Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Law, Vol 34, No 2, 2020
the permitted conditions may be refused. Those conditions include conditions as to periods of
habitual residence on the state’s territory, the person’s age and that she, he or they have remained
stateless.26 For so long as British nationality law recognised ius soli, there had been no need to
make further provision to give effect to the obligation under art 1. It was necessary, however, to
make such provision in the Act.
This was recognised by Ministers during the passage of the Act when introducing what
is now para 3 of Sch 2. They repeatedly made clear the intention was to ensure full compliance
with the UK’s obligations under the Convention. For example:
‘Our approach reflects our need and our desire to continue to comply with our international
obligations under the United Nations convention on the Reduction of Statelessness …
Our proposals to change the existing law have of course meant a consequential need
to change the way in which we approach statelessness. This is because the move away
from the full operation of the jus soli has meant that some children will not acquire our
citizenship on birth in the United Kingdom … They could be stateless if they do not
acquire the citizenship of a parent … [W]e have turned to reliance on those provisions of
the convention which provide for the acquisition of citizenship after a period of residence
in the territory of the State.’27
Accordingly, para 3 of Sch 2 to the Act provides a statutory entitlement to register as a British
citizen. In short, it provides a right to British citizenship to a person born stateless in the UK
provided the person has remained stateless, is younger than 22 years and has lived in the UK for
five continuous years at the point of applying to register.28
This is not the only provision made for registration of a stateless child as a British citizen.
Provision is also made for children born stateless outside the UK to a British citizen parent.
Section 3(2) of the Act provides an entitlement to registration to any child (while she, he or they
remain a child) born stateless outside the UK if that child would have been born a British citizen
had the British citizen parent not been a British citizen by descent. It can be seen that both
provisions also reflect the Act’s concern with connection. In each of s 3(2) and para 3 of Sch 2,
the child or young person entitled to register has a connection to the UK that is emphasised by
her, his or their having no connection of nationality to any other place but that is not sufficient.
In the case of the former, it is necessary that the child would have been born a British citizen
but for the provision to restrict the passing on of citizenship across generations born outside the
UK. In the latter, it is necessary that the child or young person has an additional connection of
birth and a lengthy period of residence in the UK to the point of application for registration.
Future generations born outside the UK
Section 3 of the Act – referred to under the previous subheading – makes further provision
for rights of children to register as British citizens. It only applies to children. A child who
does not exercise any right she, he or they may have under s 3 before reaching majority loses
26
27
28
Article 1(2), 1961 UN Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness.
Hansard HC, Standing Committee F, 6 May 1981: Col 1730.
There are somewhat similar provisions made for absences as are found in s 1(4) of the Act, albeit with the added
complication that para 3 of Sch 2 addresses the circumstances of people born in the UK or in a British overseas territory
and the right is to either British citizenship or British overseas territories citizenship subject to whether the person has
spent more of the relevant five years period in the UK or in the British overseas territories respectively.
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