Part 1: Nationality Chapter 1: British Overseas Territories citizenship Persons subject to immigration control: referral or assessment by local authority etc. Section 5: Period for registration of person born outside the British Overseas Territories
Overview: This section amends subsection 17(2) of the British Nationality Act 1981 ("the 1981 Act") to remove the requirement that an application for the registration of a child as a British Overseas Territories citizen (BOTC) must be made within 12 months of the birth.
	Background: Subsection 17(2) provides a registration route for a child whose parent is a BOTC "by descent" (see paragraph 83 for meaning of "by descent") and had been in a territory for a continuous period of three years at some point before the child’s birth. At present, an application under this route must be made within 12 months of the child’s birth. The parallel provision for British citizens (subsection 3(2)) was amended in 2009, replacing the requirement for the application to be made within 12 months of the child’s birth (or within six years at the Secretary of State’s discretion) with a requirement for the application to be made while the child is a minor. This provision amends the BOTC registration route in the same way.
	Subsection 1 amends subsection 17(2) of the 1981 Act by removing the requirement for the application to be made within 12 months of the birth and replacing it with a requirement for the application to be made while the child is a minor. The second part of that subsection removes subsection (4) of section 17, which provided for the registration period to be extended from 12 months to six years, as this is no longer needed.
	Subsection 2, as a consequence, amends subsection 41A(2) of the 1981 Act to include subsection 17(2) in the list of provisions which have a good character requirement.