Two women who have lived almost all their lives in the UK have had their lives thrown into chaos due to new border control rules for British dual nationals. The women, whose French mothers were not married to their British fathers, have been forced to prove their right to British passports under archaic laws that did not grant automatic citizenship to children of unmarried British fathers until 2005.
Under the new rules, British dual nationals must show a British passport or a certificate of entitlement of abode costing £589 to enter the UK. One woman, born in 1977 to an unmarried British father and French mother, had British passports until 2018, when her renewal was refused because she could not provide a French passport with her married name. She has lived in the UK since age five and worked at the Ministry of Defence.
After applying to the Passport Office, she was told her previous passports were issued in error and that she is not British. She has now turned to crowdfunding to cover the £1,735 cost of her citizenship application. 'I have never questioned my nationality but suddenly I am being stripped of my right to travel and have my life potentially destroyed,' she said.
Another woman, born in Manchester and working as a mental health professional, has court documentation showing her right to abode but has always held a French passport. She has been told to get fingerprints taken and attend a citizenship test to obtain a British passport. 'Because my parents were unmarried in 1999, I am legally treated as 'illegitimate'. If they had married, or if I were born just eight years later, my citizenship would be automatic,' she said.
Immigration barrister Simon Cox said parliament abolished discrimination against children of unmarried parents in 1987 but did not change the law for British citizenship until 2005, and only created a remedy for those born before 2005 in 2022. He said the Home Office could easily help affected individuals.
