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NATIONAL REGISTRATION ACT (CHAPTER 19)

LAWS OF BRUNEI

CHAPTER 19

NATIONAL REGISTRATION ACT

2 of 1964

1984 Ed. Cap. 19

Amended by

S 29/95

S 50/00

REVISED EDITION 2002

(1st June 2002)

Section

ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS

1. Citation.

2. Interpretation.

3. Appointment of officers.

4. Establishment of register.

5. Registration.

5A. Re-registration of persons in possession of identity cards.

6. Regulations.

7. Authority of registration officer to prosecute.

8. Obligation to be in possession of travel document.

9. Issue of identity cards.

10. Returns by householders.

11. Cancellation of registration.

12. Onus of proof of contents of applications and identity cardsetc.

13. Report of certain persons admissible as evidence.

___________________________

NATIONAL REGISTRATION ACT

An Act to provide for the registration of persons in Brunei Darussalam, for the issue of identity cards and for purposes connected therewith

Commencement: 1st March 1965

[S 146/65]

Citation.

1. This Act may be cited as the National Registration Act.

Interpretation.

2. In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires —

“Commissioner” means the Commissioner of National Registration appointed under section 3;

“householder” means the owner, tenant, sub-tenant or occupier ofa house, shophouse, flat, apartment, hut or other dwelling place;

[S 50/00]

“identity card” means an identity card issued underthe provisions of this Act;

[S 50/00]

“immigration officer” means the Controller of Immigration and anyperson appointed under section 3 of the Immigration Act, and includes a SeniorImmigration Officer;

[S 50/00]

“Minister” means the Minister of Home Affairs;

[S 50/00]

“registration officer” means the Commissioner, the DeputyCommissioner of National Registration, and any person appointed as aregistration officer or agent under section 3.

Appointment of officers.

3. (1) The Minister with the approval of His Majesty the Sultan andYang Di-Pertuan may appoint a Commissioner of National Registration, a DeputyCommissioner of National Registration, and such other registration officers andagents as he may consider necessary or expedient for the purposes ofthis Act.

[S 29/95; S 50/00]

(2) The Commissioner shall, subject to the general direction and control ofthe Minister with the approval of His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan,perform the duties and exercise the rights and powers imposed and conferred uponhim by this Act.

[S 29/95; S 50/00]

(3) The Deputy Commissioner of National Registration and all otherregistration officers and agents shall be under the direction and control of theCommissioner.

(4) All officers and agents appointed under this section shall be deemed to be public servants for the purposes of the Penal Code (Chapter 22).

Establishment of register.

4. (1) The Commissioner shall cause to be kept and maintained a register of all persons in Brunei Darussalam who are required toregister under the provisions of this Act and any regulations madethereunder.

(2) The register shall be in such form and shall contain suchparticulars as may be prescribed.

(3) A copy of or extract from any document, including a copyproduced by way of microfilm or computer print-out, filed or lodged at theoffice of the Commissioner, certified to be a true copy or an extract under thehand and seal of the Commissioner shall in any proceedings be admissible inevidence as of equal validity with the original document.

[S 50/00]

Registration.

5. Subject to the provisions of any exemptions which may be granted by regulations made under section 6, every person within Brunei Darussalam shall be registered under and in accordance with the provisions of this Act and of any regulations made thereunder.

Re-registration of persons in possession of identity cards. [S50/00]

5A. (1) Every person who, on the commencement of this section, is inpossession of a valid in identity card issued under this Act shall re-registerunder this Act within such period as the Minister may, by notification in the Gazette , specify.

(2) All identity cards issued under this Act before such date shall ceaseto be valid on the expiration of the period within which persons in possession of such identity cards are required to be re-registered undersubsection (1).

Regulations.

6. (1) The Minister with the approval of His Majesty the Sultan andYang Di-Pertuan may make regulations generally for carrying into effect theprovisions of this Act, and the different categories of identity cards that maybe issued to such categories or classes of persons as may be prescribed.

[S 29/95; S 50/00]

(2) Without prejudice to the generality of the powers conferred by,subsection (1), any regulations made under this section may provide for—

(a) the manner in which and the places at which application forregistration of persons under this Act shall be made;

(b) the establishment of a central registry;

(c) the information and documents to be furnished for thepurposes of registration;

(d) the taking and recording of photographs and finger andthumb prints of persons required to be registered under this Act;

(e) the issue and form of identity cards and the particulars to beentered thereon and the different categories of identity cards that may be issued to such categories or classes of persons as may beprescribed;

[S 50/00]

(f) the inspection of identity cards by persons in charge of hotelsand lodging houses and such other classes or descriptions of persons as may beprescribed;

(g) the issue of replacement identity cards;

(h) requiring persons who have obtained identity cards orreplacements thereof before attaining the age of 17 years to re-register withinsuch period, not exceeding 5 years from the date of their first registration, asmay be prescribed;

(i) the re-registration of persons who have obtained identity cards orreplacements thereof within any prescribed period;

[S 50/00]

(j) the maximum charges that may be made for, and theconditions which may be imposed on the taking by any person of photographs forthe purposes of this Act;

(k) the temporary surrender of identity cards;

(l) the custody and production of identity cards;

(m) the times and places for the attendance before a registrationofficer of applicants and holders of identity cards;

(n) the publication of information derived from the register;

(o) the making of corrections to and alterations in the register,and identity cards;

(p) the preparation, custody and inspection of indices of and theissue of extracts from the register;

(q) the fees to be imposed under this Act, and the conditions underwhich the collection thereof may be waived;

(r) the presumptions relating to proof of documents kept under theprovisions of this Act and any regulations made thereunder and issued under thehand of the Commissioner or of any other officer appointed under section 3;

(s) the conferring and exercise of powers of arrest and search;

(t) the absolute or conditional exemption of any person orcategory of persons from the provisions of this Act or of anyregulations made thereunder;

(u) the imposition of penalties for any contravention of anyregulation; provided that no such penalty shall exceed imprisonment for a termof 2 years or a fine of $5,000, or both such imprisonment and fine.

(3) The Minister may authorise the Commissioner to devise and use suchforms as the Commissioner considers necessary for the purposes of this Act.

[S 50/00]

Authority of registration officer to prosecute.

7. The Commissioner and any other registration officer shall have authority to appear in any court and conduct any prosecution in respect ofany offence against this Act or any regulations made thereunder.

Obligation to be in possession of travel document.

8. Nothing in this Act or in any regulation made thereunder shall bedeemed to relieve any person of any obligation under any other written law to bein possession of a passport or any other travel document whatsoever.

Issue of identity cards. [S 50/00]

9. Subject to the provisions of this Act and any regulations made thereunder, every person registered under this Act shall be issued with anidentity card.

Returns by householders. [S 50/00]

10. (1) Every householder shall, when so required in writing by a registration officer, submit in respect of his household such returns, atsuch time during the year, as may be prescribed for the carrying out of theprovisions of this Act.

(2) Such returns shall be sent by the householder to such public officer or statutory authority as may be declared by the Minister by notification in the Gazette to be a public officer or statutory authority for the purposes of this section.

(3) The owner, manager or other person in charge of a hotel,boarding house, hostel or other like dwelling place may be required by aregistration officer to submit the returns required under subsection (1).

Cancellation of registration. [S 50/00]

11. (1) Where a person has been registered under the provisions of this Act and the Commissioner is satified that the registration —

(a) was obtained by means of fraud, flase representation or theconcealment of any material fact; or

(b) was effected by mistake,

the Commissioner may cancel the registration of that person.

(2) Any person whose registration is cancelled under this section shallforthwith surrender his identity card to the Commissioner.

Onus of proof of contents of written applications and identity cards etc. [S 50/00]

12. The onus of proving the truth of the contents of any written application for registration made under provisions of this Act and any regulations made thereunder or the contents of an identity card shallbe on the applicant or on the person to whom the identity card was issued or onany other person alleging the truth of the contents.

Report of certain persons admissible as evidence. [S50/00]

13. (1) Any document purporting to be a report under the hand of anyof the persons mentioned in subsection (2) upon any matter or thing dulysubmitted to any such person for examination, analysis or report, may be used asevidence in any trial or other proceedings under this Act or any regulationsmade thereunder, unless the court requires that person to be called as awitness:

Provided that in any case in which the Public Prosecutor intends to give inevidence any such report, he shall deliver a copy thereof to the accused notless than 10 days before the commencement of the trial or other proceedings.

(2) The following are persons to whom this section applies —

(a) any officer or any person duly authorised to issue identitycards by virtue of this Act; and

(b) any police officer charged with the registration or collation offingerprints.