Comparative regional report on citizenship law: Anglophone Caribbean 3.2.2 Special registration Most cases of special registration exist for individuals who are relatives of citizens, although a few cases of citizenship acquisition via investment also exist (for both the primary applicant and her/his relatives). In less than half of the countries, provisions exist for citizenship acquisition via special registration for specific populations such as “political” refugees and stateless persons. In a limited number of countries, special provisions exist for individuals born in the country, but who do not meet the criteria for citizenship acquisition automatically at birth. Namely, in Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, and St. Kitts and Nevis, those individuals who were born in the territory prior to Independence, but who were not recognised UK & Colonies citizens, are able to register for citizenship as long as they meet other conditions (such as not being a threat to public order and safety, etc.). In The Bahamas, where ius soli provisions do not exist for children born of noncitizens, individuals born in the territory to noncitizens are entitled to register for Bahamian citizenship as long as they apply within a one-year time frame upon reaching age 18. Spouses Throughout the Anglophone Caribbean, countries allow for the spouse of a citizen to register as a citizen. Only in The Bahamas and Barbados is gender discrimination evident in that it is the male citizen’s noncitizen spouse who can acquire citizenship via registration; the female citizen’s noncitizen spouse is unable to register via a special provision. With the exception of Belize and Dominica, where registration via a special procedure is discretionary, the other countries provide that a person married to a citizen21 is entitled to register for citizenship via the special procedure. Only in The Bahamas and Trinidad and Tobago does the law stipulate that the individual who is registering for citizenship must renounce her foreign citizenship as part of the procedure.22 As Table 3 shows, less than half the countries have explicit residency requirements for the noncitizen spouses. 21 The citizen must explicitly be “male” in the aforementioned cases of The Bahamas and Barbados. The Bahamas asks that the female foreign spouse renounce her foreign citizenship unless, by the law of that country, she is unable to do so. Foreign spouses who wish to register as Trinidadian citizens must first renounce their foreign citizenship (1962 Constitution, Article 10(6), which is honoured in the present rendition of the Constitution via Article 16 [amended through 2009]). 22 8 RSCAS/GLOBALCIT-Comp. 2020/3 - © 2020 Authors