Bermuda Immigration and Protection Amendment Act 2000
BERMUDA IMMIGRATION AND PROTECTION AMENDMENT
ACT 2000

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BERMUDA
2000 : 1

BERMUDA IMMIGRATION AND PROTECTION AMENDMENT
ACT 2000

[Date of Assent 8 March 2000]

[Operative Date 8 March 2000]

WHEREAS it is expedient to amend the Bermuda Immigration
And Protection Act 1956:

Be it enacted by The Queen's Most Excellent Majesty, by and
with the advice and consent of the Senate and the House of Assembly of
Bermuda, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

Citation
1 This Act which amends the Bermuda Immigration and Protection
Act 1956 (hereinafter referred to as "the principal Act") may be cited as
the Bermuda Immigration and Protection Amendment Act 2000.

Amends section 16 of principal Act
2 Section 16 of the principal Act is amended by deleting
subsection (2) and substituting the following—

" (2) Any person who is under the age of twenty-two
years and who—

(a) is a legitimate or legitimated child, or is a step-
child or child adopted in a manner recognised

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by law, of a person who has Bermudian status;
or

(b) is a child who is born out of wedlock, to a
person who has Bermudian status and in
respect of whom the conditions specified in
subsection (2A) are satisfied,

shall, for the purposes of this Act, be deemed to possess and
enjoy Bermudian status.

(2A) For the purposes of subsection (2)(b) the Minister
must be satisfied that the person has held himself or herself out
as the parent of the child either by—

(a) receiving the child into his or her home and
bringing up the child as a member of his or her
family with, if the person is married, the consent
of his or her spouse; or

(b) where there is no such consent or the parent is
unmarried, by providing maintenance and
support for, and otherwise, so far as is
practicable, by taking an active role in the
overall development of, the child,

and for the purposes of this subsection, the Minister shall take
into account such information as the Minister considers
appropriate.

(2B) A person who but for the fact that he is not a
Commonwealth citizen would possess Bermudian status under
section 18(1), (2) or (3) shall, for the purposes of this Act, be
deemed to possess and enjoy Bermudian status.".

Repeals and replaces sections 18 and 18A of principal Act
3 Sections 18 and 18A of the principal Act are repealed and
replaced by the following—

"Acquisition of Bermudian status by birth
18 (1) Where a person is, after 30 June 1956 and before
23 July 1993, born in Bermuda, he shall possess Bermudian
status if he is a Commonwealth citizen and, at the time of his
birth, one of his parents possessed Bermudian status.

(2) Where a person is, after 30 June 1956 and before
23 July 1993, born outside Bermuda, he shall possess
Bermudian status if—

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(a) he is a Commonwealth citizen; and

(b) one of his parents was domiciled in Bermuda at
the time of his birth and that parent possessed
Bermudian status at that time.

(3) A person shall also possess Bermudian status if,
being a Commonwealth citizen at the time of his birth—

(a) he was born in Bermuda on or after 23 July
1993 and, at the time of his birth, one of his
parents possessed Bermudian status; or

(b) he was born outside Bermuda on or after 23
July 1993 and, at the time of his birth, one of
his parents was domiciled in Bermuda and that
parent also possessed Bermudian status.

(4) Notwithstanding anything in subsections (1), (2)
and (3), those subsections shall, in relation to a child born out of
wedlock have effect subject to the following modifications—

(a) where the child is subsequently legitimated by
reason of the operation of the Legitimacy Act
1933, and has not yet acquired Bermudian
status by virtue of subsections (1), (2) or (3), the
date of the subsequent legitimation shall for the
purposes of subsections (1), (2) or (3), be treated
as if it were the date of the birth of the child and
the status and domicile of the father of the child
may then be taken into account in determining
whether or not the child has acquired or as the
case may be, may acquire, Bermudian status;

(b) where the child is not subsequently legitimated,
the provisions of subsections 16(2)(b) and 16(2A)
shall be taken into account in determining
whether or not the child may acquire Bermudian
status, and for the purposes of this paragraph,
the status and domicile of the parent at the time
of the child's birth may then be taken into
account in determining whether or not the child
has acquired or, as the case may be, may
acquire, Bermudian status.

(c) where the child has not been subsequently
legitimated and the provisions of section 16(2)(b)
and 16(2A) are not applicable, the status or

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domicile of the mother shall alone be regarded in
determining whether or not the child may
acquire Bermudian status.

(5) A person to whom subsection (1) or (2) of this
section applies shall be deemed to have attained Bermudian
status at the time of his birth.

(6) A person to whom subsection (3) of this section
applies attains Bermudian status at the time of his birth.

(7) Any reference in subsection (1), (2) or (3) to the
status or domicile of the father of a person at the time of that
person's birth shall, in relation to a person born after the death
of his father, be construed as a reference to the status or
domicile of the father at the time of the father's death.

(8) Where used in this section "domiciled" has the
meaning ordinarily applied to that word at common law; and
"domicile" shall be construed accordingly.

(9) Where—

(a) a person relies upon his mother's domicile at a
particular time for the purpose of deducing any
rights of his under this section; and

(b) she was married at that time and the domicile of
her spouse was other than Bermudian at that
time,

her domicile at that time, instead of being the same as that of
her spouse by virtue only of the marriage, shall be ascertained
by reference to the same factors as in the case of any other
individual capable of having an independent domicile.".

Amends section 20 of principal Act
4 Section 20 of the principal Act is amended by inserting next after
subsection (1) the following new subsection—

" (1A) A person referred to in section 16(2B) shall, from
and after the day that he becomes a Commonwealth citizen
possess Bermudian status.".

Amends section 104 of principal Act
5 Section 104 of the principal Act is amended in paragraph (c) by
deleting the words "illegitimate child" and substituting the words "child
born out of wedlock".

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Consequential amendments
6 The following consequential amendments are made to the
principal Act—

(a) in section 17, in subsection (2), delete the words
"subsections (5) and (6)" and substitute the words
"subsections (8) and (9)"; and

(b) in section 22, in subsection (1)(d) insert next after the
words "adopted child" the words "or child born out of
wedlock".