Schedule 1: Waiver of requirement of presence in UK etc.
- Paragraph 2 amends section 4 of the 1981 Act providing that the Secretary of State may, in the special circumstances of a particular case, treat a British national registering as a British citizen as fulfilling the first residence requirement set out at section 4(2)(a) of the 1981 Act although they were not present in the UK at the start of the five-year residential qualifying period.
- Paragraph 3 amends Schedule 1 of the 1981 Act, providing that the Secretary of State may, in the special circumstances of a particular case, treat an individual applying for naturalisation as a British citizen as fulfilling the first residence requirement set out at Schedule 1(2)(a) of the 1981 Act although they were not present in the UK at the start of the residential qualifying period. Paragraph 3 also provides that the Secretary of State may, in the special circumstances of a particular case, treat an individual registering as a British overseas territories citizen as fulfilling the first residence requirement set out at paragraph 5 of Schedule 1 to the 1981 Act despite not being present in the relevant overseas territory at the start of the residential qualifying period.
- Paragraph 3 also removes paragraphs 2(2) and 2(3) of Schedule 1 to the 1981 Act, which specified that the Secretary of State could waive the requirements to be present in the UK, where an applicant was a member of the armed forces. These are removed because the new section creates the same discretion to waive this requirement for all applicants, including members of the armed forces.
- Paragraph 4 makes consequential amendments to the Citizenship (Armed Forces) Act 2014 due to paragraph 3 above.
