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Changes to the British Nationality Law in The Immigration, Asylum & Nationality Act 2006

Although this Act of Parliament became law very recently, apart from its enabling provisions, none of it is yet in force. All the provisions of the Act are subject to Commencement Orders, and there have, at time of writing, been none yet in relation to the changes in British Nationality law and procedure. Some of the new provisions have been brought in simply to lay the ground before other legislative changes are introduced in other areas. For example, section 30 of the Act deals with the way in which a person may prove they have the Right of Abode in the United Kingdom, and includes, as evidence of this status, an Identity Card issued under the Identity Cards Act 2006, which, although having been passed into legislation, is not yet in force itself.

The previous position for an adult applicant who wished to be naturalised, was that they were required to show that they had "full capacityî. This was a difficult issue for applicants who suffered from some form of disability, but for whom naturalisation was a positive benefit. Now the Secretary of State has discretion to waive this requirement if he thinks it is in the applicants' best interests.

New provisions have been introduced which permit deprivation of a citizenship status on a "not conducive to the public goodî ground, and also extends this power of deprivation (thus permitting exclusion or removal) to Commonwealth citizens with the Right of Abode in the UK.

Another provision introduces a general good character requirement to all applicants, including children over the age of 10, and those applying for registration under Section 4C. Applicants under Section 4B however, are still not subject to this requirement, as are those who are recognised as stateless.

Since this Note was prepared, there has been a Commencement Order brought in for some of the provisions mentioned above, and which is due to take effect on 16th June 2006. Section 30, dealing with proof of the Right of Abode will be brought into force on this date, as well as the provisions regarding deprivation of citizenship and of the Right of Abode, contained in Sections 56 and 57 of the Act.