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Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Bill

moved Amendment No. 15:"Page 32, line 5, after ““registration”” insert ““of an adult or young person””" The noble Baroness said: As noble Lords know, the provision that now forms Clause 58 would extend the requirement for nationality applicants to satisfy the Secretary of State that they are of good character to all such applicants, except those seeking to exercise an entitlement derived from the 1961 UN Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness. Our amendments to this clause on Report made a further exception for those seeking to register as British citizens on the basis that they are already British overseas citizens, British subjects or British protected persons and hold no other nationality or citizenship. Amendments Nos. 15, 16, 25, 27, 29 and 32 would, taken together, make an additional exception in respect of those aged under 10 on the date of their application for citizenship. As I indicated on Report, it would be extremely foolish to subject very young children to character checks before granting them British nationality. It was never our intention to do so, and I trust that the statutory exemption for which this amendment provides eliminates any remaining doubt about our plans to apply this new power to withhold citizenship in a sensible and targeted manner. I beg to move. On Question, amendment agreed to.