My Lords, Amendment 139 is another suggestion from the Joint Committee on Human Rights. I move it in the name of, and at the invitation of, the noble Lord, Lord Dubs.
I am not sure why this amendment is in this place because it actually refers to Part 1 of the Bill, but anyway, that is a mystery. Clause 7 allows the Secretary of State the discretion to grant British citizenship or British overseas territory citizenship to adults where they would have had that citizenship but for historical unfairness or other exceptional circumstances. Clause 7 specifies that it applies to adults only where they are
“of full age and capacity”.
Requiring a person to be of full capacity in order to benefit from these provisions would seem to discriminate, potentially, against people who do not have full capacity.
Section 44A of the British Nationality Act provides that where full capacity is required, it may be waived if that is
“in the applicant’s best interests.”
This is obviously welcome, but it is not immediately obvious why those lacking full capacity should not always have the requirement for full capacity waived if it is in their best interests. Hence, the proposed amendment is to Section 44A of the BNA so that the Secretary of State “must”, not “may”, waive the requirement for a person to have full capacity if it is in the applicant’s best interests, so as not to unfairly disadvantage those lacking full capacity.