The British Nationality (General) (Amendment) Regulations 2010

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations amend the British Nationality (General) Regulations 2003 (“the 2003 Regulations”). They have effect from 7th April 2010. They extend to the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man and British Overseas Territories.

Regulation 5A of the 2003 Regulations makes provision for determining whether a person has sufficient knowledge of language and of life in the UK for the purpose of an application for naturalisation as a British citizen under section 6 of the British Nationality Act 1981. Under regulation 5A of the 2003 Regulations, one of the circumstances in which a person will have such sufficient knowledge of life and language in the UK is if they have completed a course of language study.

These Regulations amend regulation 5A in two respects.

First, they require a course of language study which uses particular teaching materials to be completed at an accredited college and for the person taking the course to have demonstrated progress and to have obtained a relevant qualification. An accredited college is defined as a college which has been inspected or approved by a specific accrediting body. The teaching materials relating to knowledge of life in the UK entitled “Citizenship Materials for ESOL Learners” (ISBN 1-84478-5424) can be downloaded from The National Institute of Adult Continuing Education website at http://www.niace.org.uk/projects/esolcitizenship/.

Second, they are amended so that a person who has previously been accepted as having sufficient knowledge of language and of life in the United Kingdom for the purposes of a grant of Indefinite Leave to Remain by the Secretary of State, will have such knowledge for the purposes of an application for naturalisation as a British citizen under section 6 of the British Nationality Act 1981.