Lived in UK for 18 years but no Citizenship?

[daniellaajai]

I've lived in the UK since I was born (1998). When i was born my father had a leave to remain whereas my mother was on a visa however this is to be disregarded as my parents were not married at the time of my birth and have since separated. Since that time my mother has acquired an indefinite leave to remain for both herself and I.
Now at age 18 my mother is aged 57 and is unable to work due to illness. Upon turning 18 I applied for a UK driving licence (as I had no other form of ID - I have never had a passport) and sent in my indefinite leave to remain and my birth certificate - I received my provisional licence.
I am now on my way to university and will soon leave my family home. I applied for a British passport and was rejected on the grounds that I had to undergo neutralization or an application for citizenship however after being born in the UK and not leaving for 18 years as well as having the right to vote, access the NHS and apply for student finance I assumed I already had citizenship. At age 18 it is impossible for me to afford the fees for an application for citizenship or neutralization. My mother, given her condition, is unable to lend me the money and I considered applying for a loan but being in full time education made this almost impossible.
It seems i'm stuck. I cant afford to apply to be a citizen meaning I can't apply for a passport. For the next 5 to 6 years it seems i will not be able to leave the country but i'm unable to understand why this is the case. I identify as British and only speak English, I have never left the UK and have been in full time education in London since age 3.

My question is where should I go from here? I feel extremely restricted being unable to travel or complete applications using my passport and often face challenges applying for jobs without any form of passport. Is there an application i'm not aware of for people in my situation or is applying for citizenship my only option?

[MrSlyFox]

You mostly likely have the nationality of your parents and should approach the relevant embassy for a passport. Otherwise, you can naturalise due to holding ILR and having been resident for five years or register as a British citizen due to having been born in the UK and spent the first ten years of your life here (however both are costly).

You have ILR you can apply for jobs, it is valid proof of your right-to-work, I also believe a document with your NINO in combination of a UK birth certificate is also valid proof of a right-to-work.

Right-to-work (page 13, uk birth certificate) -
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/s ... nts_v5.pdf

[secret.simon]

What are the nationalities of your father and mother? What nationality have you listed on the electoral roll? You may or may not have the right to vote in the UK.

Citizenship, if not acquired at birth, can only be acquired by applying for either registration or naturalisation. Given that you have lived the first ten years of your life in the UK, you have a lifelong entitlement to register as a British citizen on Form T. As it is an entitlement, it cannot be refused except on good character grounds.

That would cost you £1163. There is no free way of acquiring British citizenship post birth. The nationality fees go up 20% on average every year. You may be better off applying sooner rather than later.