Citizenship by descent born prior to 1983

[Superdeviant]

Hello, thanks for great advice and pointers, here is my story.

I was born in the USA in 1966 and shortly after traveled to the UK to be bought up by my British born mother. Father is American and maternal Grandparents are British born.

Have lived here in the UK pretty much ever since.

I have several expired passports including one from 1967 that shows entry to the UK at 1 year of age and nothing further in it, there are 2 passports missing from my life just after this.

Around 1979 I can see "Indefinite Leave To Enter" wet stamps start to appear across 3 expired USA passports.

The most recent ILE wet stamp is in a 1999 - 2009 passport and I have worked for the same employer from 1985 to present (full work history obtainable), I never bothered to apply for a BRP as I was able to travel on these stamps.

(I take it the IO would have been happy there was no breach of over 2 years to have carried this stamp over in to the next passport in 2009?)

I recently applied for my Son's first UK passport as a "settled" parent using these wet stamps in expired passports, my application has been denied as the passport office says they can find no record of me.... It turns out that I am affected by Windrush.

I've applied for assistance to obtain a BRP Indefinite leave from the windrush taskforce, had my biomertics taken and am nervously waiting.

In the mean time I've been researching form UKM for British registration for people born outside the UK to a British mother prior to 1983.

Would this be a better option, I feel I qualify but am worried as it asks if I've ever given biometrics in the past and for what reason. I don't want to rock the boat with the HO if Windrush are "trying" to find my Indefinate Leave To Enter.

look forward to your help.

Worried.

[vinny]

Please note that applying for a child’s first British passport is different from renewing it.

If you had never applied for you son’s British passport before, then the Passport Office naturally wouldn’t have any records of you.

Unfortunately, the Home Office may have destroyed their records of you.

Therefore, as secret.simon stressed, those ILE endorsements in your passports are absolutely vital. They confer your Indefinite Leave status. Consequently, they also automatically confer your UK born son’s British citizenship, unlike a British passport, unlike UKM.

[Superdeviant]

Thank you for the reply. So my Son’s passport although a renewal was originally applied for first time by Mother as a settled Polish citizen. Nearly 5 years on when we go to renew it the passport office withdraw his first passport and send us a letter saying THEY messed up first time around by not requesting all the necessary documents , they wanted to see mothers WRS number (so now she’s involved in that). To save time I went in for his renewal application as the settled parent (ILE). This too was not accepted. That’s what’s made the Windrush alarm bells sound, no record of me.

Since then we’ve jumped thru hoops and got our Son’s British passport issued by submitting a letter of WRS exemption from 2003 from Mum.

My plight is ongoing, Windrush Taskforce have had my application for 2 weeks now, I’ve called them to say that I feel I also tick all the box’s for citizenship by decent of British born mother before 1983, their reply was not to do that right now and that a letter was on the way to me, they were not able to discuss the content of the letter so I’m now even more worried.

May I ask this question here, I come under the 1973 - 1988 arriving from ANY country Windrush, the first ILE stamps do start to appear in my expired passports around 1979 - 2009...... but, I was here well before that, from the age of 3 in 1969 arriving by ship from New York. Am I still eligible because I’ve arrived BEFORE 1973.

Please feel free to move post if the moderators feel there is a more appropriate forum.

Right now I’m waiting for whatever the letter holds, and not applying for my citizenship by mother as they’ve advised.

Thanks for all your support.

[vinny]

Why did the Passport Office reject your ILE? Your Indefinite leave hasn't lapsed, unless they can show that you have been outside the UK for more than two continuous years.

[Superdeviant]

It was rejected because the ILE stamps are of the very old wet ink type, all they said was they couldn’t find me in the system (Windrush). My ILE has not lapsed, the last of my stamps was in 2009 and I’ve been in continuous full time employment with the same employer since 1985. I’ve spent all my life here and now I don’t know if I’m coming or going.

[vinny]

It's unsurprising that they cannot find you in their system. Hence, their Windrush situation.

You are neither coming nor going. You are staying

As you have been in full employment, you couldn't have been absent for more than two continuous years.

IMHO, you shouldn't have much of a problem.

[Superdeviant]

Hi all.

thanks for all the support so far. The latest is the post has been and gone again today and the letter that the Windrush Taskforce sent on Monday has still not arrived.

So I picked up the phone and called them again, I asked the content of the letter which was sent to me and all she was allowed to tell me was "its a letter confirming your status". Can anyone tell me if this is a good thing, bad thing or neither? She refused to comment further and I now have another sleepless night.

As you see above there was no record of my very old ILE and I was about to apply for British citizenship by descent of Mother before 1983 born outside the UK (I tick all the box's).

[vinny]

Don’t worry!

[Superdeviant]

Just an update I’ve been given an NTL residents BRP, and the letter that came with it states “please send us your current US passport so we can finalise your application for a certificate of entitlement”.

Happy Days, much relieved.

One last question, I was going to apply on the UKM form for decent from mother born before 1983 but have been offered the certificate of entitlement. The certificate of entitlement you have to renew each time the passport expires at considerable cost and you also have to supply original documents again, wouldn’t it be easier to go with the UKM decent and get a British passport instead?

[vinny]

If you want any subsequent child born outside the UK to be automatically British by descent, then naturalise, assuming partner isn't British otherwise than by descent.

[Superdeviant]

Perfect. No further children, partner isn’t from the UK so I’ll poliely decline their offer of a certificate of entitlement and request citizenship by decent of mother, the end goal being my British passport.