Search Legislation

British Nationality Act 1981

 Help about what version

What Version

 Help about advanced features

Advanced Features

 Help about opening options

Opening OptionsExpand opening options

Changes over time for: Section 2

 Help about opening options

Alternative versions:

Status:

Point in time view as at 22/04/2011.

Changes to legislation:

British Nationality Act 1981, Section 2 is up to date with all changes known to be in force on or before 06 December 2024. There are changes that may be brought into force at a future date. Changes that have been made appear in the content and are referenced with annotations. Help about Changes to Legislation

2 Acquisition by descent.U.K.

(1)A person born outside the United Kingdom [F1and the qualifying territories] after commencement shall be a British citizen if at the time of the birth his father or mother—

(a)is a British citizen otherwise than by descent; or

(b)is a British citizen and is serving outside the United Kingdom [F2and the qualifying territories] in service to which this paragraph applies, his or her recruitment for that service having taken place in the United Kingdom [F3or a qualifying territory]; or

(c)is a British citizen and is serving outside the United Kingdom [F4and the qualifying territories] in service under an [F5EU] institution, his or her recruitment for that service having taken place in a country which at the time of the recruitment was a member of [F6the European Union].

(2)Paragraph (b) of subsection (1) applies to—

(a)Crown service under the government of the United Kingdom [F7or of a qualifying territory]; and

(b)service of any description for the time being designated under subsection (3).

(3)For the purposes of this section the Secretary of State may by order made by statutory instrument designate any description of service which he considers to be closely associated with the activities outside the United Kingdom [F8and the qualifying territories] of Her Majesty’s government in the United Kingdom [F9or in a qualifying territory].

(4)Any order made under subsection (3) shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.

Back to top

Options/Help

You have chosen to open the Whole Act

The Whole Act you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download. You may also experience some issues with your browser, such as an alert box that a script is taking a long time to run.

Would you like to continue?