Revised Laws of Saint Lucia (2022)

6.   Registration of citizens

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   (1)   A person shall be entitled upon making application in the prescribed form to be registered as a citizen if—

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      (a)     she is a woman who is married to a citizen or has been married to a person who at any time during the period of her marriage was a citizen;

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      (b)     being a Commonwealth citizen, he or she has resided in Saint Lucia for a period of 7 years prior to the appointed date;

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      (c)     he or she is a person who but for having renounced the citizenship of the United Kingdom and Colonies in order to qualify for the acquisition or retention of the citizenship of another country would have become a citizen on the appointed date;

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      (d)     he or she is a person who having been a citizen has renounced his or her citizenship in order to qualify for the acquisition or retention of the citizenship of another country;

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      (e)     she is a woman who is married to any such person as is mentioned in paragraph (b), (c) or (d) or who was married to a person who at any time during the period of her marriage was entitled to be registered as a citizen under such paragraph;

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      (f)     she is a woman who before the appointed date has been married to a person who—

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         (i)     becomes a citizen by virtue of section 3, or

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         (ii)     having died before such date would but for his or her death have become a citizen by virtue of that section,

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   but whose marriage has been terminated by dissolution before the appointed date.

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   (2)   A person shall, subject to the provisions of the following subsections, be entitled upon application in the prescribed form to be registered as a citizen if he or she is—

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      (a)     a man who is married to a citizen or who has been married to a person who at any time during the period of the marriage was a citizen;

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      (b)     a person who being a Commonwealth citizen has been for a period of 7 years prior to his or her application ordinarily resident in Saint Lucia;

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      (c)     any man who is married to any such person as is mentioned in subsection (1)(b), (1)(c) or (1)(d) or who was married to a person who, at any time during the period during which they were married to each other, was entitled to apply to be registered as a citizen under any such paragraph;

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      (d)     a person under the age of 21 years who is a step-child or adopted child of a person entitled to be registered as a citizen or who but for his or her death would have been entitled to be registered as a citizen.

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   (3)   An application for registration by a person to whom subsection (1)(d) applies may be made on his or her behalf by his or her parents or guardian.

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   (4)   The Minister may with respect to an application under subsection (2)(b) aggregate discontinuous periods of residence or for special reasons accept a shorter period than 7 years for purposes of residence as required under that paragraph.

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   (5)   The Minister may require a citizen of any prescribed Commonwealth country to take an oath of allegiance before he or she is registered as a citizen under this section.

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   (6)   The Minister may refuse an application under subsection (2) upon reasonable grounds which may include any of the following—

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      (a)     that the applicant is not of good character;

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      (b)     that the applicant does not have an adequate knowledge of the English language;

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      (c)     that the applicant by his or her conduct, action or speech appears to the Minister not to be conducive to the security of or public order in the State;

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      (d)     that the applicant is not resident in the State;

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      (e)     that the applicant has been convicted of a criminal offence punishable by imprisonment for a period of 6 months or more;

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      (f)     that the applicant has been convicted of any offence relating to dangerous drugs.

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   (7)   Where an application is made in prescribed manner under subsections (1) and (2), the Minister shall, if satisfied that the applicant is entitled to be registered, grant to him or her a certificate of registration and a certificate issued under this section shall, unless it is proved that it was obtained by means of fraud, false representation or concealment of any material fact, be conclusive evidence that that person was such a citizen on the date thereof.

(Inserted by Act 20 of 1984)