REGISTRATION BY VIRTUE OF MARRIAGE (Hansard, 3 June 1981)

§ Mr. Luce

I beg to move amendment No. 41, in page 20, line 39, at end insert— '(3) On an application for her registration as a British Overseas citizen made within five years after commencement by a woman who at the time of the application is married, the Secretary of State may, if he thinks fit, cause her to be registered as such a citizen if—

(a) immediately before commencement she would (if she had applied for it) have been entitled under section 6(2) of the 1948 Act to be registered as a citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies by virtue of her being or having been married to the man who is her husband on the date of the application under this subsection; and
(b) that man either—

(i) became a British Overseas citizen at commencement but has ceased to be such a citizen as a result of a declaration of renunciation; or
(ii) would have become a British Overseas citizen at commencement but for his having ceased to be a citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies as a result of a declaration of renunciation.'.

This amendment is the equivalent for British overseas citizenship of an earlier amendment to clause 7(2). It provides the Secretary of State with a discretionary power to register as British overseas citizens the wives of those who have renounced their citizenship. As currently drafted, clause 25 makes no provision for such women. The entitlement in clause 25(1) is of no benefit to them, since that requires that the husband should both have become a British overseas citizen at commencement and not have renounced his citizenship between commencement and the date of application. Nor is the discretionary power in clause 25(2) of any help here, since although that does not exclude cases of renunciation it applies only to women whose marriages have been dissolved.

As is the case in the earlier amendment relating to other kinds of citizenship, the number of cases in which it would be appropriate to register the wife of a man who had 1008 renounced citizenship is likely to be small. However, there may be deserving cases. It has, therefore, been decided that a discretionary power should be made available to deal with them. It seems only reasonable that such a power should be provided not only in the case of British citizenship and citizenship of the British dependent territories, but also in the case of British overseas citizenship.