of an independent Commonwealth country on or after 28 October 1971 eligible descendants of Sophia of Hanover who have never been members of the Catholic Church. Several early independence acts did not remove CUKC status from certain citizens of newly independent states. In the former Straits Settlements of Penang and Malacca, around one million Straits Chinese were allowed to continue as CUKCs with Malayan citizenship when the Federation of Malaya became independent in 1957. Consequently, when Malaya merged with North Borneo, Sarawak, and Singapore to form Malaysia in 1963, CUKC status was not rescinded from individuals already holding Malayan citizenship. Similarly, when Cyprus became independent in 1960, Cypriots who were not resident in Cyprus for the five years leading up to independence and were also living in another Commonwealth country would not have lost CUKC status. In some cases, a former colony's new government only granted citizenship to members of the majority ethnic group. When Aden became part of the newly independent South Yemen in 1967, individuals who were not of Arab ancestry did not acquire Yemeni citizenship and remained CUKCs. Likewise, Hong Kong residents lost BDTC status when that territory was transferred to China in 1997. Residents choosing to retain British nationality were able to voluntarily register for British National (Overseas) status before the handover. Individuals who were not ethnically Chinese did not acquire Chinese nationality on that date and automatically became BOCs if they would have been made stateless. Sophia of Hanover was placed in the English line of succession in 1705 to avoid a reigning Catholic monarch. Because she was German, Parliament passed an Act to naturalise the Electress as an English subject, along with all of her lineal descendants. Although the British Nationality Act 1948 ended the naturalisation of further direct descendants, eligible non-Catholic persons born before 1949 would have already become British subjects. Those individuals would also be able to transmit British nationality to at least one further generation. Because such persons would not automatically have the right of abode in the United Kingdom, some current claimants to British nationality through the Sophia Naturalization Act 1705 could receive British Overseas citizenship. British Overseas citizenship can be relinquished by a declaration made to the Home Secretary, provided that an individual already possesses or intends to acquire another nationality. BOC status may also be deprived if it was fraudulently acquired. There is no path to restore BOC