CONFIDENTIAL
United Kingdom has returned to his country of origin for a lengthy spell. In framing the requirements the Government will try to take account of the circumstances most generally encountered and their proposals are
likely to require the following:
(a) a period of residence, probably 5 years, but including a
stipulation that a fixed part of the period shall consist of continuous physical presence (apart from short holidays or other trips) in the United Kingdom.
(b) that there should be a minimum period of 1 year's residence from
the date of acceptance for settlement before an application will be
accepted;
(c)
that the Secretary of State should have discretion in exceptional circumstances to reduce periods in (a) or (b);
(a) that periods spent here illegally, that is, having entered or
remained in the United Kingdom in breach of the Immigration law, should
not count towards the residence qualification.
The Language Qualification
63. The nature of the language test at present is set out in paragraph 57
of the Green Paper, that is that an applicant should have an adequate command
of spoken English (English or Welsh in the case of Commonwealth applicants),
and that such factors as the age and ability of the applicant are taken into
account in assessing his suitability. The Government's view is that it is
right to continue to have a simple language requirement: the Bill will
accordingly provide that a candidate for naturalisation must show that he
has sufficient knowledge of English or Welsh. The intention would be to
continue to take account of the age and general ability of the applicant.
But to allow for the exceptional case, in particular where the applicant is
elderly or handicapped, the Bill will propose that the Home Secretary should
have power in special circumstances to dispense with the language requirement
altogether.
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