Denied citizenship via windrush

ConfusedGuy wrote:Sorry for bringing this back up again but I had some problems in life and this took a back step.

So right now Im in the UK legally and have the right to abode but I need to fill in form UKM to register as a British citizen, than I can apply for a passport.

Sounds like you're back on track. Good luck.

Ok bear with me on this one...

I (female) was born 2nd December 1982 In Australia.

My father is Australian, My mother is British by birth, her mum and dad are British by birth.

My mother took me to the UK at age 4 and thats where I have been ever since.

I got some advice on this forum to apply to register as a British citizen a couple of years ago, I had some major illness issues and have only just got around to doing it (Im waiting on acro coming back) but after speaking to the home office they seem to think my sons are not British ?

They were both born in 2000 and 2002 in Britain, 16 and 18 years old.

There father is British by birth but not on either of the birth certificates.

I was not and am still not married to there father.


Are they British or Australian ? if there Australian will they become British when I register as a British citizen ?

Thanks for your help.

I have merged your topics for members to see all the previous circumstances and advice posted.

Thankyou CR001.

Anyone ?

The Gov websites says this, I'm struggling to understand the last part.

You might be a British citizen
In most cases you’ll be a British citizen. You don’t need to register or naturalise, and you can live in the UK and get a British passport.

You won’t be a British citizen through your father if all the following apply:

you were born before 1 July 2006
your parents weren’t married when you were born and haven’t married since
the country your father considered his permanent home when you were born distinguished between children of married and unmarried parents - check with the country if you’re not sure

By birth in Australia before 1986, you are an Australian citizen. Because of your British mother, you have Right of Abode in the UK. You are therefore a Commonwealth citizen with Right of Abode in the UK, under Section 2(1)(d) of the Immigration Act 1971 as enacted.

However, as you were born before 1st January 1983, you could not inherit British citizenship from your mother and therefore are not a British citizen unless you register as one using Form UKM.

ConfusedGuy wrote: ↑

Sun Mar 10, 2019 11:22 am

They were both born in 2000 and 2002 in Britain, 16 and 18 years old.

Acquisition of Australian citizenship outside Australia is never automatic. The child of an Australian parent must apply for Australian citizenship by registration if born abroad. Did you ever register the birth of your children with the Australian authorities?

ConfusedGuy wrote: ↑

Sun Mar 10, 2019 11:22 am

They were both born in 2000 and 2002 in Britain

As both your children were born to a Commonwealth citizen with Right of Abode (you) in the UK, i believe that they should be British citizens otherwise than by descent.

However, can you prove that you had Right of Abode at the time of their birth? Do you have your passports dating back to the time of their birth? Do they have Right of Abode vignettes or stamps?

Thanks for the reply Simon.

No I didnt register there births with the Australian authorities, up until last week I presumed they were British just because they were born in Britain.

I also cannot prove I had right to abode at the time of there births (is this something I can get ?) my passport was ripped up shortly after arriving in Britain by my Australian father who didnt want me to ever go back (he wanted nothing to do with me) so have never left Britain since I arrived.

What have you been using to prove your right to remain and live/work/rent etc in the UK??

Have you done a Subject Access Request to the Home Office to find out what records (if any) they hold on you??

I have never been asked to prove anything.

I never even knew I was Australian until 2 years ago when I told my mother I was going to get a passport, I had never seen my birth certificate up until then.

I've been through schools, doctors, worked after leaving school for a few years until I fell ill and have claimed disability benefits since, I've rented houses and moved countless times since turning old enough to have my own house, I got sent a national insurance number when I was 16, I've had nothing to ever tell me I wasn't British.

All my mother tells me is I came over from Australia on a Australian passport when I was 4 and someone stamped something to say I was allowed in Britain for 6 months, my father then ripped our passports up and he went back to Australia, how much of that is true I don't know.

I applied for a SAR on the police database and am waiting on that coming back (UKM wants caution details for a caution I got when I was younger)

Thanks for your help.

You need a SAR from Home Office.

6 months entry stamp would indicate you were admitted as a visitor.

Did your mother ever register you as British or anything??

Am very surprised that none of the benefit offices, NHS or employers have ever asked to see evidence of your citizenship or right to reside in the UK (visa or ILR etc).

National Insurance numbers are issued automatically to all children age 15/16 in the UK, on visas or not, who attend school.

Thanks Ill get that SAR done, I presume its the detailed one I need ?

As far as my mother tells me no she never registered me as British, she said it cost 5k and didnt have it at the time, shes not great with the truth and a lot of time has passed since so trying to find anything out through her is not going well.

A quick look at the Home office SAR, they ask...

Explain the type of information you need and why you need it.

What am I asking for specifically ?

You want all records they hold.

I don't know what the options are you are given but best to ask for everything.

Thanks CR001, ill get that finished up, what are your thoughts ?

Hi there, visa and immigration have sent this back after my SAR , there asking for my passport to find entry and exit data but I don't have it it got ripped up and thrown away years ago.

Start by gathering some vital documents;
a) Your birth certificate
b) Your parents' marriage certificate
c) Your British mother's birth certificate.
d) Proof that you are and have been an Australian citizen since your birth, as you do not have any former passports.. I'm not sure of what documentation the Australian High Commission can provide on that front, so it would be best to contact them.
e) a current Australian passport

You will need these same documents to prove both your existing Right of Abode and to apply for Form UKM.

You should also look to applying with the Windrush Scheme of the Home Office. One aspect that they look at is whether you were a Commonwealth citizen with Right of Abode. They may also be able to naturalise you in a more expeditious manner.

Thank you Simon, A quick look through the windrush scheme looks like this will be the best way ill give them a ring when they open today.

What about the issue of my sons getting a passport ?

They say they want proof that I had right to abode when they were born, that is in the Immigration Act 1971 so what can I do ? send them a copy with the application

One of them is in the British army and needs a passport asap.

Sorry for the double post but a bit more reading on the windrush scheme and Im presuming if I get these...

• for any nationality - you arrived in the UK before 31 December 1988 and you
have lived continuously in the UK since your arrival. You can apply for:
▪ a document confirming that you are already a British citizen
▪ a document confirming you have the right of abode in the UK
▪ a document confirming you already have the right to live permanently in the UK

Then that could possibly sort out my sons too, it looks like I should just apply for this and see how it pans out.

ConfusedGuy wrote: ↑

Sat Apr 06, 2019 7:49 pm

... visa and immigration have sent this back after my SAR , there asking for my passport to find entry and exit data but I don't have it it got ripped up and thrown away years ago. ...

Did you send them any evidence to confirm your identity before they started your application?

ConfusedGuy wrote: ↑

Fri Apr 19, 2019 6:27 am

Sorry for the double post but a bit more reading on the windrush scheme and Im presuming if I get these...

• for any nationality - you arrived in the UK before 31 December 1988 and you
have lived continuously in the UK since your arrival. You can apply for:
▪ a document confirming that you are already a British citizen
▪ a document confirming you have the right of abode in the UK
▪ a document confirming you already have the right to live permanently in the UK

Then that could possibly sort out my sons too, it looks like I should just apply for this and see how it pans out.

I am in a similar situation to you and youf sons. Be advised that the processing times for Windrush applicants are lengthy. If your army son needs a passport with any urgency, I think that he should, in addition to your own Windrush application, make a UKF form application of his own.

Wish I had now done that myself now, but that's another matter.

Hello all,

I (female) was born 2nd December 1982 In Australia.

My father is Australian, My mother is British by birth, her mum and dad are British by birth.

My mother took me to the UK at age 4 and that's where I have been ever since, I apparently had a Australian passport when I was brought over to the UK but it was destroyed shortly after and haven't re-applied for one since.

I have been trying to get proof i am already British OR be granted British citizenship so I can get a British passport and my sons can, they are 17 and 19.

First of all I applied for a SAR and received this back...

I had explained to them that I don't have a passport but still they asked for it.



At this point I applied under the windrush scheme and got this back...



Again I explained that I didnt have a Australian passport and had no intention of applying for one, I wanted to become a British citizen.

Today I received this back...



That says I have not been recognized as already British because neither of my parents were British citizens at the time of my birth but my mother was, I included all British birth certificates (my mother and her parents).

It also says my ROA was endorsed in my passport on the 22nd August 2019, again I don't have a passport and even if I did because this date isn't before my children were born does nothing to help them.

I have rang the windrush helpline who told me to appeal and that's it, which I will do, but have I got something wrong here ? or is this a simple mistake on there behalf ?

Topics merged!!!

Unfortunately, your mother was unable to pass on her British citizenship to you because you were born prior to 1 January 1983.

However, if you have the Right of Abode, then you had it since birth. So, your children born in the UK are automatically British.

vinny wrote: ↑

Tue Jan 28, 2020 2:06 pm

Unfortunately, your mother was unable to pass on her British citizenship to you because you were born prior to 1 January 1983.

However, if you have the Right of Abode, then you had it since birth. So, your children born in the UK are automatically British.

Thanks for the reply Vinny.

The windrush scheme says it will consider applicants on this 'A person of any nationality, who arrived in the UK before 31 December 1988 and is settled in the UK' so correct me if I'm wrong but the 1st Jan 1983 doesn't mean anything ?

If I had ROA from birth then why has it only been endorsed on my passport (which I don't have) in 2019 ?

I appreciate any help.

ConfusedGuy wrote: ↑

Tue Jan 28, 2020 4:22 pm

The windrush scheme says it will consider applicants on this 'A person of any nationality, who arrived in the UK before 31 December 1988 and is settled in the UK' so correct me if I'm wrong but the 1st Jan 1983 doesn't mean anything ?

1st January 1983 is when the current law on 'Right of Abode' came into force and when the current category of 'British citizen' came into existence.

ConfusedGuy wrote: ↑

Tue Jan 28, 2020 4:22 pm

If I had ROA from birth then why has it only been endorsed on my passport (which I don't have) in 2019 ?

As far as I am aware, only agents of the British government have the authority to endorse it on a passport. I have an unreliable notion that long ago British Immigration Officers used to endorse it on passports.

If you arrived in the UK with an Australian passport, that may have been endorsed thus.

Do you know when this Australian passport was issued? I wonder if someone in your family obtained it for you, perhaps while you were too ill to remember it being done. Alternatively, you have been confused with someone else, perhaps with the same name.