ABSTRACT
The history of the changes made to the rights to nationality in the Commonwealth and the right to live in the UK is relevant for three reasons. The changes in the status of members of the Commonwealth arose in many immigration appeals both directly and indirectly. Then it changes the erosion of those rights enables one to understand the sense of betrayal and grievance felt by members of the Commonwealth. Refugees and displaced persons (DPs) were the major source of migration in post-Second World War Europe. There was an interesting provision in the 1971 Act which allowed the Home Office to refer back to the Immigration Appellate Authority (IAA) for it to consider any matter connected with an appeal. The Aliens Act 1905 was the first immigration legislation in twentieth-century Britain; it defined some groups of migrants as 'undesirable', making their entry into the country discretionary, rather than automatic.
