According to Section 1(4) of the British Nationality Act 1981:
"A person born in the United Kingdom after commencement who is not a British citizen by virtue of
subsection (1) [(1A)] or (2) [or section 10A] shall be entitled, on an application for his registration as a
British citizen made at any time after he has attained the age of ten years, to be registered as such a
citizen if, as regards each of the first ten years of that person’s life, the number of days on which he was
absent from the United Kingdom in that year does not exceed 90."
To qualify for registration as a British citizen under this section, you must:
1- Be born in the United Kingdom.
2- Be born on or after January 1, 1983.
3- Be at least 10 years old at the time of application.
4- Have spent no more than 90 days outside the UK in each of the first 10 years of your life.
In certain cases, the Home Office may exercise discretion if the applicant has exceeded the 90-day limit,
especially if there are special circumstances. In such cases, you should detail these circumstances on
your application form. Registration under Section 1(4) grants British citizenship otherwise than by
descent.
When applying for British citizenship under Section 1(4), you will need to provide the following
evidence:
1- Your full birth certificate to confirm your birth in the UK and your age (10 years or older) at the
time of application.
2- Proof of residence covering the first 10 years of your life.
The type of residence evidence required depends on your age at different stages of childhood:
For ages up to 5 years:
o Passport or travel document.
o Medical and vaccination records.
o Letters from doctors.
o Personal Child Health Record (red book).
o Letters from nursery schools.
3- For ages 5 to 10 years:
o School letters confirming attendance.
o Passport or travel document for the entire 10-year period to confirm any absences.
While it is advisable to obtain consent from all individuals with parental responsibility, lack of such consent is not grounds for refusal if the eligibility requirements under Section 1(4) are met. The Home Office typically requests parental consent, but it is not mandatory, and an application should not be rejected solely for this reason.
Section 1(7) of the British Nationality Act 1981 allows the Home Office to exercise discretion for
absences exceeding the 90-day limit in the first 10 years of life. The Home Office may waive these excess
absences if:
1- The absences in any single year do not exceed 180 days, and the total absences over the 10-year
period do not exceed 990 days.
2- The absences were due to circumstances beyond the family's control, such as severe illness.
However, the Home Office is unlikely to waive absences exceeding these limits if:
3- The applicant or their parents were unaware of the requirements.
4- The absences were entirely voluntary and within the control of the parents.
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