Part I

British Citizenship

Acquisition after commencement

Acquisition by registration: certain persons born before 1983
4C
1
A person is entitled to be registered as a British citizen if—
a
he applies for registration under this section, and
b
he satisfies each of the following conditions.
2
The first condition is that the applicant was born
. . . before 1st January 1983.
3
The second condition is that the applicant would at some time before 1st January 1983 have become a citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies—
a
under section 5 of, or paragraph 3 of Schedule 3 to, the 1948 Act if assumption A had applied,
b
under section 12(3), (4) or (5) of that Act if assumption B had applied and as a result of its application the applicant would have been a British subject immediately before 1st January 1949, or
c
under section 12(2) of that Act if one or both of the following had applied—
i
assumption A had applied;
ii
assumption B had applied and as a result of its application the applicant would have been a British subject immediately before 1st January 1949.
3A
Assumption A is that—
a
section 5 or 12(2) of, or paragraph 3 of Schedule 3 to, the 1948 Act (as the case may be) provided for citizenship by descent from a mother in the same terms as it provided for citizenship by descent from a father, and
b
references in that provision to a father were references to the applicant's mother.
3B
Assumption B is that—
a
a provision of the law at some time before 1st January 1949 which provided for a nationality status to be acquired by descent from a father provided in the same terms for its acquisition by descent from a mother, and
b
references in that provision to a father were references to the applicant's mother.
3C
For the purposes of subsection (3B), a nationality status is acquired by a person (“P”) by descent where its acquisition—
a
depends, amongst other things, on the nationality status of one or both of P's parents, and
b
does not depend upon an application being made for P's registration as a person who has the status in question.
3D
In determining for the purposes of subsection (3) whether a person would have been a citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies, the requirement that a person’s birth was registered at a United Kingdom consulate, as set out in section 5(1)(b) of the British Nationality Act 1948, is to be ignored.
4
The third condition is that immediately before 1st January 1983 the applicant would have had the right of abode in the United Kingdom by virtue of section 2 of the Immigration Act 1971 (c. 77) had he become a citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies as described in subsection (3) above.
5
For the purposes of the interpretation of section 5 of the 1948 Act in its application in the case of assumption A to a case of descent from a mother, the reference in the proviso to subsection (1) of that section to “
a citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies by descent only
” includes a reference to a female person who became a citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies by virtue of—
a
section 12(2), (4) or (6) only of the 1948 Act,
b
section 13(2) of that Act,
c
paragraph 3 of Schedule 3 to that Act, or
d
section 1(1)(a) or (c) of the British Nationality (
No.
2) Act 1964.
S. 4C inserted (30.4.2003) by Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 (c. 41), ss. 13(1), 162 (with s. 159); S.I. 2003/754, art. 2(1), Sch. 1 (with arts. 3, 4, Sch. 2 (as amended by S.I. 2003/1040, art. 2 and S.I. 2003/1339, art. 4))
S. 4C restricted (4.12.2006) by Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006 (c. 13), ss. 58, 62; S.I. 2006/2838, art. 4(1) (subject to art. 4(2))
Words in s. 4C(2) repealed (13.1.2010) by Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Act 2009 (c. 11), ss. 45(2), 56, 58, Sch. Pt. 2; S.I. 2009/2731, art. 4(d)(i)(j)
S. 4C(3)-(3D) substituted (13.1.2010) for s. 4C(3) by Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Act 2009 (c. 11), ss. 45(3), 58; S.I. 2009/2731, art. 4(d)
S. 4C(5) inserted (13.1.2010) by Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Act 2009 (c. 11), ss. 45(4), 58; S.I. 2009/2731, art. 4(d)
S. 4C(3D) substituted (28.6.2022) by Nationality and Borders Act 2022 (c. 36), ss. 6(2), 87(1); S.I. 2022/590, regs. 1(2), 2, Sch. 1 para. 5 (with Sch. 2 para. 2)
S. 4C title substituted (13.1.2010) by virtue of Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Act 2009 (c. 11), ss. 45(1), 58; S.I. 2009/2731, art. 4(d)