Section 17: Acquisition by registration: minors., British Nationality Act 1981

If while a person is a minor an application is made for his registration as a British overseas territories citizen the Secretary of State may, if the thinks fit, cause him to be registered as such a citizen.

A person born outside the British overseas territories shall be entitled, on an application for his registration as a British overseas territories citizen made while the person is a minor, to be registered as such a citizen if the requirements specified in subsection (3) or, in the case of a person born stateless, the requirements specified in paragraphs (a) and (b) of that subsection, are fulfilled in the case of either that person’s father or his mother (“the parent in question”).

The requirements referred to in subsection (2) are—

that the parent in question was a British overseas territories citizen by descent at the time of the birth; and

that the father or mother of the parent in question—

was a British overseas territories citizen otherwise than by descent at the time of the birth of the parent in question; or

became a British overseas territories citizen otherwise than by descent at commencement, or would have become such a citizen otherwise than by descent at commencement but for his or her death; and

that, as regards some period of three years ending with a date not later than the date of the birth—

the parent in question was in a British overseas territory at the beginning of that period; and

the number of days on which the parent in question was absent from that territory in that period does not exceed 270.

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A person born outside the British overseas territories shall be entitled, and on application for his registration as a British overseas territories citizen made while he is a minor, to be registered as such a citizen if the following requirements are satisfied, namely—

that at the time of that person’s birth his father or mother was a British overseas territories citizen by descent; and

subject to subsection (6), that that person and his father and mother were in one and the same British overseas territory(no matter which) at the beginning of the period of three years ending with the date of the application and that, in the case of each of them, the number of days on which the person in question was absent from the last-mentioned territory in that period does not exceed 270; and

subject to subsection (6), that the consent of his father and mother to the registration has been signified in the prescribed manner.

In the case of an application under subsection (5) for the registration of a person as a British overseas territories citizen—

if his father or mother died, or their marriage or civil partnership was terminated, on or before the date of the application, or his father and mother were legally separated on that date, the references to his father and mother in paragraph (b) of that subsection shall be read either as references to his father or as references to his mother; and

if his father or mother died on or before that date, the reference to his father and mother in paragraph (c) of that subsection shall be read as a reference to either of them; ...

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Section 17: Acquisition by registration: minors.

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