An Irish citizen is entitled to be registered as a British citizen if—
an application for their registration is made under this section, and
they satisfy the requirements specified in subsection (2).
The requirements are that—
the person was in the United Kingdom at the beginning of the period of five years ending with the date of their application;
the person was absent from the United Kingdom for—
no more than 450 days in the period of five years ending with the date of their application, and
no more than 90 days in the period of 12 months ending with the date of their application; and
the person was not in the United Kingdom in breach of the immigration laws at any time in the period of five years ending with the date of their application.
If in the special circumstances of a particular case the Secretary of State thinks fit, the Secretary of State may treat the person as satisfying a requirement specified in subsection (2), even if they did not in fact satisfy the requirement.
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