Under Paragraph 3 of Schedule 2 of the British Nationality Act 1981, the law states:
"3(1) A person born in the United Kingdom or a [F7British overseas territory] after commencement shall
be entitled, on an application for his registration under this paragraph, to be so registered if the
following requirements are satisfied in his case, namely— (a) that he is and always has been stateless;
and (b) that on the date of the application he F8. . . was under the age of twenty-two; and (c) that he
was in the United Kingdom or a [F7British overseas territory] (no matter which) at the beginning of the
period of five years ending with that date and that (subject to paragraph 6) the number of days on
which he was absent from both the United Kingdom and the [F9British overseas territories] in that
period does not exceed 450."
Based on this legal provision, a stateless child may qualify for British citizenship registration if the
following conditions are met:
1- The child was born in the United Kingdom.
2- The child is currently and has always been stateless.
3- The child is under 22 years old at the time of the application.
4- The child has lived in the UK for the entire five years preceding the application date.
5- The child has not been absent from the UK for more than 450 days during the five years prior to
the application.
In the significant case of MK (A Child By Her Litigation Friend CAE), R (On the Application Of) v SSHD [2017] EWC 1365 (Admin) (14 June 2017), the High Court examined whether the term "stateless" includes children who do not automatically acquire nationality under their country’s laws but have the option to gain it through registration or a similar process if they choose to do so.
According to Indian law, specifically The Citizenship (Amendment) Act 2003, an Indian national born abroad on or after December 3, 2004, is not automatically considered an Indian citizen unless their birth is registered at an Indian consulate in the prescribed manner. If a child born to Indian parents in the UK has not been registered with Indian authorities for at least 12 months, they may be regarded as stateless and thus eligible to apply for British citizenship. To confirm this, a letter from the Indian High Commission will be required, stating that the child has not been registered and is not an Indian national according to Indian nationality laws.
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