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16 year old with difficulty getting a UK passport

Posted: Sat Jul 28, 2012 6:12 pm
by J99
Hello, I have been trying to get a passport and I thought it was going to be relatively straightforward, and it really isn't. The passport line has been unhelpful and I can't get a clear answer.

I was born in england, have a british birth certificate, have lived here all my life, been to school here and I have a national insurance card and driving licence etc.

My Father is a British citizen who was originally from bangladesh, he has a british passport and has lived here for 30+ years

My mother is from morocco and she has a moroccan passport with an indefinate leave to remain, she has been in england for 18 years.

I can't get any documents as my parents (father) are uncooperative and my mother dosen't really have any documents apart from a passport and ID card (both Moroccan), and this makes the process monumentally difficult.

Does this make me a British Citizen? How can I get a passport when my father (a british citizen) is uncooperative?

I'm 16

Thanks.

Posted: Sat Jul 28, 2012 8:33 pm
by vinny
If one of your parents was British or settled at the time of your birth, then you are automatically British. Else, you are entitled to register.

Posted: Sat Jul 28, 2012 11:40 pm
by Jambo
As said, if your father became British before your birth, then you are British.

The only cooperation you need from your dad in this case, is his current passport number. Would you be able to get it?

Alternatively, are you able to get a copy of his naturalisation certificate or do you know when was his naturalised as British.

Posted: Sat Jul 28, 2012 11:52 pm
by J99
I really don't have a clue when he was naturalised and he won't give me his passport number, I think he's been here for 50 years.

What am I going to do, is there any way of getting a passport without his help?

Posted: Sun Jul 29, 2012 12:41 am
by Jambo
If you don't have documents to prove your British nationality, then you might need to apply to the home office for a status letter using form NS. Read the Guide NS. The application cost £88.

Posted: Sun Jul 29, 2012 1:23 am
by J99
I think I could get my fathers passport number, but that would be it and it would mean going through his stuff. So no documents or anything like that, I would not be able to get a marriage certificate, naturalisation certificate e.t.c

My mother has her moroccan birth certificate, passport and ID card, no ILTR documents.


Would this be able to get me a passport, I have my birth certificate and NI card/document and a driving licence/school report.

Posted: Sun Jul 29, 2012 10:22 am
by Jambo
You need his passport number and your parents' marriage certificate in order to get a passport. You will also need your birth certificate. This is used as identity proof.

Your birth certificate, NI card or driving licence doesn't prove you are British. Any one born in the UK gets a birth certificate and NI card when they reach 16. Any one passing a driving test gets a driving license.

Posted: Mon Jul 30, 2012 3:59 am
by JAJ
If your mother had indefinite leave to remain when you were born then you are a British citizen. In that situation you don't even need to consider your father's status.

There are other options to prove (or obtain) British citizenship, but this one will be simplest. When did she get her ILR?

Posted: Wed Aug 01, 2012 10:11 pm
by J99
JAJ wrote:If your mother had indefinite leave to remain when you were born then you are a British citizen. In that situation you don't even need to consider your father's status.

There are other options to prove (or obtain) British citizenship, but this one will be simplest. When did she get her ILR?
I think it was 17 years ago, but there are no documents though, only her passport, ID card (both moroccan) and her NI card.

She also wants to become british, she's been here for 17 years, worked in England and has had 5 children, how long and how easy would it be to get her passport?

Posted: Fri Aug 03, 2012 4:41 am
by JAJ
J99 wrote: I think it was 17 years ago, but there are no documents though, only her passport, ID card (both moroccan) and her NI card.

She also wants to become british, she's been here for 17 years, worked in England and has had 5 children, how long and how easy would it be to get her passport?
Who do you mean by "no documents"? Did she get a visa to settle in the United Kingdom? Or are you saying that she arrived as a tourist and overstayed?

Posted: Sat Aug 04, 2012 5:27 am
by J99
She does have an indefinite leave to remain and a mortgage in her name but my father took everything with him, so she has no documents.


I do know that she is here legally and there are no problems in that respect.

Posted: Sat Aug 04, 2012 5:55 am
by vinny
Did she have ILR before or after your birth?

Posted: Sat Aug 04, 2012 4:00 pm
by JAJ
J99 wrote:She does have an indefinite leave to remain and a mortgage in her name but my father took everything with him, so she has no documents.
So where is her proof of indefinite leave to remain? Is it not a stamp in her passport?

Anyway, if she has lost the proof of her ILR, or it was taken by your father, she needs to contact the Home Office to get a replacement.

She is really vulnerable without proof of legal status in the United Kingdom. For example, she could lose her job if her employer doubts her status and she can't prove it, she can't get back into the United Kingdom if she leaves, and so on.

Posted: Sat Aug 04, 2012 6:45 pm
by J99
She had the ILR before I was born, she has jot gotten a new passport from the Moroccan embassy with a ID card, she also has her birth certificate from morocco which I helped her get. My father took everything else, including her old passport, documents, marriage certificates e.t.c.

Her new moroccan passport should arrive in the post any day now, will that have an ILR stamp?

If she leaves the UK, she can go to the embassy and get herself a visa to let herself back in the UK, its what she told me but I cannot confirm this.

Posted: Sat Aug 04, 2012 8:54 pm
by JulesN19
If she leaves the UK, she can go to the embassy and get herself a visa to let herself back in the UK, its what she told me but I cannot confirm this.
Your mother's new passport would not contain a new ILR endorsement unless and until it is placed there by the Home Office. She could apply for this to be done by submitting form NTL with her new passport, photos, and the fee. I would not suggest that she do this from abroad, as the process could potentially take weeks or even months. If she was granted ILR more than 16 years ago, then the Home Office might want evidence that she hasn't spent two years living outside the UK since the original grant of ILR; this is best done when she is in the UK.

She may want to first make a Subject Access Request to the Home Office in order to check her entire immigration file and confirm that they have the record of her being granted ILR.

Posted: Thu Aug 09, 2012 5:12 am
by J99
So if I did this how could I then make her British?

She has not gone to Morocco in over 10 years.

Posted: Thu Aug 09, 2012 2:10 pm
by vinny