British Nationality and Status of Aliens Act 1943

Loss of British Nationality

6 Requirements as to assertion of nationality by persons having British nationality by registration

(1) Subject to the provisions of this section, a person whose British nationality depends upon the fact that his birth was registered at a consulate of His Majesty shall, if his birth was so registered before he attained the age of twenty-one years, cease to be a British subject at the expiration of one year after he attains that age unless within that period he asserts his British nationality by a declaration of retention of British nationality registered in accordance with regulations made under the principal Act :

Provided that if such a declaration is made by any person after the expiration of that period with the permission of the Secretary of State, that person shall be deemed not to have ceased to be a British subject.

(2) If any such person as aforesaid has at any time during the present war period been a member of His Majesty's forces, that person shall not cease by virtue of the foregoing subsection to be a British subject or, if he has, by virtue of that subsection or of any enactment repealed by this Act, previously ceased to be a British subject, shall be deemed never to have so ceased.

(3) If any such person as is mentioned in subsection (1) of this section satisfies the Secretary of State that he was not a member of His Majesty's forces during the present war period by reason only of his having been otherwise engaged on work of national importance or of his having been prevented from becoming a member of those forces by causes outside his control, the Secretary of State may direct that the last foregoing subsection shall apply to him as if he had been a member of those forces.

7 Provisions as to declarations of alienage

A declaration of alienage made after the commencement of this Act under any provision of the principal Act shall be of no effect until it has been registered in accordance with regulations made under the principal Act, and, in the case of a declaration made during any war in which His Majesty may be engaged, unless it is so registered with the permission of the Secretary of State.