A British Overseas citizen (BOC) is a holder of a residual class of British nationality, largely held by people connected with former British colonies who do not have close ties to the United Kingdom or its remaining overseas territories. Individuals with this form of nationality are British nationals and Commonwealth citizens, but not British citizens. BOCs are subject to immigration control when entering the United Kingdom and do not have the automatic right of abode there or in any British overseas territory. This nationality gives its holders a limited set of rights when they are resident in the United Kingdom, conferring eligibility to vote, to obtain citizenship under a simplified process, and to serve in public office or non-reserved government positions. About 10,000 BOCs currently hold active British passports with this status and enjoy consular protection when travelling abroad. However, BOCs who do not have the right to live in the UK nor the overseas territories and have no other citizenship are de facto stateless as they are not guaranteed the right to enter the country of which they are nationals. Background From 1949 to 1983, all citizens of the British Empire held a common nationality. Citizens of the United Kingdom and Colonies (CUKCs) initially held an automatic right to enter and live in the UK. This entitlement was given to all British subjects, which included CUKCs and citizens of independent countries in the Commonwealth of Nations, as part of a wider initiative to preserve close relationships with white-majority Dominions and colonies (Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, and Southern Rhodesia) and moderate nationalist attitudes within the Commonwealth. Non-white immigrants were systemically discouraged from entering the UK, though there was no legal limitation to their migration. The Colonial Office ordered colonial governments to hinder prospective migrants of colour by informing them of the difficulties they would face in finding housing accommodation and employment in Britain, as well as confiscating passports from those who were deemed to have insufficient funds or determined to be unemployable. Nevertheless, 500,000 of these new immigrants had settled in the UK by 1962. Immigration from the colonies and other Commonwealth countries was formally restricted by Parliament from 1962 to 1971, when British subjects originating from outside of the British Islands first had immigration controls officially imposed on them when entering the United Kingdom. As Britain withdrew from most of its remaining overseas possessions as part of