Registro de hijos menores (derivados/menores vulnerables)

Two minor-registration mechanisms: (i) discretionary ministerial registration of a minor in special circumstances, which MAY include an abandoned infant born in Saint Lucia or a stateless minor (Citizenship of Saint Lucia Act, Cap. 1.04, s.7(2)); and (ii) entitlement-based derivative registration of a person under 21 who is the child/stepchild/adopted child of a citizen or of a person entitled to register (s.6(2)(d); Constitution s.102(2)(d)) — application made by parent or guardian (Const s.102(3)). Lets a minor derive registration alongside or in the wake of a qualifying parent.

• Step-child / adopted-child registration entitlement: 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 death would have been so entitled) is entitled, upon application, to be registered as a citizen (Citizenship of Saint Lucia Act s.6(2)(d)). The Constitution carries the parallel entitlement for a stepchild or child adopted in a manner recognised by law of a citizen (Const s.102(2)(d)). - Derivative registration of a minor as the child/stepchild/adopted child of a person entitled to register: under Const s.102(2)(d), a person under 21 who is the child, stepchild or child adopted in a manner recognised by law of a citizen — or of a person who is or would but for death have been entitled to be registered as a citizen under s.102(1) — is entitled, upon application, to be registered. This lets a minor derive registration alongside or in the wake of a qualifying parent. - Statelessness mitigation for minors: Saint Lucia's only domestic statelessness-mitigation mechanism is the discretionary ministerial registration of a stateless minor under Citizenship of Saint Lucia Act s.7(2)(b). It is discretionary, limited to minors, and exists despite Saint Lucia being a NON-PARTY to the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness. There is no general statelessness status-determination process under domestic law. - Minor step-child / adopted-child registration: 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 death would have been so entitled) is entitled to be registered (Citizenship Act s.6(2)(d)); the constitutional analogue (Const s.102(2)(d)) extends to the stepchild or child adopted in a manner recognised by law of a citizen.

• An application for registration by a person under 21 falling within s.6(2)(d) (step-child / adopted child) may be made on his or her behalf by the parents or guardian. Where such a minor is or has been married, he or she may make the application personally (Const s.102(3) proviso; statutory parallel s.6(3) read with s.6(2)(d)). - A registration applicant under Const s.102 who is a British protected person, an alien, or (if so prescribed by Parliament) a citizen of a Commonwealth country not part of Her Majesty's dominions, and who has reached 21 years, must take the oath of allegiance before registration. Minors registering under s.102(2)(d) are below this threshold, so the oath requirement does not bite on the derivative-minor registration itself. - Application on behalf of a minor: an application for registration by a person to whom s.6(1)(d) applies may be made on his or her behalf by his or her parents or guardian (Citizenship Act s.6(3)); the constitutional analogue requires applications for a s.102(2)(d) minor to be made by parent or guardian, save that a married applicant may apply personally (Const s.102(3)).

Primary statute: Citizenship of Saint Lucia Act, Cap. 1.04, s.7(2) + s.6(2)(d); Constitution s.102(2)(d). Operative 1979-06-05–present. Authority: Department of Home Affairs; Minister.