British citizenship

[Waf92]

Ok here's goes a long shot, and a case of which you've never heard the likes of... So where to start, well I was born in South Africa to parents who are BOTH British by DECENT, we moved to England when I was only a few weeks old. Note that I am NOT a South African citizen (stateless as far as I'm aware) I came to the UK I'm my mother's passport and me and my twin brother were immediately granted indefinite leave to remain which was stamped into my mother's passport, I'm now 24 and in some messed up situation... I've lived in the UK all my life and have never had my own passport. My parents failed to register me before I was 18, my grandfather's on both sides are British btw. So I'll get to the point, would I be able to become British by double decent or any other way apart from naturalization? It's a rather complex and worrying situation I've been left in. I hope somebody can help me with this because I'm at my witts end

[Waf92]

If any further information is required please feel free to ask.

[CR001]

I stand corrected but as you are not automatically British, are already over 18, your only option is naturalisation.

[Waf92]

So that would mean getting a degree in English which is the only language I know and I even went to school in the UK. Plus I would also have to take the life in the UK test correct? That seems rather out of order to me, could I take this to court perhaps? Or just give up and bite the bullet and spend time and money on things that I shouldn't need haha

[EEA National]

You need certificate in English B1 issued by college approved by HO or degree studied in English
You will need Life in the UK test, yes

[CR001]

Do you have a South African birth certificate??

Go to court for what exactly?? If you could, the cost of that would likely outweigh the cost of applying for naturalisation.

What evidence do you have that you hold Indefinite Leave to Remain??

Who says you need an 'English degree'? You simply need an English test, takes 10 minutes and LIUK test. Why is it out of order to you? We all had to do it.

It is unfortunate that your parents did not register you before you were 18, you would have clearly qualified for registration on form MN1. Perhaps it was the cost that discouraged your parents from doing so.

If you expect free advice on the forum, suggest be open minded to what people are saying or advice being offered.

[Waf92]

My apologies I didn't mean to come across as being rude or ungrateful. I'm just confused and a bit upset over my situation is all. Ok so the only proof I have of indefinite leave to remain is a stamp that is in my mother's expired passport, would that still be valid? No it wasnt the cost that dissuaded my mother from registering me, she assumed i was already british for some reason. I do indeed have a South African birth certificate, but neither of my parents were South African and I have a document that states I am NOT South African, so this would make me stateless correct? Thank you for any advice you may be able to offer.

[CR001]

Your best option at this stage might be to request a Subject Access Request from Home Office to find out what information they do hold on you. See link below.

general-uk-immigration-forum/how-to-do- ... 35376.html

Where were your parents born??

[Waf92]

Ah ok thanks. my parents were both born in Rhodesia, but they gained British citizenship by decent before I was born.

[Waf92]

I do find it strange how I have a South African birth certificate without being South African though, but I'm not a law professional so what do I know

[CR001]

You are likely a non South Africa citizen but probably do have an ID number.

What year were your parents born?

[Waf92]

My mum was born in 1957 and I think my dad was born 1961. typically it turns out my mother has lost my and my twin brothers original birth certs, how easy do you think it would be for me to get new ones if at all possible? Sorry for all the questions, I never should have let this situation get this bad in the first place thanks again for all the help

[JAJ]

What exactly is meant by "came to the United Kingdom in mother's passport". Were you added to your mother's passport? That shouldn't have happened. Non-British children were never supposed to be added to a parent's passport. If you have evidence that you were included in a parent's passport then there may be a possibility that that could be treated as an undecided application for British citizenship (which could be decided today).

It's surprising you are stateless- birth in South Africa normally confers South African citizenship if at least one parent is a South African citizen or permanent resident. However, if you have written confirmation from the South Africans that you're not a citizen there, then you may also be eligible to apply for British citizenship as a stateless person. [You'd also likely have to show that you don't have Zimbabwe citizenship if your parents were born in that country].
https://www.gov.uk/government/publicati ... en-form-s2

Otherwise- as someone else has noted- you need to use your ILR (which if it was granted in the past should still be valid) and apply for British citizenship by naturalisation like anyone else.

Extracting new copies of birth certificates from South Africa isn't always easy but if you search you may find companies able to help with the process- for a fee.

[Waf92]

Again thanks for all the help. Yes I was added to my mother's passport, I don't know how that happened if it's not supposed to... very confusing. Neither of my parents ever held South African citizenship, in fact I believe they were asked to leave the country or face imprisonment. Proving I don't have Zimbabwean citizenship shouldn't be that difficult, I hope.

[Waf92]

Also has anyone else ever heard of a case in which someone has been granted indefinite leave to remain upon entry to the UK? In my mother's passport next to the vignette it says and I quote "given leave to enter the United kingdom for an indefinite period granted in respect of children (my name and my twin brothers name). Could it have been an error or something?

[Waf92]

So just curious if by some chance me being included on my mother's British passport can be seen as an undecided application, how would I go about getting a decision made? Should I just try and send off for a British passport with all the documents/information I have about my situation ?

[JAJ]

Were your details added to your mother's British passport? There is/was a section on the passport for details of children. However- if you'd been added to the passport, then there's no reason for you to have been granted Indefinite Leave to Remain on entry since this is only granted to non-British persons.

If your details were not added to the passport, but you were granted indefinite leave on arrival- then how did you get out of South Africa? Even in the early 1990s, it was not normally possible for children to travel across borders unless either included in a parent's passport or in possession of their own.

If you want to understand it better- you probably need an experienced immigration solicitor to review the papers and see what conclusions can be drawn can be made. In any case- that ILR stamp looks like your only evidence of immigration status in the United Kingdom. Keep copies in a safe place and do not lose the original. You can do a Subject Access Request to see if there is a Home Office file- you will need any reference number on the ILR stamp.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publicati ... mmigration

It looks like under Zimbabwe law, your parents (even if they were Zimbabwe citizens) lost that status in December 1985 if they already had British citizenship on 1 December 1984. http://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6b4d74.html
On that basis- you do not appear to be a Zimbabwe citizen if you were born in the 1990s and if you've already got a letter from the South Africans saying you're not a citizen there then registration as a British citizen under form S2 might be the simplest solution for you.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publicati ... en-form-s2

[Waf92]

I have been racking my brain over this for ages but there doesn't seem to be any reference number on the indefinite leave to remain stamp. I did some research and it was legal for a child to leave South Africa whilst being added to a parents passport. I would like to do a subject access request but I've heard you need a home office reference number, i dont have one or ar least not that I'm aware of. Anyway thanks for the advice once again and I will be seeking professional legal help regarding my situation. Wish me luck I'm gonna need it lol!

[Waf92]

And yes I was definitely added to my mother's British passport, how that came to pass I do not known but it happened.

[Waf92]

[JAJ]

Unclear what can be added to the information already supplied. There appears to be a couple of options to become a British citizen. As it appears that you are stateless then form S2 may be best because a. it gives British citizenship otherwise than by descent and b. it does not require the Home Office to consider a passport application as an undetermined citizenship application. On the other hand, the fee would be higher.

You don't need professional legal advice to do a subject access request and you can't supply what you don't have. It is possible that the Home Office never had a file on you in the first place or it was lost or destroyed long ago. You should not need ILR for a form S2 application as long as you can show you are not South African or a citizen of any other country. And you should understand that you'd need an immigration solicitor with experience of similar cases. Most solicitors- even immigration solicitors- may never have seen this kind of case before. You're unlikely to get meaningful advice if that is the case.