Constitution Order of Antigua and Barbuda 1981
Citizenship and Nationality
  • English
    The following persons shall become citizens on 1st November 1981-
    a. every person who, having been born in Antigua, was on 31st October 1981, a citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies;
    b. every person born outside Antigua if either of his parents or any one of his grandparents was born therein or was registered or naturalized while resident in Antigua;
    c. every person who on 31st October 1981 was a citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies
    i. having become such a citizen under the British Nationality Act 1948 by virtue of his having been naturalized while resident in Antigua as a British subject before the Act came into force; or
    ii. having while resident in Antigua become such a citizen by virtue of his having been naturalized or registered under that Act;
    d. every person who, having been born outside Antigua was on 31st October 1981 a citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies and if his father or mother becomes, or would but for his or her death or the renunciation of his or her citizenship of the United Kingdom and Colonies have become, a citizen by virtue of paragraph (a), (b) or (c) of this section;
    e. every woman who, having been married to a person who becomes, or but for his death or the renunciation of his citizenship of the United Kingdom and Colonies, would have become a citizen by virtue of paragraph (a), (b), (c) or (d) of this section, was a citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies on 31st October 1981;
    f. every person who on 31st October 1981 was under the age of eighteen years and is the child, stepchild, or child adopted in a manner recognized by law, of such a person as is mentioned in any of the preceding paragraphs of this section. (Sec. 112)
Citizenship and Nationality
  • English
    The following persons shall become citizens at the date of their birth on or after 1st November 1981-
    a. every person born in Antigua and Barbuda:
    Provided that a person shall not become a citizen by virtue of this paragraph if at the time of his birth
    i. neither of his parents is a citizen and either of them possess such immunity from suit and legal process as is accorded to the envoy of a foreign sovereign power accredited to Antigua and Barbuda; or
    ii. either of his parents is a citizen of a country with which Her Majesty is at war and the birth occurs in a place then under occupation by that country;
    b. every person born outside Antigua and Barbuda if at the date of his birth either of his parents is or would have been but for that parent's death, a citizen by virtue of section 112 of this Constitution or paragraph (a) of this section;
    c. every person born outside Antigua and Barbuda if at the date of his birth either of his parents is, or would have been but for that parent's death, a citizen employed in service under the Government or under an authority of the Government that requires him or her to reside outside Antigua and Barbuda for the proper discharge of his or her functions. (Sec. 113)
Citizenship and Nationality
  • English
    1. Subject to the provisions of paragraph (e) of section 112 and of section 117 of this Constitution, the following persons shall be entitled, upon making application, to be registered on or after 1st November 1981-
    a. any person who, on 31st October 1981-
    i. was married to a person who becomes a citizen by virtue of section 112 of this Constitution; or
    ii. was married to a person who, having died before 1st November 1981, would have but for his or her death, become a citizen by virtue of that section: Provided that such person is not, or was not at the time of the death of the spouse, living apart from the spouse under a decree of a competent court or a deed of separation;
    b. any person who-
    i. was married to a person who is or becomes a citizen; or
    ii. was married to a person who was or, but for his or her death, would have become a citizen:
    Provided that no application shall be allowed from such person before the marriage has subsisted for upwards of three years and that such person is not, or was not at the time of the death of the spouse, living apart from the spouse under a decree of a competent court or a deed of separation;
    c. i. every person being a Commonwealth citizen who on 31st October 1981 was domiciled in Antigua and had been ordinarily resident therein for a period of not less than seven years preceding that day;
    ii. any person who being a Commonwealth citizen is domiciled in Antigua and Barbuda and has for a period of not less than seven years immediately preceding his application been lawfully ordinarily resident in Antigua and Barbuda (whether or not that period commenced before 1st November 1981);
    d. any person who, but for having renounced his 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 1st November 1981;
    e. any person who, having been a citizen, had to renounce his citizenship in order to qualify for the acquisition or retention of the citizenship of another country;
    f. any person under the age of eighteen years who is the child, stepchild or child adopted in a manner recognised by law of a citizen or is the child, stepchild or child so adopted of a person who is or would but for his death have been entitled to be registered as a citizen under this subsection.
    2. An application under this section shall be made in such manner as may be prescribed as respects that application by or under a law enacted by Parliament and, in the case of a person to whom subsection (1) (f) of this section applies, it shall be made on his behalf by his parent or guardian:
    Provided that if the person to whom subsection (1) (f) of this section applies is or has been married, the application may be made by that person. (Sec. 114)
Citizenship and Nationality
  • English
    1. A person, who on 1st November 1981, is a citizen or entitled to be registered as such and is also a citizen of some other country or entitled to be registered as such shall not solely on the ground that he is or becomes a citizen of that country, be
    a. deprived of his citizenship;
    b. refused registration as a citizen; or
    c. required to renounce his citizenship of that other country, by or under any law.
    2. A person referred to in subsection (1) of this section shall not
    a. be refused a passport of Antigua and Barbuda or have such a passport withdrawn, cancelled, or impounded solely on the ground that he is in possession of a passport issued by some other country of which he is a citizen; or
    b. be required to surrender or be prohibited from acquiring a passport issued by some other country of which he is a citizen before being issued with a passport of Antigua and Barbuda or as a condition of retaining such a passport. (Sec. 115)
Citizenship and Nationality
  • English
    1. Without prejudice to and subject to the provisions of sections 11, 112, 113, 114 and 115 of this Constitution, Parliament may, pursuant to the provisions of this section, make provision for the acquisition of citizenship by registration.
    … (Sec. 116)
Citizenship and Nationality
  • English
    1. Any reference in this Chapter2 to the national status 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 national status of the father at the time of the father's death; and where that death occurred before 1st November 1981 the national status that the father would have had if he had died on that day shall be deemed to be his national status at the time of his death:
    Provided that in the case of a child born out of wedlock references to the mother shall be substituted for such references to the father.
    2. In this Chapter-
    "child" includes a child born out of wedlock and not legitimated;
    "father", in relation to a child born out of wedlock and not legitimated, includes a person who acknowledges and can show that he is the father of the child or has been found by a court of competent jurisdiction to be the father of the child;
    "parent" includes the mother of a child born out of wedlock.
    … (Sec. 118)
Links to all sites last visited 6 February 2024
2
Chapter VIII on Citizenship.
3
Chapter II on Protection of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms of the Individual.
4
Part of Chapter II on Protection of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms of the Individual.
5
Chapter II on Protection of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms of the Individual.
6
Chapter IV on Parliament.