deprived of such status; or *(e) the spouse, widow or widower of such a person as is referred to in any of the preceding paragraphs of this subsection, and, in the case of a spouse, is not living apart from her husband or his wife, as the case may be, under a decree of a competent court or a deed of separation; or *(f) under the age of eighteen years and is the child, stepchild, or child adopted in a manner recognised by law, of such a person as is referred to in any of the preceding paragraphs of this subsection.

After 1 January 2009

Under section 22(5) of the current

, a person is entitled to Falkland Islands status if they are: *(a) a person who had Falkland Islands status before 1 January 2009— **(i) by virtue of section 17(5)(a), (b), (c), (d)(i) or (f) of the former Constitution; or **(ii) by virtue of section 17(5)(e) of the former Constitution— ***(aa) as a spouse, and the person is not living apart from his wife or her husband under a decree of a competent court or a deed of separation; or ***(bb) as a widow or widower, and the person has not remarried; or *(b) a person who was born in the Falkland Islands, who was a citizen at birth and whose father or mother was permanently resident in the Falkland Islands at the time of the person's birth; or *(c) a person who was born outside the Falkland Islands, who was a citizen at birth and whose father or mother was permanently resident in the Falkland Islands at the time of the person's birth; or *(d) a citizen who was born in or outside the Falkland Islands whose father or mother at the time of the person's birth had Falkland Islands status and was permanently resident in the Falkland Islands; or *(e) a citizen who was born outside the Falkland Islands whose father or mother was born in the Falkland Islands and had Falkland Islands status at the time of the person's birth; or *(f) a person who has been granted Falkland Islands status under an Ordinance providing for the grant of that status to persons who have been ordinarily resident in the Falkland Islands for a period of at least seven years, or such period not exceeding seven years as the Ordinance may prescribe, and has not, in accordance with that Ordinance, lost or been deprived of such status.

Status Ceremonies

Since 2007, all new applicants for Falkland Islands Status, if their application is successful, must attend a Status Ceremony and make a pledge to the Falkland Islands, as follows: Ceremonies, which are presided over by the

Governor of the Falkland Islands The governor of the Falkland Islands is the representative of the British Crown in the Falkland Islands, acting "in His Majesty's name and on His Majesty's behalf" as the islands' ''de facto'' head of state in the absence of the British monarch ...

, normally take place within one month of approval of an application. The first ceremony took place on 17 August 2007.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Status Falkland Islands culture Society of the Falkland Islands Nationality law in British Overseas Territories Falkland Islands law