Northern Ireland (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2014

15 Registration as an overseas elector: declaration of nationality

(1) In the Representation of the People Act 1985, in section 2 (registration of British citizens overseas)—

(a) after subsection (3) insert—

“(3A) An overseas elector’s declaration that specifies an address in Northern Ireland under subsection (4) may, instead of or in addition to including a statement under subsection (3)(b), state that the declarant is an eligible Irish citizen.”;

(b) after subsection (8) insert—

“(9) In this section “eligible Irish citizen” means an Irish citizen who—

(a) was born in Northern Ireland, and

(b) qualifies as a British citizen (whether or not he identifies himself as such).

(10) A person found abandoned in Northern Ireland as a new-born infant is, unless the contrary is shown, deemed for the purposes of subsection (9) to have been born in Northern Ireland.”

(2) In the Representation of the People (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2008 (S.I. 2008/1741), in regulation 20 (contents of overseas elector’s declaration)—

(a) in paragraph (1)—

(i) after “required” insert “or permitted”;

(ii) after “2(3)(a) to (d)” insert “, (3A)”;

(iii) for “(7)” substitute “(6B)”;

(b) after paragraph (5) insert—

“(5A) Where the conditions in paragraph (4)(a) and (b) are not met in relation to a declarant, his overseas elector’s declaration shall comply with paragraphs (6) to (6B).”;

(c) in paragraph (6), for the words before sub-paragraph (a) substitute “If the declaration includes a statement under section 2(3)(b) of the 1985 Act (statement that declarant is a British citizen), the declaration shall state—”;

(d) after that paragraph insert—

“(6A) If the declaration includes a statement under section 2(3A) of the 1985 Act (statement that declarant is an eligible Irish citizen), the declaration shall state—

(a) in the case of a declarant who is the bearer of an Irish passport, the number of that passport together with its date and place of issue, or

(b) otherwise, when and how the declarant acquired the status of Irish citizen, together with the date, place and country of the declarant’s birth.

(6B) Where, apart from this paragraph, a declaration would be required to include both a statement under paragraph (6) and a statement under paragraph (6A), the declaration need include only one of those statements.”;

(e) omit paragraph (7).

(3) In regulation 22 of those regulations (attestation of certain overseas electors’ declarations)—

(a) in paragraph (3) for “the bearer of a British passport which describes his national status as a “British citizen”” substitute “a person”;

(b) after paragraph (3)(c) insert “; and

(d) is—

(i) the bearer of a British passport which describes his national status as a “British citizen”, or

(ii) an eligible Irish citizen who is the bearer of an Irish passport.”;

(c) in paragraph (4), after “British citizen” insert “, or an eligible Irish citizen,”;

(d) for paragraph (5)(b) substitute—

“(b) any of the following—

(i) that he is the bearer of a British passport which describes his national status as a “British citizen”, together with the number of that passport and its date and place of issue;

(ii) that he is an eligible Irish citizen who is the bearer of an Irish passport, together with the number of that passport and its date and place of issue;

(iii) that he is the bearer of a British passport which describes his national status as a “British citizen” and is an eligible Irish citizen who is the bearer of an Irish passport, together with the number of either of those passports and its date and place of issue;”;

(e) in paragraph (5)(f), after “British citizen” insert “, or an eligible Irish citizen,”;

(f) after paragraph (5) insert—

“(6) In this regulation “eligible Irish citizen” has the meaning given by section 2(9) and (10) of the 1985 Act.”