§ 11.22 a.m.
§ The Earl of KinnoullMy Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question standing in my name on the Order Paper.
The Question was as follows:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to amend the British Nationality Act 1981 in view of the present complications in establishing a British passport for children born abroad to Crown servants and members of the armed services.
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office (Lord Elton)My Lords, no. We have no intention to amend the British Nationality Act 1981, which made special provision for the automatic acquisition of British citizenship by children born abroad to Crown servants, including members of the armed services.
§ The Earl of KinnoullMy Lords, while thanking my noble friend for that reply, may I inform him from information that I have received, which I shall be happy to pass on, that the procedures are not so simple as his Answer suggests? Will he remind us how different are the procedures and the requirements for children born abroad and those for children born in this country in applying for a passport within the context of this Question?
§ Lord EltonMy Lords, there is very little difference in the case of a child of parents either of whom is a British citizen born in the United Kingdom before 1983—and there are not many others around at present. All that is necessary is the presentation to the Passport Office of their marriage certificate together with the birth certificate of that parent and of the child. In the case of the child of a single woman, of course, it is not necessary to produce even a marriage certificate. If the parent's birth certificate is not readily available, a passport will suffice and this can be conducted through the consulate in the place abroad where the parents are.
§ The Earl of KinnoullMy Lords, will my noble friend say whether the timescale in dealing with these applications is roughly identical?
§ Lord EltonMy Lords, without notice, I do not have a table of the timescale. But, if there is difficulty in a case, the consulate would need to refer to the Passport Office for guidance. However, as I have made clear, decisions are normally based on material that is readily available.
§ Lord MishconMy Lords, will the noble Lord the Minister be very tolerant with me in regard to a supplementary and allow me to seek this opportunity of asking what is being done about the extraordinary and terrible delays in naturalisation applications and immigration applications?
§ Lord EltonMy Lords, I always seek to be as tolerant to the noble Lord as he is to me. I do not think that his tolerance would extend to stretching the Question on the Order Paper as far as that would require.
§ Lord FerrierMy Lords, can my noble friend say to what extent, if any, the requirements for children of British merchants, engineers and the like, differ from those mentioned in the Question?
§ Lord EltonMy Lords, as to their citizenship status, which is what I presume my noble friend refers to, it is necessary to be in the Crown service in order to qualify for automatic British citizenship other than by descent to which I have referred. The Crown service embraces the home Civil Service, the Diplomatic Service and the Armed Services.
§ Lord FootMy Lords, will the noble Lord let us know whether any fee is payable on the registration of such a person?
§ Lord EltonMy Lords, I believe so, but that is the supplementary that I always dread—one to which I do not have an immediate answer. I shall let the noble Lord know.