Scotland Independence

Sorry to deviate slightly from the topic that is being discussed here, but what would Scottish Independence mean for Scots living abroad or elsewhere in the UK? Would being born in Scotland, but living in England, mean you're a Scottish citizen and will be holding a Scottish passport? What about those born in England, but have lived in Scotland for most of their lives? Obviously Scotland would be an EU member, so non-Scottish citizens could easily still live and work here, but who is going to be a Scottish citizen confuses me.

I was discussing this at lunch with my husband and in-laws, and we have no clue what is planned in terms of voting and determining who would be a Scottish citizen. My in-laws were born in Scotland and lived here most of their lives, but have been abroad or in London for the past 15 years. They didn't know if they'd be eligible to vote for or against independence, as they're registered to vote in London, but they're Scottish and obviously think they should get to vote on the issue. They assume that because they were born here, they will be Scottish citizens. However, we were unsure how my citizenship would be determined, as I'm due to be naturalised within the next few weeks. Once I obtain a UK passport and Scotland becomes independent, will I automatically become a Scottish citizen since I was naturalised in Scotland? I won't be living in Scotland at that point, so we were unsure.

Well another benefit is that Scotland could finally sort out their own immigration policy. I've seen a few debates in Parliament going something like this:

English MP: We're too full! Quit lettin' 'em in!
Scottish MP: Maybe in the South East, but Scotland needs workers!
English MP: *snickers* Do you suggest that we set up a special permit for Scotland?

Serena83, I would definitely be interested to see what happens. Maybe it would be an agreement like with Ireland? Scottish citizens would maybe get automatic residency in England, Wales or NI and vice versa? Scotland would have to formally apply for EU membership, wouldn't it? Hmmm, and what about Schengen? There are a lot of EU opt outs that Scotland naturally piggy backed with the whole of the UK. I wonder how much Scotland would opt in/out.

Serena, those are all great questions, and important ones.  But as I was saying before, the problem is that I don't think there are really answers yet.  As we get closer to a referendum, hopefully they'll have had time to sort some of these things out, or at least to make people aware of their plans.  But some of it undoubtedly won't be settled unless the referendum passes.  Until then, it's all hypothetical.

As far as the voting, that's another thing that's still to be worked out.  Obviously, a lot of Scots living in England (and elsewhere) want to vote, but there's a lot of debate there, and of course, working out the logistics.

So it's no wonder that the SNP don't want to rush into holding a vote on Westminster's timetable.  Things just aren't ready yet.  I'm confident that it will be a lot clearer come 2014.

Thanks, woadgrrl. It does seem like there's a LOT to be sorted out.