British born and raised. But can't get a passport

LadyTrick

I was born in London in 1987.
I have a British birth certificate.
English is my only language.
I have only ever lived in England.
I have grown up, gone to school, university and worked here and paid my taxes.
My father is British, my great grandfather died in WWII and I can trace my family tree in England to the 1500's.

I cannot get a British passport....

The problem?

My mother is Danish and moved here when she was sixteen. She did not marry my dad, if she had there would be no problem.

I'm stateless.

The passport office even got my mother to show all her tax earnings before I was born (26 years ago) but because she didn't work when she was pregnant and after they want my mum to prove how she lived. It's simple my dad worked and paid the bills but they won't take him into account because they weren't married even though he is on my birth certificate. They even asked for bank details but who can find that kind of information from 26 years ago?

I feel so insulted and the whole process has had nothing to do with who I am.

I have the option of trying to get a Danish passport but it will take up to 18 months to process and the forms are in Danish....I don't speak/read Danish.

I don't know what to do. All this because my parents didn't get married.

This was a recent law that was introduced. Its criminal. Contact your local media, get a meeting with your local MP. This can be rectified.

Here is the kicker though. Most of the people who assess your application shouldn't even have the right to be in the UK in the first place. Most are foreigners by birth. Disgusting.

Wish you the best!!!!

Although you're an adult now, the UK has been in breach of its obligations to you under the UN Convention of the Rights of the Child - it has an obligation to ensure that every child acquires a nationality. The UK is also a signatory to the European Convention on Nationality.

I agree with the advice about contacting you MP and the media. You also need a solicitor who specialises in this area of law. On the face of it, I think the way you've been treated is not only grossly unfair, but probably also unlawful.

reply to post by LadyTrick


I feel for you buddy, this country is going to the dogs!

reply to post by projectbane


I have no help to offer you, other than to say I feel very bad about the situation you've found yourself in through a quirk of birth/the law. I like to complain a lot about my government, and the things it does/doesn't do, but at least I can say that it recognizes my status as a citizen.

I hope you find a resolution.

As others have suggested, it's always a good idea to contact your MP about your situation. Also, contact a local newspaper and try and speak to somebody there. Speaking as somebody who wrote for one for a number of years, I can say that there's a chance a writer there might be willing to shine some light on your plight. Some media attention would also certainly act as an incentive for your MP to help you out.

Is your father on your birth certificate?

That may be a critical to your assertion that you are half British, from a legal perspective. As you are a European you can do what you like in the UK, but a passport defines nationality and if you cannot prove your ascendancy then you may need to consider other options.

Otherwise, your default nationality is your mothers.

Regards

Try changing your surname to Ugochukwu, or Obasanjo.

They'd probably fast track it.

reply to post by LadyTrick


You could always get a fake passport, they sell for around £1000-£1500 depending on the colour of one's skin!

Sad but true!

British Nationality laws are ridiculous. My mother was born on a British military base in India during the Raj to British parents. The amount of red tape she had to wade through when she wanted to get her passport was ridiculous.

TrueBrit
reply to post by LadyTrick

 

Well I tell you what, I wish you the very best of luck.

Nothing makes me as angry at this country, as when its government makes life impossible for its residents.

From what I have seen of somewhere called Somerset levels, in England? he should be lucky he does not live there as well, seems that place has been underwater for months!

reply to post by paraphi


Yea my father is on my birth certificate. Makes no difference though.

reply to post by AngryCymraeg


Aye, I've been in a similar position. My Dad was born to British parents in Nicosia, Cyrprus in 1957 when it was a British Colony and my Grandfather was in the Army.

He even joined the Army himself and served 25 years, but every time I have to do my security clearance and I put my Fathers details down, they always ask for his naturalisation certificate and delay my security clearance.

It's always the same woman who does it and I explain to her every time he is a British citizen and not a Cypriot (family hails from Devon/Cornwall, so definitely not an Olive skinned Mediterranean type) but she just can't wrap her head around it.

Good luck to the OP though - talking to your MP would be a good help but to be honest, I don't see why you cannot be naturalised as you didn't enter illegally and have lived here your whole life.

reply to post by LadyTrick


If you need help filling out Danish papers, shoot me a PM and we can talk. I'd be more than happy having a chat and translating your papers for you.

reply to post by Auricom


Thankyou for the offer, I can get my mum to translate if needs be but I'm thinking about the future, I really dont want a danish passport because when it comes to renewing a danish passport and if my mother isn't around its going to be a pain.

Also im worried if I get a Danish passport it will cause problems for my baby girl when she's older as I'm not married to her dad ( we want to but can't afford it and also when we can we would like to go abroad for our honeymoon)

reply to post by LadyTrick


I'd concentrate on getting naturalised as a UK citizen if I were you - you have lived here long enough and are the child of an EU citizen, I don't see why they'd refuse it. Who's your local MP?

Claim that you're Somalian.

They'll overnight your British passport right away!

reply to post by LadyTrick


Offer stands should you need help in the future for whatever reason.

It's truly a sticky situation you're in. If you were born in the U.K. I don't see why they wouldn't issue you a passport.

LadyTrick
My father is British

Isn't there a law that was enacted in 2006 that stated that you can also just use your fathers birth certificate? (A quick Google lead me to that.)

It stinks,bangaladeshis and others come to the u.k,have baby girls,ship the baby girls back to bangladesh/pakistan,then marry the girls off at age 10 or so,then dadar the spouse can come and settle in the u.k just in time for the whole cycle to begin again. But the op cant get a passport? The mind boggles.

Best advice has been given already, contact your MP, they have to do something on your behalf, apart from helping themselves to boot loads of expenses cash they as a public servant MUST help you.

On a side note, you mentioned something that marks out the UK as the place to head for if you want to be a benefit tourist. You said you could apply for a Danish passport but as its all in Danish and you don't speak Danish it would be impossible to fill the form in.

As you say, their form for this and I presume most important things are all in Danish while here in the UK all our forms are in every language and we will even throw in a translator to help you, all for free. No attempt to encourage the speaking of the National tongue at all and we wonder why they come to rip us off, we practically do all the work for them.

Add to that the Panorama programme last night that showed the sham that are the Border Agency checks...

But back on topic, its truly a disgusting red tape nightmare you are in, don't give up, fight the fight and make sure you are heard, if people say can't help you then demand to speak to someone above them. Shame you are not in London, you could go down to St Martins Lane where the passport office is and demand to see someone, its harder for them to be arsey when the person is in front of them and not on a phone.

Good luck, you will get there...

reply to post by LadyTrick


Have same issue.... statelessness I know it can sting, it can still gut me at times too..hits hard on identity issues..but hey, eventually even that passes...its all insane idiocracy, sadly, you get used to it.

Ro

reply to post by LadyTrick


One thing I will guarantee you is that whatever steps you have to take to rectify - what is a ridiculous situation - is that you will have to pay a stupid lot of beaucratic bills to get what you want.

Has anyone noticed how suddenly things that were free and considered part of the service ghiven by local government or government etc now, one pays and pays and pays again for. Its stealth tax.

Are you sure you don't want a Danish Passport rather than a British one. Lets face it, if Scotland takes off, and I as an English man hope it does, then your British passport will have to be changed - yes another means of the government grabbing as much cash as it can stealthily.

I thought a common law wife had pretty much the same benefits as a legal one.