of the Malay states could be a British subject and British protected person simultaneously. Until 1867, the Straits Settlements were governed as part of British India. Legislation enacted in India prior to that year was applicable locally, including regulations on naturalisation. The Indian Naturalisation Act 1852 allowed foreigners residing in territory governed by the East India Company to naturalise as British subjects by application to the government. There was no minimum residence requirement and candidates simply needed approval from a relevant official. The oath of allegiance administered to successful applicants required them to swear loyal service to the company, as well as allegiance to the British monarch. After separation from India, the Legislative Council of the Straits Settlements passed the Naturalization Act, 1867 that contained virtually the same naturalisation requirements. Any person born in the Straits Settlements, the United Kingdom, or anywhere else within Crown dominions was a natural-born British subject. Following the Second World War, colonial authorities merged the Malay states with Penang and Malacca to form the Malayan Union in 1946. A federal Malayan citizenship was created at its inception, although the union lasted only two years before reforming into the Federation of Malaya. Malayan citizenship existed simultaneously with the subject statuses of the individual Malay states and British nationality in the Straits Settlements. Federal, state, and British regulations for obtaining these statuses differed and this multilayered approach to citizenship continued until Malayan independence in 1957. Penang and Malacca Several early independence acts did not contain any provision for the loss of citizenship of the United Kingdom and Colonies by citizens of the newly independent states. A notable case is that of the former Settlements (colonies) of Penang and Malacca in what is now Malaysia. These were combined in 1948 with the nine Malay states (which were protected states rather than colonies) to form the Federation of Malaya. On independence on 31 August 1957, British protected persons (BPP) from the Malay states lost their BPP status. However, as a result of representations made by the Straits Chinese, known as the "Queen's Chinese", it was agreed by the Governments of the United Kingdom and Malaya that no provision should be made for the withdrawal of Citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies (CUKC) status from the inhabitants of Penang and Malacca, who would consequently be allowed to remain CUKCs as well as citizens of Malaya. On 16 September 1963,