Immigration Bill

“4E The general conditions

For the purposes of sections 4F to 4I, a person (“P”) meets the
general conditions if—

(a)   P was born before 1 July 2006;

(b)   at the time of P’s birth, P’s mother—

(i)   was not married, or

(ii)   was married to a person other than P’s natural
father;

(c)   no person is treated as the father of P under section 28 of the
Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990; and

(d)   P has never been a British citizen.

4F Person unable to be registered under other provisions of this Act

(1)     A person (“P”) is entitled to be registered as a British citizen on an
application made under this section if—

(a)   P meets the general conditions; and

(b)   P would be entitled to be registered as a British citizen
under—

(i)   section 1(3),

(ii)   section 3(2),

(iii)   section 3(5),

(iv)   paragraph 4 of Schedule 2, or

(v)   paragraph 5 of Schedule 2,

had P’s mother been married to P’s natural father at the time
of P’s birth.

(2)     In the following provisions of this section “relevant registration
provision” means the provision under which P would be entitled to
be registered as a British citizen (as mentioned in subsection (1)(b)).

(3)     If the relevant registration provision is section 3(2), a person who is
registered as a British citizen under this section is a British citizen
by descent.

(4)     If the relevant registration provision is section 3(5), the Secretary of
State may, in the special circumstances of the particular case, waive
the need for any or all of the parental consents to be given.

(5)     For that purpose, the “parental consents” are—

(a)   the consent of P’s natural father, and

(b)   the consent of P’s mother,

insofar as they would be required by section 3(5)(c) (as read with
section 3(6)(b)), had P’s mother been married to P’s natural father
at the time of P’s birth.

4G Person unable to become citizen automatically after
commencement

(1)     A person (“P”) is entitled to be registered as a British citizen on an
application made under this section if—

(a)   P meets the general conditions; and

(b)   at any time in the period after commencement, P would
have automatically become a British citizen at birth by the
operation of any provision of this Act or the British
Nationality (Falkland Islands) Act 1983, had P’s mother
been married to P’s natural father at the time of P’s birth.

(2)     A person who is registered as a British citizen under this section is
a British citizen by descent if the British citizenship which the
person would have acquired at birth (as mentioned in subsection
(1)(b)) would (by virtue of section 14) have been British citizenship
by descent.

(3)     If P is under the age of 18, no application may be made unless the
consent of P’s natural father and mother to the registration has been
signified in the prescribed manner.

(4)     But if P’s natural father or mother has died on or before the date of
the application, the reference in subsection (3) to P’s natural father
and mother is to be read as a reference to either of them.

(5)     The Secretary of State may, in the special circumstances of a
particular case, waive the need for any or all of the consents
required by subsection (3) (as read with subsection (4)) to be given.

(6)     The reference in this section to the period after commencement does
not include the time of commencement (and, accordingly, this
section does not apply to any case in which a person was unable to
become a British citizen at commencement).

4H Citizen of UK and colonies unable to become citizen at
commencement

(1)     A person (“P”) is entitled to be registered as a British citizen on an
application made under this section if—

(a)   P meets the general conditions;

(b)   P was a citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies
immediately before commencement; and

(c)   P would have automatically become a British citizen at
commencement, by the operation of any provision of this
Act, had P’s mother been married to P’s natural father at the
time of P’s birth.

(2)     A person who is registered as a British citizen under this section is
a British citizen by descent if the British citizenship which the
person would have acquired at commencement (as mentioned in
subsection (1)(c)) would (by virtue of section 14) have been British
citizenship by descent.

4I Other person unable to become citizen at commencement

(1)     A person (“P”) is entitled to be registered as a British citizen on an
application made under this section if—

(a)   P meets the general conditions;

(b)   P is either—

(i)   an eligible former British national, or

(ii)   an eligible non-British national; and

(c)   had P’s mother been married to P’s natural father at the time
of P’s birth, P—

(i)   would have been a citizen of the United Kingdom
and Colonies immediately before commencement,
and

(ii)   would have automatically become a British citizen at
commencement by the operation of any provision of
this Act.

(2)     P is an “eligible former British national” if P was not a citizen of the
United Kingdom and Colonies immediately before commencement
and either—

(a)   P ceased to be a British subject or a citizen of the United
Kingdom and Colonies by virtue of the commencement of
any independence legislation, but would not have done so
had P’s mother been married to P’s natural father at the time
of P’s birth, or

(b)   P was a British subject who did not automatically become a
citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies at
commencement of the British Nationality Act 1948 by the
operation of any provision of it, but would have done so had
P’s mother been married to P’s natural father at the time of
P’s birth.

(3)     P is an “eligible non-British national” if—

(a)   P was never a British subject or citizen of the United
Kingdom and Colonies; and

(b)   had P’s mother been married to P’s natural father at the time
of P’s birth, P would have automatically become a British
subject or citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies—

(i)   at birth, or

(ii)   by virtue of paragraph 3 of Schedule 3 to the British
Nationality Act 1948 (child of male British subject to
become citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies
if the father becomes such a citizen).

(4)     A person who is registered as a British citizen under this section is
a British citizen by descent if the British citizenship which the
person would have acquired at commencement (as mentioned in
subsection (1)(c)(ii)) would (by virtue of section 14) have been
British citizenship by descent.

(5)     In determining for the purposes of subsection 1(c)(i) whether P
would have been a citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies
immediately before commencement, it must be assumed that P
would not have—

(a)   renounced or been deprived of any notional British
nationality, or

(b)   lost any notional British nationality by virtue of P acquiring
the nationality of a country or territory outside the United
Kingdom.

(6)     A “notional British nationality” is—

(a)   in a case where P is an eligible former British national, any
status as a British subject or a citizen of the United Kingdom
and Colonies which P would have held at any time after P’s
nationality loss (had that loss not occurred and had P’s
mother been married to P’s natural father at the time of P’s
birth);

(b)   in a case where P is an eligible non-British national—

(i)   P’s status as a British subject or citizen of the United
Kingdom and Colonies mentioned in subsection
(3)(b), and

(ii)   any other status as a British subject or citizen of the
United Kingdom and Colonies which P would have
held at any time afterwards (had P’s mother been
married to P’s natural father at the time of P’s birth).

(7)     In this section—

“British subject” has any meaning which it had for the
purposes of the British Nationality and Status of Aliens Act
1914;

“independence legislation” means an Act of Parliament or any
subordinate legislation (within the meaning of the
Interpretation Act 1978) forming part of the law in the
United Kingdom (whenever passed or made, and whether
or not still in force)—

(a)   providing for a country or territory to become
independent from the United Kingdom, or

(b)   dealing with nationality, or any other ancillary
matters, in connection with a country or territory
becoming independent from the United Kingdom;

“P’s nationality loss” means P’s—

(a)   ceasing to be a British subject or citizen of the United
Kingdom and Colonies (as mentioned in subsection
(2)(a)), or

(b)   not becoming a citizen of the United Kingdom and
Colonies (as mentioned in subsection (2)(b)).

4J Sections 4E to 4I: supplementary provision

(1)     In sections 4E to 4I and this section, a person’s “natural father” is a
person who satisfies the requirements as to proof of paternity that
are prescribed in regulations under section 50(9B).

(2)     The power under section 50(9B) to make different provision for
different circumstances includes power to make provision for the
purposes of any provision of sections 4E to 4I which is different
from other provision made under section 50(9B).

(3)     The following provisions apply for the purposes of sections 4E to 4I.

(4)     A reference to a person automatically becoming a British citizen, or
a citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies, is a reference to the
person becoming such a citizen without the need for—

(a)   the person to be registered as such a citizen by the Secretary
of State or any other minister of the Crown;

(b)   the birth of the person to be registered by a diplomatic or
consular representative of the United Kingdom; or

(c)   the person to be naturalised as such a citizen.

(5)     If the mother of a person could not actually have been married to
the person’s natural father at the time of the person’s birth (for
whatever reason), that fact does not prevent an assumption being
made that the couple were married at the time of the birth.””

“(da)   the person is a British citizen by descent by virtue of
section 4F(3), 4G(2), 4H(2) or 4I(4); or”.