Spanish Immigrant in 1962 - Status in UK

gracebw · Post by **gracebw** » Thu Jul 11, 2024 12:14 am

Hello,

Hope you are all well. I’m looking for some help with proving my Grandmother’s status.

My Grandmother (Spanish) moved to the UK in 1962, and married my Grandfather (British) in 1964. My Grandmother did not apply for a British passport, nor is she on the register for naturalisation. My grandfather has since passed and my Grandmother returned to Spain and has not entered into the Settlement Scheme in the UK.

We are making an application for Spanish citizenship based upon my Grandmothers status, and the application requests that we prove that my Grandmother was expatriated - this is usually done through a naturalisation certificate but we don’t have that, nor do we have her passports from the 60s.

Does anyone have any information about where we could get proof of my grandmothers status in the UK?

Many thanks in advance for the help!

Post by **alterhase58** » Thu Jul 11, 2024 6:05 am

You could contact the UK National Archives who keep copies of naturalisation and registration certificates issued up to 1983.

https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/hel ... tizenship/

Unless you have already checked? You mention "register for naturalisation" - was this the archives?

gracebw · Post by **gracebw** » Thu Jul 11, 2024 6:13 am

Hi,

Thanks for your reply. We have already been down this route and as she never Naturalised that office have no record of her.

We believe she gained ILR on her marriage to my grandfather but can’t find any paperwork to prove that fact.

Any alternative ideas?

Many thanks!

Post by **Ticktack** » Thu Jul 11, 2024 10:17 am

gracebw wrote: ↑
Thu Jul 11, 2024 6:13 am
Hi,

Thanks for your reply. We have already been down this route and as she never Naturalised that office have no record of her.

We believe she gained ILR on her marriage to my grandfather but can’t find any paperwork to prove that fact.If she gained ILR, then that could have been lost based on residing out of the UK for too long. So that route might not help you either.

Any alternative ideas?

Many thanks!

Post by **alterhase58** » Thu Jul 11, 2024 11:02 am

Realistically, unless you find any documents from your Grandmother's estate it's unlikely that official records are still in existence. You will recall the Windrush scandal where it transpired that important paper documents were destroyed ("data cleansing"). In those days there would have been a stamp in a foreign passport such as "given leave to remain in the UK and date" and/or a letter from the Home Office. Unfortunately the UK doesn't have a central register of citizens.

Post by **secret.simon** » Thu Jul 11, 2024 11:21 am

It is quite unlikely that wives of Citizens of the United Kingdom and Colonies would have acquired any sort of immigration status automatically. Immigration status and (since 1949) CUKC status/(after 1983) British citizenship can only be acquired by making an application to the Home Office.

Between 1949 and 1983, wives of CUKCs (Citizens of the United Kingdom and Colonies) could register as CUKCs.

Did you check the registration records at the National Archives?

I doubt that anybody would have records of ILR, or even if ILR was a thing at the time. The modern Immigration Rules only came into existence in the 1990s.

You may want to have a read though the Wikipedia article on the history of UK immigration Control.

gracebw · Post by **gracebw** » Sat Jul 13, 2024 12:31 am

alterhase58 wrote: ↑
Thu Jul 11, 2024 11:02 am
Realistically, unless you find any documents from your Grandmother's estate it's unlikely that official records are still in existence. You will recall the Windrush scandal where it transpired that important paper documents were destroyed ("data cleansing"). In those days there would have been a stamp in a foreign passport such as "given leave to remain in the UK and date" and/or a letter from the Home Office. Unfortunately the UK doesn't have a central register of citizens.

I have a feeling this is the case and any documents the government had on her may be lost. She never wanted to be British, and thus never applied get Citizenship here, and between 1992 and 2016 free travel meant there’s no real proof she was residing in the UK at all (no passport stamps with dates etc.). We have her NHS records and proof she had an NI number for decades so hopefully that can stand in for the missing immigration documentation!

Thanks for your help.

gracebw · Post by **gracebw** » Sat Jul 13, 2024 12:35 am

Ticktack wrote: ↑
Thu Jul 11, 2024 10:17 am

gracebw wrote: ↑
Thu Jul 11, 2024 6:13 am
Hi,

Thanks for your reply. We have already been down this route and as she never Naturalised that office have no record of her.

We believe she gained ILR on her marriage to my grandfather but can’t find any paperwork to prove that fact.If she gained ILR, then that could have been lost based on residing out of the UK for too long. So that route might not help you either.

Any alternative ideas?

Many thanks!

To clarify, we just need to prove she lived in the UK for 40+ years, not that she still has the right to live in the UK. She doesn’t want to come back. This is for the application for Spanish Citizenship for her children and grandchildren as even though her children were born overseas (during Franco’s regime so she could not register her children as Spanish with the London consulate at the time), the Spanish Govt still ask for extra proof of her expatriated status.

Post by **secret.simon** » Sat Jul 13, 2024 1:37 pm

gracebw wrote: ↑
Sat Jul 13, 2024 12:31 am
I have a feeling this is the case and any documents the government had on her may be lost. She never wanted to be British, and thus never applied get Citizenship here, and between 1992 and 2016 free travel meant there’s no real proof she was residing in the UK at all (no passport stamps with dates etc.). We have her NHS records and proof she had an NI number for decades so hopefully that can stand in for the missing immigration documentation!

The Home Office does not maintain historic immigration data. It is the applicant individual's responsibility to maintain their immigration data.

I think the NHS records would have to stand it for proof of her physical presence in the UK. Passports pre-1992 may also be helpful. If she had ILR, it may have been stamped in a pre-2000 passport. EU citizens could not apply for ILR post 2000 and post 2006, the concept of PR (Permanent Residence) for EU citizens kicked in, which would have its own separate documentation.

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Spanish Immigrant in 1962 - Status in UK

Spanish Immigrant in 1962 - Status in UK

Re: Spanish Immigrant in 1962 - Status in UK

Re: Spanish Immigrant in 1962 - Status in UK

Re: Spanish Immigrant in 1962 - Status in UK

Re: Spanish Immigrant in 1962 - Status in UK

Re: Spanish Immigrant in 1962 - Status in UK

Re: Spanish Immigrant in 1962 - Status in UK

Re: Spanish Immigrant in 1962 - Status in UK

Re: Spanish Immigrant in 1962 - Status in UK