wave of colonial migration. In response, the British Parliament imposed immigration controls on any subjects originating from outside the British Islands with the Commonwealth Immigrants Act 1962. This restriction was somewhat relaxed in 1971 for patrials, subjects whose parents or grandparents were born in the United Kingdom, which gave effective preferential treatment to white Commonwealth citizens. Malta's financial situation following the Second World War was untenable, even coming close to bankruptcy in 1951. The dire circumstances stirred substantial debate over the colony's future. Although a plurality of voters chose a closer union with Britain in a 1956 referendum, disagreements between the British and Maltese governments over the UK's financial contributions to the territory after integration ultimately led to a collapse of negotiations. Following an announcement of defence restructuring in the 1957 Defence White Paper that signaled a deprioritisation of further British military investment in Malta, Maltese government ministers shifted their efforts from pursuing integration to demanding independence. Malta became independent on 21 September 1964 and the citizenship provisions of the Constitution of Malta came into force on the same day. Any CUKC born in Malta automatically acquired Maltese citizenship on that date if at least one parent was also born in the country, as well as any person born overseas if their father and a paternal grandparent were born in Malta. Post-independence regulations Individuals born in Malta after independence automatically received citizenship at birth regardless of the nationalities of their parents. Citizenship was transferrable by descent to one generation of children born overseas to Maltese fathers or unmarried Maltese mothers. Foreign women married to Maltese men could acquire citizenship by registration with no further requirements. Under the Maltese Citizenship Act enacted in 1965, Commonwealth citizens were also eligible to become citizens by registration after residing in Malta for five years while all other foreign citizens could naturalise after six years of residence. Dual/multiple citizenship was constitutionally prohibited and any adult citizen who held other nationalities was required to renounce them by 21 September 1967. Maltese children with multiple nationalities were required to choose between their Maltese and foreign statuses within one year after reaching age 18. Any adult citizen who naturalised as a foreign citizen automatically lost their Maltese citizenship, and foreigners who acquired Maltese citizenship were required to renounce their foreign nationalities. Children adopted by Maltese citizens automatically acquired citizenship on the date of their adoption until this provision