Commentary Acquisition of British citizenship etc. by registration Section 43: Minors
166.Section 43 amends section 3(2) of the BNA 1981 to remove the requirement that an application for the registration of a child under that subsection must be made within twelve months of the child’s birth. This will enable an application to be made at any time before the child’s 18th birthday.
167.Section 43(3) removes section 3(4) of the BNA 1981, which gave the Secretary of State discretion to extend the 12 month period to six years after the child’s birth, as this is no longer necessary.
168.There is also a requirement that the Secretary of State must be satisfied that the applicant is of good character – see section 41A(1) of the BNA 1981 (which is inserted by section 47).