This post contains some gems that I have learnt over the years. As an aspiring lawyer, I know I have more to learn, and the learning never stops but below are some of my favourites so far.
In no particular order:
The NATO Phonetic Alphabet
“Did you say ‘S’ or ‘F’ ?”
Learning the NATO phonetic alphabet (or having it nearby for easy reference) has help me clarify any uncertainty when it comes to spelling words over the phone.
At times, I will use a modified version. For example: instead of saying ‘Sierra’ for the letter ‘S’, I say ‘Sugar’ for ‘S’ because when I say Sierra, some people hear Ciara.
Time Record As You Go (TRAYG)
It is easy said than done, especially when I have urgent things to do. Nevertheless, time recording as I go ensures I remember to record the time spent as soon as the work has been completed.
Lunch Breaks
Lunch breaks are necessary. If I have my lunch break at my desk, it does not feel like an actually break from work. There is a temptation to open emails (and reply). I have found eating lunch at my desk should be the exception, not the rule.
Folding a letter
This is a gem I am still learning how to do -neatly fold a letter for a C5 envelope with a window at the first try! Do not ask me about DL (110 mm x 220 mm) envelopes. There must be a way!
Let me know your thoughts!
Do you take your lunch break?
Are you a pro at folding letters for envelopes ?
Look out for Dropping Gems: Working in Law (Part 2) for more of my favourite gems.
This series and this post is fictional and is for illustrative and educational purposes only to discuss British nationality laws. Names, characters, storyline, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the editor’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Thank you for joining us again with the British Citizenship for Children series. We ended the last post meeting Angélica’s sixth form college friend, Cherelle.
After leaving the library with Angélica, Cherelle got on the bus back home and decided to scroll through her pictures on FaceBook, reminiscing her life back in Barbados. Cherelle was 19 years old and was born in Bridgetown, Barbados. Cherelle was a quiet and well-behaved child growing up and missed her grandmother in Barbados who loved telling stories about the family.
Cherelle’s maternal grandfather went to the UK in 1948 in response to Britain’s labour shortage after the Second World War. Cherelle’s maternal grandfather arrived in the UK after journeying on the HMT Empire Windrush ship with over 1,000 other West Indians to help the Mother Country (Britain) as they were encouraged and invited to do so. West Indian immigrants (and a small group of other non-West Indian immigrants) who arrived in the UK between 1948 to 1973 are known as the Windrush generation. At the time, his brother was living in Jamaica and saw an advert in the newspaper. He advised Cherelle’s grandfather that if he wanted to go to England, he should come to Jamaica as the ship was picking up people in Kingston, Jamaica. Cherelle’s grandfather was known in Bridgetown as a great mechanic and everyone knew that moving to England would be an exciting opportunity for him.
However, Cherelle’s grandfather was more concern about the woman he had fallen in love with rather than going to England. The woman he had fallen in love with was a young schoolteacher and the only daughter for her parents amongst her four older brothers. Her father was the head teacher at a small school in Bridgetown who was very protective of her. Cherelle’s grandfather did not want to leave the love of his life in Barbados without marry her. Time was ticking for Cherelle’s grandfather to leave Barbados for Jamaica, but future father-in-law was slow to give his approval of the union as he wanted to make sure his daughter will be cared for. Cherelle’s grandfather got married to the love of his life four days before he was due to leave Bridgetown! So, there was no time for a honeymoon.
With a small photo of his wife in his wallet, Cherelle’s grandfather travelled to Jamaica to meet his brother who was also going to England. Cherelle’s grandfather wrote to his wife as soon as arrived in Jamaica and promised to write to her again once he arrived in England. Five days later, Cherelle’s grandfather and his brother boarded the HMT Empire with many other West Indian immigrants ready to provide their services. There was such pride on the HMT Empire to help the Mother country mixed with excitement and curiosity. Although, they were going to England, miles away from home, they thought they would be going to a home away from home (just not as sunny and hot). At the time, Cherelle’s grandfather was a British subject as Barbados was part of the British Empire.
Cherelle’s grandfather arrived in at the Port of Tilbury in the UK on 22 June 1948. There was news media at the dock taking pictures. Initially from the media attendance, it appeared that Cherelle’s grandfather and the other passengers was going to be welcomed with open arms. Little did they know the rough road ahead… Cherelle’s grandfather, brother, and a few other men were able to get a job working on the trains but getting accommodation was not as easy. Many of the available accommodation had the following notice:
‘No Blacks, No Irish, No Dogs’
Imagine Cherelle’s grandfather and others who had journey across the seas to help, especially as the Mother country was in need of re-building after the Second World War and this was the thanks they got!
Eventually, Cherelle’s grandfather and his brother was able to rent a room (together) in a house in Ladbroke Grove with two other West Indian families.
As promised, Cherelle’s grandfather wrote to his wife and sent some money for her to share between her and his mother who was in Barbados. If you have not guessed already- his wife is Cherelle’s grandmother. Two months later, Cherelle’s’ grandfather received a letter from Cherelle’s grandmother informing Cherelle’s grandfather that he was going to be a dad! Cherelle’s grandfather went straight to his boss to get some overtime in which he was sent to other train networks across the country. He had a feeling his first child was going to be a girl. He did not know how he was going to support Cherelle’s grandmother in the UK with their child as he was sharing a room with his brother, but he was determined.
On 09 February 1949, Cherelle’s grandmother gave birth to a baby girl who they named Joy in Bridgetown, Barbados. Eager to see his wife and daughter, he searched for an accommodation suitable for his family. He did not have much time to search as most of his time was spent working. He saved up enough money for their journey to England with the help of his brother to send for Cherelle’s grandmother and Joy.
On 25 November 1949, Cherelle’s grandmother and Joy arrived in the UK and Cherelle’s grandfather moved them into a two-bedroom house with another West Indian family.
The British Nationality Act (BNA) 1948 formed Citizens of the United Kingdom and Colonies (CUKC) who were British subjects who were born/naturalised/registered/adopted in the UK or one of the UK colonies of the British Empire. The BNA 1948 came into effect on 01 January 1949. Bye to British subjects, Hello to Citizens of the United Kingdom and Colonies (CUKC). So now Cherelle’s grandparents were CUKCs as of 01 January 1949 and Joy was born in Barbados as a CUKC. Still giving Cherelle’s grandparents [and Joy] at the time the freedom to live and work in the UK and any of its colonies.
Cherelle’s grandmother fell pregnant again in 1955 and gave birth to another baby girl called Sandra on 15 March 1956 in London. In 1960, when Sandra was 5 years old, Cherelle’s grandmother decided to start a Saturday school for some of the children in the area. She released that the education system in the UK disadvantaged the black children who attended the school. As a schoolteacher, she knew how important education was and while she was a qualified teacher, she was only able to get a part time teaching assistant role in the local primary school. She first-hand experienced the racism and prejudice as a black person in the UK in 1960’s as well as her husband and her daughters. Complaints were eventually made to the local council about ‘too many children’ coming in and out of the house on Saturdays so Cherelle’s grandmother had to shut down the Saturday school.
The Commonwealth Immigrants Act 1962 came in effect on 01 July 1962 to curtail immigration in the UK which ended the freedom of CUKCs and Commonwealth citizens had to live and work in the UK. Those who maintained this freedom to live and work in the UK were CUKCs who were born in the UK and CUKCs with a CUKC UK issued passport. Luckily by that time, Cherelle’s grandparents and Joy had be resident in the UK for more than 10 years and had settled status having arrived before 01 July 1962. They also had familial and residential ties in the UK so they were residents of the UK and could still work and live in the UK.
The Commonwealth Immigrants Act 1962, section 2(2)(b) state that wives and children under 16 of Commonwealth citizens resident in the United Kingdom should not be refused admission in the UK. Many children arrived in the UK either on their own passport or their parent’s passport
On 30 November 1966, Barbados gained independence! Now, Cherelle’s grandparents and Joy were no longer CUKCs but instead Barbadians from 30 November 1966. They were Barbadians who resident in the UK. Upon[SA1] gaining independence, Barbados joined the Commonwealth on 30 November 1966. Before 01 July 1962, CUKCs and Commonwealth citizens had the same rights as seen in BNA 1948, section 1 and 2.
Cherelle’s grandmother decided she wanted to leave England and return to Barbados. Cherelle’s grandfather did not want them to go as he was not ready to back to Barbados- he had just been promoted at work and hoped to buy a house in Ladbroke Grove. However, Cherelle’s grandmother has already made her mind up and left the UK with Joy and Sandra in 1967.
The Commonwealth Immigrants Act 1968, re-defined ‘CUKC’ in section 1, please refer the Commonwealth Immigrants Act 1962, s1 for more the definition of CUKC.
UK immigration rules got even tighter with the enactment of Immigration Act 1971. If Sandra were born in Barbados instead of the UK, had returned to the UK, let say in 1969, she would have been admitted in the UK again in accordance with Commonwealth Immigrants Act 1962, section 2(2)(b). This remained the case in The Commonwealth Immigrants Act 1968, section 2(2A).
The Immigration Act 1971 (came into force on 01 January 1973) section 1 entitled those were present and settled in the UK like Cherelle’s father and Windrush children, to be still be treated as settled under the Act.
Cherelle’s father felt British having been born as a British subject and living in England for over two decades therefore he did not think he needed to apply for British citizenship-anyway he has settled status in the UK so there was no need. Some of Cherelle’s grandfather Wet Indian friend did apply though.
Cherelle’s grandfather continued to write to Cherelle’s grandmother however as the years went by, the distance was taking a toll on their marriage and they decided to separate. But deep down, they still loved each and that is probably why they did not get a divorce.
Joy and Sandra attended school and university in Barbados and Joy decided to move to the United States of America to pursue a career as dancer. Sandra stayed in Barbados and became a teacher and like Sandra’s grandfather, she was the headteacher of the local school. Sandra got married to a doctor who was Barbadian in 1985 and together they had three children. Their youngest child- their unexpected blessing was Cherelle who was born in Bridgetown on 02 July 2001. Cherelle and her older two siblings are British Citizens. But how? They are British by descent.
British Nationality Act 1981, section 2(1)(a)
Acquisition by descent
(1)A person born outside the United Kingdom after commencement [01 January 1983] shall be a British citizen if at the time of the birth his father or mother—
(a)is a British citizen otherwise than by descent;
Looking at Cherelle-Cherelle was born in Barbados in 2001. Her mother, Sandra is a British citizen otherwise than descent (meaning she is a British citizen but not by descent)
Sandra is a British citizen as defined by BNA 1981, section 11(1)
British Nationality Act 1981, section 11(1)
Citizens of U.K. and Colonies who are to become British citizens at commencement.
(1)Subject to subsection (2), a person who immediately before commencement—
(a)was a citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies; and
(b)had the right of abode in the United Kingdom under the Immigration Act 1971 as then in force,
shall at commencement become a British citizen.
As briefly discussed in Week 04, a person born in the UK before 01 January 1983 like Sandra was a CUKC and had the right of abode therefore when the BNA 1981 came into force on 01 January 1983, that person became a British citizen automatically.
Sandra is British by otherwise than descent and you may refer to BNA 1981, s14 for the meaning of British citizen by descent and you will note BNA 1981, section 11(1) is not included.
Sandra, her husband and Cherelle moved to the UK in 2010 as Cherelle’s father was offered a job at the Royal United Hospital.
The year prior, Cherelle’s grandfather moved back to Barbados for good and rekindled his love for the only love of his life, Cherelle’s grandmother.
Further, the Windrush Scandal surfacing after the destruction of the landing cards for Windrush migrants, Sandra was relieved that her father returned to Barbados to be with her mother and her sister Joy was living in the United States of America but still felt hurt and disgusted by the way those from the Windrush generation was being treated aiding to the hostile environment.
Cherelle quickly gets change when she arrives home as she gets ready to go to work. Cherelle is a part time babysitter for serval of the families on her street. Luckily, she does not have to travel far as she is going two doors to her Brazilian neighbour, Stella. We meet Stella in Week 2 and Stella is heavily pregnant with her third child and needs help looking after her two children, Francesco, age 8 who was born in Brazil and Valentina, age 3 who was born in the UK. When Cherelle arrives, Stella and her Italian husband, Giovanni are arguing. Cherelle cannot help but hear their argument about Francesco’s immigration matter. Stella wants to apply for British Citizenship for Francesco and Giovanni does not believe it is necessary as Francesco is Italian.
If you are concern about your immigration matter or your child’s immigration matter, please contact a reputable solicitors’ law firm that specialises in immigration law to find out your options.
Further reading
No reading this week! but instead watch The BBC documentary presented David Olusoga called ‘The Unwanted: The Secret Windrush Files’ available on BBC iPlayer
But if you prefer to read:
Independent report-Windrush Lessons Learned Review by Wendy Williams
This series and post is fiction and is for illustrative and educational purposes only to discuss British nationality laws. Names, characters, storyline, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents is the product of the editor’s imagination . Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Thank you for joining us again with the British Citizenship for Children series. We ended last week’s post meeting Lamai, a sixth form college tutor who gets an email from one of the student’s father distressed as his 18 year-old daughter’s British citizenship application was refused.
Lamai is a Science teacher and has known Angélica since she was in year 7 when she first taught Angélica. Angélica was born in the UK on 02 February 2002 to Colombian parents. At the time of Angélica’s birth, neither of her parents were settled or British therefore Angélica is not British by birth under BNA 1981, s1(1). Angélica is the eldest child for her parents and was very protective of her younger sisters. When Angélica was 9, Angélica’s maternal grandmother was extremely ill back in Columbia therefore her mother went back to Columbia to take care of her.
Angélica’s father worked long hours and depended on Angélica to help look after her younger sisters. At first, Angélica did not mind because she loved her sisters and saw how her father was struggling. Also, Angélica expected her grandmother to get better soon and that her mother would return to the UK. Angélica’s grandmother did not get better and she died two years later when Angélica was 11. Angélica’s mother decided to stay in Columbia to look after her younger brother (Angélica maternal uncle) who was two years older than Angélica as there was no one else who could look after him.
By this time, Angélica had started secondary school. Her father constantly reminded her to keep her head in the books and make sure she behaved at school. One of reasons he repeated this to Angélica was because he did not have time to pick her up from school in the middle of the day if she was misbehaving.
Angélica was in the gifted and talented group at school and was in the top sets for the Maths, English, and Science. Angélica was excellent at Science, especially Physics. However, Angélica soon found out that being intelligent and in the gifted and talent group was not was going to win her much popularity points with her classmates. Angélica was tired of being good and responsible at home and at school. She wanted to be free, popular, and admired and she was not getting that at home or at school.
Angélica stopped attending the weekly gifted and talented sessions after school and instead went to with some of her classmates either to the local park or the local shopping centre. Her father begged Angélica to help with her younger sisters and pick them up from their primary school, which was next door to her secondary school, but she refused. By year 9, she was absent from most of her classes except Science with Mrs Cruz (Lamai). Angélica secretly still loved Science and did not miss a lesson. Angélica maintained averages grades in other subjects but excelled in Science. Angélica started dating a boy who was in year 11 which her father did not like. Angélica’s boyfriend distracted her from focusing on her schoolwork as she began returning home after 11pm on school nights. No-one could get through to Angélica and when she broke up with her boyfriend, things got worst.
One Wednesday night when Angelica was 15 in January 2018, Angélica returned home at 1am. The door was locked from the inside. Angélica’s father was fed up with Angélica’s disrespect toward him and her behaviour so he locked the front door from inside. Angélica banged the door for 10 minutes straight waking up the neighbours. Eventually, Angélica’s father opened the door and said ‘Dejanos en paz, estamos cansados!’ meaning leave us alone, we tired. Angélica’s father and younger sister were tired, tired of being ignore and tired of trying to force Angélica to be a part of the family. However, Angélica’s father was hoping that Angélica would beg for forgiveness and see her ways. But Angélica felt hurt and thought her father really wanted her to leave so she said ‘Bien!’. As Angélica and her father were both proud people so neither of them was ready to express to each how they really felt.
With no where to go, Angélica wandered the streets. A police car slowed down and questioned her as it was late, and she was young. Angélica went to the police station and was met by a social worker who arranged temporary accommodation for Angélica. Angélica’s schoolteachers were informed about about Angélica’s family breakdown and Mrs Cruz (Lamai) knew she had to intervene somehow as Angélica’s was now in year 11. Angélica turned 16 the following month and instead of celebrating with her family, she was alone in her room at her foster home. Angélica’s social worker tried to mediate between Angélica and her father but it just ended up in arguments. Angélica’s mother tried calling Angélica many times but she just ignored her mother’s calls. Angélica’s father did not understand why so many people were now involved in his family’s life- he blamed Angélica. Angélica decided she was running away from her foster home to go somewhere else. She did not know where, but all knew it would far from where she was now. Angélica had no money so she walked to the local coach station on 22 February 2018. Desperate to leave, she asked a few people for money to raise some money for a coach ticket. After two hours, she managed to make £2.37- that was not enough to buy Angélica a happy meal at McDonalds.
Angélica sat at the coach station, staring at her trainers while a couple was running for a coach which was about to drive away. The woman drops her purse but she was running fast with a suitcase in each hand with a handbag on her shoulder. Angélica saw the purse and hesitated to pick it up- she wanted to give it back to the woman, but she also saw the purse knowing there would be enough money to leave town. Desperate to leave town, Angélica quickly picks up the purse and shoves it in her shoulder bag as she saw the couple had missed their coach. Walking out the coach station as quickly as possible without running, Angélica planned to go to the McDonald to search the purse. Before the automatic doors opened for Angélica, she heard ‘Miss’ and stopped. Behind Angélica were two coach station workers. Trying to play it cool, Angélica turned around and said ‘Están bien?’ hoping to scare them off by speaking Spanish. One of the coach workers replied, Habla usted español? Shocked that he spoke Spanish, Angélica confesses she speak English.
The police were called to question Angélica about the purse as the two coach station workers saw Angélica take the woman’s purse. The camera caught Angélica taking the purse and trying to the leave the station. Angélica bursted into tears and admitted to stealing the purse. The purse was returned to the woman however the woman who owned the purse who was more interested in getting another coach as soon possible than what will happen to Angélica. Angélica was taken to the local police station. Angélica’s social worker was called to the police station and had a conversation with the constable. The constable decided due to Angélica’s confession and talking to the Angélica’s social worker, it would be appropriate to give Angélica a youth caution. Angélica left the station with her social worker with tears in her eyes. Angélica did not like where she was at in life but feeling so alone and misunderstood, she felt lost and did not know how to change it.
Knowing Angélica’s brilliant scientific mind, Mrs Cruz wanted to know what was going on with Angélica and requested to see Angélica after class. Angélica explained since her mother left the UK, she has felt lost and although her father is here, he does not seem to understand her. Mrs Cruz explained to Angélica that she is gifted and has got what it takes to have a great career in STEM (Science, Technoloy Enginenering Mathemics) if she wanted. Angélica’s eyes lit up a little as she heard the encouraging words from Mrs Cruz. ‘But you need to work on your Math grades, as they are not good enough for a STEM career’. Although, Angélica still felt a little lost, she had hope and was happy to have the support of Mrs Cruz. Mrs Cruz contacted Angélica’s father and explained that he needs to talk to Angélica before it was too late. Two months, after counselling, Angélica moved back into the family home and focused on revising for her GCSEs exams. Angélica did well in her exams and went on to do A Level Maths, Chemistry and Physics (she is better than me-cause those subjects are no joke!).
Finally, Angélica’s father was granted ILR in 2019 after many years living in the UK. Without legal advice, Angélica’s father decided to register Angélica and her sisters as British citizens under BNA 1981, s1(3) as Angélica and her sister were born in the UK and now Angélica’s father is settled in the UK, there are eligible to register as British citizens while they are under 18. Time was of the essence as Angélica was 17 years old when her father applied on her behalf. He submitted the application on 25 January 2020.
So, when they received the outcome of Angélica’s application that it was unsuccessful on 17 July 2020, Angélica’s father was confused. Angélica was born in the UK and the UK is her home. Angélica’s sisters’ applications was successful. Lamai (Mrs Cruz) knew how important this application meant to Angélica’s and her father. Angélica had planned to apply for an undergraduate engineering course and needed this British citizenship application to be successful.
If Angélica’s father had sought professional immigration advice, he would have been advised about the risk of refusal for applying to register Angelica as a British citizen due to the good character requirement. We briefly looked at the Good character requirement in Week 4.
According to the Home Office Guidance for Children Citizenship applications ‘To be of good character a person should show respect for the rights and freedoms of the United Kingdom, observe its laws and fulfil their rights and duties as a resident of the United Kingdom. Checks will be made on children aged 10 years and over to ensure that this requirement is met’.[1]
Angélica and her friends received a community resolution when she was 15 for anti-social behaviour and Angélica was given a youth caution at 16 for the above offence of theft.
“Youth Cautions are a formal out-of-court disposal that can be used as an alternative to prosecution for young offenders (aged 10 to 17) in certain circumstances. A Youth Caution may be given for any offence where the young offender admits an offence, there is sufficient evidence for a realistic prospect of conviction, but it is not in the public interest to prosecute.”[2]
Youth cautions and community resolution are considered as “out of court disposal[s]’ however community resolutions are not recorded on a person’s criminal record. Although Angélica has changed and is on new path, according the Home Office’s Guidance for Children Citizenship applications and Good Character requirement, “a [British citizenship] application will normally be refused if a non-custodial offence or other out of court disposal that is recorded on a person’s criminal record occurred in the last 3 years of the date of the British citizenship application was received by the Home Office“.[3] Angélica’s youth caution was given on 22 February 2018, which which occurred in the last three years of the date of her application. So, when 3 years passes from 22 February 2018, she will be 19 years old and she will not be eligible to register as a British citizen under BNA 1981, s1(3) however if Angélica has spent the first ten years of her life in the UK, she could explore registering as a British citizen under BNA 1981 s1(4) in which she would be strongly advised to seek professional immigration advice. “Even where a person does not have a caution, warning or reprimand within the last 3 years, an application may still be refused if the person has received multiple disposals of this kind that show a pattern of offending”, therefore fingers cross that Angélica continues on the good path.[4]
Angélica is in the library with her new sixth form college friend, Cherelle trying to distract herself from the bad news of her British citizenship application. Although Cherelle is upset for her friend, she is relieved she was born British but Cherelle was not born in the UK…
Joins us, next week Thursday where we learn more about Cherelle. This concludes British citizenship for children born in the UK.
If you are concern about your immigration matter or your child’s immigration matter, please contact a reputable solicitors’ law firm that specialises in immigration law to find out your options.
*Trigger Warning-This posts mentions death and illness*
Thank you for joining us again with the British Citizenship for Children series.
This series and post is fiction and is for illustrative and educational purposes only to discuss British nationality laws. Names, characters, storyline, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents is the products of the editor’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
We ended last week’s post meeting Kofi’s friend, Tim. Kofi received the best news in the last three years-his British citizenship application was successful, while Tim is going through some of his own issues. Although this series is about British citizenship for Children, this post highlights the effects of parents not knowing the immigration status of their UK born children and failing to resolve the matter before they are 18 years old.
Tim and Kofi went to the same college in London . Tim is a year younger than Kofi and he was born on 15 July 1984. Like Kofi, Tim assumed he was British as he also was born in the UK. Hopefully, as we are on week five of this series, you know not to make that assumption because you will be making an as…well you know the saying. As Tim is born after 01 January 1983, to find out if Tim was born British automatically at birth, we need to look at the immigration status of his parents at the time of his birth.
Tim’s parents met on New Year’s Eve of 1982 at a pub in London in their early twenties. Tim’s mother was a Canadian national working as an au pair and Tim’s father was born in the UK. We learnt last week, supported by the BNA 1981, s11, persons born in the UK before 01 January 1983 are British citizens, please refer to the previous post for more detail.
Tim’s mother had been living in the UK for two months with her host family and it was her first Christmas/New Years in the UK. New Years Eve was her night off. To cut a long story short, Tim’s parents fell madly in love and welcomed, their son Tim in 1984. Having lived in the UK for just under two years, Tim’s mother was not settled in the UK at the time of his birth however she had permission to stay in the UK as a worker. Hang on, with a British father, Tim is born British automatically, right? That is what BNA 1981, s1(1) says, right? Keep reading.
Everything seemed perfect! Tim’s father proposed to Tim’s mother in November 1984, five months after Tim’s birth. Of course, Tim’s mother said yes. Unfortunately, shortly Tim’s mother began to feel ill and over the Christmas period got worse. Tim’s mother was diagnosed with an incurable rare illness which was very aggressive on the immune system. The doctors gave Tim’s mother three months to live, five months max. Tim’s father was heartbroken having meant the love of his life and having a new-born son. Tim’s father was a wreck. Tim’s mother’s health deteriorated rapidly but Tim’s father was by her side day and night. Tim’s paternal grandparents who lived in Manchester had to step in to help care for Tim. Tim mother’s passed on 21st February 1985 when Tim was seven months old.
Tim’s father went into a downwards spiral after the death of Tim’s mother. Tim’s paternal grandparents continued to look after as Tim’s father needed help and could not care for Tim. In 1987, Tim’s father eventually ended up in prison for a GBH and drug charge. In 1988, Tim’s paternal grandmother died when Tim was four. Tim’s paternal grandfather raised Tim until his death when Tim was 11. Tim had a great relationship with his paternal grandfather and so when he died, Tim felt lost. There was no other family in the UK to raise him and social services were unable to trace his mother’s family in Canada. Between the ages of 11-16, Tim lived with four foster families in Manchester. Determined to make his grandfather proud, he moved to London at 16 in hope to become a teacher. In the summer of 2000- the new millennium, at age 16, Tim got a part time job at KFC and shared a flat with an art student before enrolling in college where he met Kofi.
Tim did great at college and later went to university. He got a job as a history teacher in 2004 at an all-boys secondary school. Life was good. Tim got married in 2010 to Lamai, a British citizen of Thai descent who was also a teacher and Tim became the Deputy Head of the all boys’ secondary school in 2015. In May 2019, Tim got an offer to teach English in Thailand. His wife was happy to move to Thailand as she spent her early childhood with her mother in Thailand and was excited to show Tim her roots. Tim could imagine his grandfather looking down on him smiling.
At 34 years old, Tim had never left the UK, Tim applies for his first passport in May 2019 with his full UK birth certificate. Tim is British right? so there should be no problem. So why was his passport application rejected?
Tim is not British! Tim was very lucky to get to go to university, because many people in Tim’s position would have had to turn down university offers and re-apply at a later stage.
Prior 01 July 2006, ‘citizenship could only be passed on from a British man to his child if the parents were married and a child born in the UK could not acquire British citizenship on the basis of a settled father if the parents were not married’.[1]
Tim was born in 1984. Tim’s parents had planned to get married in 1985 however they did not get a chance to get married because Tim’s mother died from an incurable illness.
As this law was clearly unfair and disadvantaged children of unmarried parents and prevented persons who should have acquired British citizenship automatically or entitled to register as a British citizen; Parliament decided to put it right and inserted sections 4E,4F, 4G, 4G,4H,4I in BNA 1981 with the help of Immigration Act 2014. BNA 1981, 4G and 4E is relevant to Tim.
BNA 1981, 4G Person unable to become citizen automatically after commencement
(1) A person is entitled to be registered as a British citizen on an application made under this section if—
(a) [that person] meets the general conditions (found in section 4E); and
(b)at any time in the period after commencement (after 01 January 1983), [that person] would have automatically become a British citizen at birth by the operation of any provision of this Act…had [that person]’s mother been married to [that person]’s natural father at the time of [that person]’s birth.
BNA 1981, 4E The general conditions (summarised)
born before 1 July 2006;
biological parents were unmarried (to each) at the time of birth
has never been a British citizen
Tim meets the requirements of BNA 1981, s4E and s4G and therefore can register as a British citizen to right the historical wrong. On 25 July 2019, the British Nationality Act 1981 (Remedial) Order 2019 removed the good character requirement (please see the last week’s post for a brief description of the good character requirement-more detail will be provided in a future post) from British citizenship route found sections 4C, 4F, 4G, 4H and 4I as it was found to be incompatibility with the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR).
Good news, this registration application is free (yes free). Tim will need to attend a British ceremony as he is over 18- presently this cost £80.00.
As stated by BNA 1981, s4G(2) “A person who is registered as a British citizen under this section (section 4G) is a British citizen by descent”. Please note, British citizens by descent cannot normally pass on British citizenship to any children born outside British territory.[2]
You may be wondering so what is the issue? Why is Tim’s matter still unresolved a year later? Isn’t Tim living and teaching in Thailand?
Tim is still in the UK and he could not take up the job offer in Thailand in time. To register under section 4G, Tim needs some documents from his father to apply to show his father was British at the time of his birth. Tim has not seen his father since he was three. Tim’s father was released from prison in 2002 and Tim’s father eventually contacted Tim in 2008 via FaceBook but Tim wanted nothing to do with him as he felt his father let him down. Lamai, Tim’s wife has encouraged Tim to reach out to his father, but Tim is having a hard time letting go of his pain. Concerned about Tim, Lamai calls one of her close friends to talk. After the phone call, Lamai gets an email from one of her student’s father distressed as his 18 years daughter’s British citizenship application was refused…
Joins us, next week Thursday where we learn more about Lamai’s student and why her British citizenship application was refused.
If you are concern about your immigration matter or your child’s immigration matter, please contact a reputable solicitors’ law firm that specialises in immigration law to find out your options.
Thank you for joining us again with the British Citizenship for Children series.
This series and post is fiction and is for illustrative and educational purposes only to discuss British nationality laws. Names, characters, storyline, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents is the products of the editor’s imagination . Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
We ended last week’s post meeting Kofi, Giovanni’s manager. Kofi was reminded about his immigration matter when Giovanni was explaining to him that he needs overtime to pay for his daughter’s British citizenship application. Instead of going to his house, Kofi goes to his older brother’s house, Kojo to talk about his immigration matter. Although this series is about British citizenship for Children, this post and the next two posts highlights the effects of parents not knowing the immigration status of their UK born children and the consequences. Please note, assuming a UK child born is British a common assumption and this post does not bash parents.
Kofi was born in the UK on 10 June 1983 to Ghanaian parents. He has three other siblings.
Kojo, Kofi’s older brother was born in the UK on 27 September 1982. Afia, Kofi’s older sister was born in the UK on 06 April 1979. Abena was born in the UK on 11 February 1986.
Kofi’s parents arrived in the UK on 17March 1979 for a short visit as Kofi’s father wanted to study in the UK within the next two years. Kofi’s parents intended to stay no longer than three weeks as Kofi’s mother was pregnant with Afia at the time. Afia was due to arrive in June 1979 however Afia was born premature and was born three months earlier than her due date. Only God and a miracle allowed Afia to survive as she stayed in the hospital for 6 months while the doctors monitored her development. When the doctors discharged Afia, Kofi’s parent decided to stay in the UK despite wanting to return to Ghana but decided to prioritise Afia’s health as the local doctors knew of Afia’s difficult birth and wanted to continue to monitor Afia.
By this time, Kofi’s parents were overstayers in the UK as their visit visas had expired and Kofi’s parents and Afia were living with a church friend. A year after, their arrival, Kofi’s father visited an immigration law firm on a church friend’s recommendation to discuss their options of living in the UK lawfully. The solicitor explained that due to recent immigration changes to control immigration in the UK, it was hard to advise options. Needing to support his family, Kofi’s father managed to get a job working at the local market (although he did not have permission to work in the UK) while attending free evening French classes. Kofi’s father loved education and graduated from a top institute in Kumasi, Ghana studying business and finance and ideally wanted a different job.
Along comes Kojo, Kofi’s older brother born in 1982…
As the immigration solicitor told Kofi’s father- immigration law was changing. For the last three weeks, we have been looking at the British Nationality Act (BNA) 1981 and its application for children born in the UK after 01 January 1983 (after its commencement). But what was the law before?
Did you know that ‘British citizen’ is a new term? Well about nearly 40 years old- so kinda new. It was first mentioned in the BNA 1981. Prior 01 January 1983 (before BNA 1981 came into force-yes it took nearly two years), the BNA 1948, referred British citizens as Citizens of the United Kingdom and Colonies (CUKC) who were British subjects who were born/naturalised/registered/adopted in the UK or one of the UK colonies of the British Empire. The further reading from Part 1 details about BNA 1948 (coming into force on 01 January 1949) and CUKCs.
Many former UK colonies are part of the Commonwealth [of Nations] today. This post will not go into depth about BNA 1948 however Ghana (previously known as Ashanti) is former UK colony. Kofi’s parents were born in 1949, meaning they were born as CUKCs but as Ghana became independent on 6 March 1957, Kofi’s parent were no longer CUKCs but acquired Ghanaian citizenship as Ghana became an independent country. Ghana (and other former colonies) enacted their own citizenship laws. Only certain people were ‘excepted from loss [of CUKC status], please read the further reading from Part 1 to find out.
The key factor of being a British citizen or CUKC (prior 01 July 1962) is the right of abode- meaning you could live and work in the UK with no restrictions.
Further the commencement of Commonwealth Immigrations Act 1962, from 01 July 1962, ‘except for ‘Commonwealth citizens’ (a term which included CUKCs) who were born in the UK or who were the holders of UK passports (as opposed to British passports issued by a colonial authority), the right of entry to the UK was restricted by the provisions of the Commonwealth Immigrations Act 1962 Act’.[1] ‘Following Commonwealth Immigrations Act 1962, citizens of Commonwealth countries and certain CUKCs were subject to immigration control.[2]
Assessing whether a CUKC or Commonwealth citizen had the right of abode before 01 January 1983 (commencement of BNA 1981) can be complex, if applies this to you or a family member, I advised you seek professional, reputable immigration advice.
So guess what? Afia and Kojo were CUKCs and had the right of abode as they were born in the UK before 01 January 1983 (and after 01 January 1948), irrespective of their parents’ status at the time of their birth. On 01 January 1983, Afia and Kojo automatically became British citizen as supported by BNA 1981, s11
BNA 1981, s11(1)
(1)Subject to subsection (2), a person who immediately before commencement (01 January 1981)—
(a)was a citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies (CUKC); and
(b)had the right of abode in the United Kingdom under the Immigration Act 1971 as then in force,
shall at commencement (01 January 1981) become a British citizen.
As for Kofi, he missed out on being automatically British citizen under BNA 1981, s11(1) by six months! Therefore, we need to find out if Kofi was British by birth under BNA 1981, s1(1) and focus on the immigration status of his parents at the time of his birth. Having lived in the UK for over four years, Kofi’s parents were not settled in the UK and where still seeking advice regarding their immigration matter. Therefore Kofi is not British by birth under BNA 1981, s1(1).
Nevertheless, Kofi, alongside Kojo and Afia completed all their education in the UK until they were 19 years old. Kofi’s mother longed to return to Ghana, so in 1988, she returned to Ghana with Kofi’s younger sister, Abena while Kofi, his father and his older siblings stayed in the UK. The separation was extremely hard on the family and due to the sacrifices made, Kofi’s father instilled the importance of education and utilising every opportunity given.
Eventually, Kofi’s father got his immigration matter sorted and became settled in the UK as he was granted Indefinite Leave to remain (ILR) in 1994 and naturalised as a British citizen in 2000. The purpose of this posts on what basis Kofi’s father was granted ILR is not relevant. Kofi’s father started an international financial advisory business, where many of his clients were French speakers. After 1994, his mother and sister, Afia would visit the UK for short trips and Kofi’s father eventually returned to Ghana for good in 2008. Kofi’s father left the business with Kojo to run. Kofi’s father was very proud of his children and knew they would support each in the UK while he was in Ghana.
Kofi decided not to attend to university, but he got a job as a trainee mechanic. Kofi loved cars since he was a child as his father would bring home toy cars from working at the market when they were not selling.
Kofi and his family grew up thinking Kofi was British because he was born in the UK. Although, he embraced his Ghanaian roots, all he knew was life in the UK as he was born in the UK and had never left. Kofi never had a problem showing he had the right to work in the UK as he provided his full UK birth certificate and his national insurance (NI) card. Now, he is working as a manger at one of the top garages in the city. Kofi has two children, age 8 and 11. His children are British and have British passports as their mother is British citizen of Kittian descent (British by birth under BNA 1981, s1(1)). Kofi co-parents with his children’s mother and they are still friends despite their break-up five years ago.
In February 2017, Kofi’s youngest sister announced she was getting married in Ghana in June 2017. As you can imagine the whole family was excited and Kofi wanted to take his kids to Ghana with him. Kofi and Abena decided to apply for their first British passport as they had never left the UK. Kojo just renewed his passport and received his new passport within 3 weeks. Afia received her first passport within 6 weeks. In the beginning of May 2017, Kojo received a letter from the Passport Office asking for evidence of his parent’s immigration status at his birth. Confused as to why they needed this after sending his full UK birth certificate like Afia, he called his parents via WhatsApp and explained the situation. Kofi’s father explained his immigration history and unknown to Kofi he did not realise the things his parents went through. Kofi’s father advised Kofi to see an immigration solicitor quick as Abena’s wedding was in June.
Kofi had a consultation at a reputable law firm and the solicitor explained that Kofi was not British by birth under BNA 1981, s1(1). If Kofi’s father knew that Kofi was not British when he was a child, he would have been able to register Kofi as a British citizen under BNA 1981, s1(3) because Kofi’s dad was granted ILR and became settled in the UK in 1994 when Kofi was 11 years old (Read Part 3 to learn more about BNA 1981, s1(3)).
However, the solicitor explained Kofi was eligible to register as a British citizen even though he is an adult because he was born in the UK and he had spent the first ten years of his life in the UK.
BNA 1981, s1(4)
A person born in the United Kingdom after commencement (01 January 1983) who is not a British citizen by virtue of subsection [BNA s1](1), 1A or (2) shall be entitled, on an application for his registration as a British citizen made at any time after he has attained the age of ten years, to be registered as such a citizen if, as regards each of the first ten years of that person’s life, the number of days on which he was absent from the United Kingdom in that year does not exceed 90.
Kofi must also fulfil the good requirement as he is over 10 years old. According the Home Office guidance-Guide T published March 2019, a person fulfils the good character providing ‘they have shown respect for the rights and freedoms of the UK, observe its laws and fulfilled their duties and obligations as a resident of the UK’.[3] Kofi fulfils the good requirement however we will revisit the good character in depth within the next few weeks.
You will note, Abena is not eligible to register as British citizen under BNA 1981, s1(4) because she did not spend the first ten years of her life in the UK as she went to Ghana with her mom at age 2 in 1988. In each year of the first ten years of Abena’s life, she was present in the UK for the first two years but she was absent for more than 90 days in each year in her following 8 years up to age 10.
Due to the work required to prove that Kofi was in the UK for the first ten years of his life, he knew he would not be able to go to Abena’s wedding in Ghana or take his children with him to Ghana. Also, the Home Office fees for an adult to register as British citizen was expensive and he needed time to save up due to other financial commitments.
In January 2020, he finally arranged all the documents needed and the fees and his solicitor assisted Kofi with his application which was submitted the same month. Due to the current pandemic, there has been some delays in processing immigrations applications, so Kofi has been waiting over six months on the outcome.
He arrives at his brother’s house and he talks to Kojo about how stressful the last three years have been to get the documents and money ready.
“Only if I had been born 6 months earlier” sighs Kofi. Kojo tries to help Kofi but Kojo does not understand how hard it was for Kofi not to be able to go to Ghana for Abena’s wedding or to tell his children he could not take them to Ghana or wondering if he will be fired from his job if they find out he is not British. It was a lot for Kofi.
The next afternoon, Kofi gets an email from his immigration solicitor saying his British citizenship application was successful but due to lockdown and social distancing, he will have to wait a bit longer to attend his British ceremony where he will be officially British. As Kofi is over 18 years old, he must attend a British ceremony. After his ceremony, Kofi can apply for a British passport-which will not be rejected this time.
Just thankful this ordeal is over, he wants to message his friend, Tim but he is going through some issues with his own immigration matter…
Joins us, next week Thursday where we learn more about Kofi’s friend, Tim and his immigration issues.
If you are concern about your immigration matter or your child’s immigration matter, please contact a reputable solicitors’ law firm that specialises in immigration law to find out your options.
Further reading
Home Office, British citizenship: automatic acquisition, Version 3.0 published 22 July 2019 -focus on pages 4-8 that discusses British citizenship automatic acquisition for persons born in the UK.
Back again with the British Citizenship for Children series.
This series and post is fiction and is for illustrative and educational purposes only to discuss British nationality laws. Names, characters, storyline, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents is the products of the editor’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
We ended last week’s post finding out that Valentina age 3, Stella and Giovanni’s UK born daughter is not British by birth as defined by BNA (British Nationality Act) 1981, s1(1). Please re-read the previous two posts from the series to refresh your memory on the definition and the application of BNA 1981, s1(1).
Stella is at Sharon’s house to discuss the details about their consultation for Valentina’s immigration matter. ‘All is not lost’ sighs Stella as she drinks her lemon tea. ‘We have the option to apply for British citizenship for Valentina by way of registration, but it is very expensive’. Giovanni is going to discuss overtime with his manger to cover the costs. ‘Registration? What is that?’ Sharon asks while she makes a mental note for own research just in case it is viable option for her daughter, Tia.
Spoiler alert ! It is not (at this time)
British Nationality Act 1981 (BNA 1981), s1(3) states:
A person born in the United Kingdom after commencement [of the BNA 1981 which is 01 January 1983] who is not a British citizen by virtue of subsection (1)(BNA 1981, s1(1)-British by birth) or (2)] shall be entitled to be registered as a British citizen if, while he is a minor—
(a)his father or mother becomes a British citizen or becomes settled in the United Kingdom; and
(b)an application is made for his registration as a British citizen.
As we know Valentina was born in the UK on 23 June 2017 and neither Giovanni nor Stella, her parents were settled or British at the time of her birth. The BNA 1981, s1(3) (see above) allows children under the age of 18 who was born in the UK to register as British citizens if at least one of their parents becomes settled in the UK or British after their birth.
In last week’s post, we looked at ‘settled in the UK’ in the context of EU immigration law in the UK which is ‘permanent residence’. This is applicable to Valentina as her father, Giovanni is an Italian citizen. We saw that although Giovanni did not have the right of permanent residence at the time of Valentina’s birth, as of today he has acquired the right of permanent residence as he has worked continuously in the UK for at least five years, therefore he is settled in the UK as defined by EEA Regulation 2016, Regulation 15(1)(a). Please re-read the previous post from the series to refresh your mind on the application of permanent residence under EEA Regulation 2016. Stella, a Brazilian national has also acquired the right of permanent residence as defined by EEA Regulation 2016, Regulation 15(1)(b) as having lived in the UK for at least five years as the spouse of an Italian citizen who has worked continuously in the UK for at least five years.
Please remember from the previous post that there are other ways that an EU citizen can acquire the right of permanent residence besides working continuously for five years.
The solicitor estimated that as Giovanni has not been absent from the UK for more than six months in each year he has lived in the UK and has worked for the same employer since 02 February 2014, Giovanni acquired the right of permanent residence on 02 February 2019. The solicitor estimated that as Stella has not been absent from the UK for more than six months in each year she has lived in the UK and has lived in the UK for at least 5 years as Giovanni’s spouse, Stella acquired the right of permanent residence on 02 July 2019 (five years since Stella arrived in the UK). The solicitor mentions that Giovanni can apply to obtain a document certifying his permanent residence and Stella can apply to obtain a permanent residence card. The Home Office fee is £65.00 per person and the solicitor offers a quote if they decide to apply. Although, it is not compulsory for either Giovanni and Stella to obtain the respective documents, it will make Valentina’s application a little easier and it will make life easier if they needed to prove they are settled in the UK, e.g. for certain public funds/benefits. The solicitor details the documents required for Valentina’s application if they choose not to apply for permanent residence cards.
Although, the UK left the EU on 31 January 2020, EEA regulations 2016 in still in force while we are in a transitional/implementation period where the UK and EU continue to discuss the terms of Brexit. The transitional/implementation period is set to end on 31 December 2020. Therefore, as Valentina was born before 31 December 2020, Valentina can rely on her parents’ right of permanent residence under EEA Regulation 2016, Regulation 15 for the purpose of registering as a British Citizen under BNA 1981, s1(3).
On the way to the consultation, Stella saw an advertisement at the bus stop about the ‘EU Settlement Scheme’ but she did not see the details. Luckily when she remembered the advertisement during the consultation, their solicitor said they would discuss the scheme in more detail over the phone later in the week.
The EU settlement scheme was introduced by the UK government in response to Brexit so that EU citizens and their family members who are living in the UK by 31 December 2020 can remain lawfully in the UK after the end of the transitional/implementation period. As the EEA regulations 2016 which implemented EU immigration law into UK legislation, will no longer be in force after 31 December 2020, the EU Settlement scheme allows EU citizens and their family members to apply for leave to remain under the UK Immigration Rules, Appendix EU so that EU citizens and their family members can remain in the UK lawfully in accordance with UK immigration law. For EU citizens, the application is based on solely residence in the UK and for non-EU family members, the application is based on residence in the UK, their relationship to their EU family member and their EU family member’s residence in the UK.
The solicitor calls Giovanni and Stella on Thursday afternoon on Giovanni’s day off. The solicitor informs them that the application for leave to remain under the EU settlement scheme (EUSS) is free (yes Free) and in most cases, it is straightforward. As Stella and Giovanni have been living in the UK more than five years, they are eligible for settled status (also known as ILR/Indefinite leave to remain). Pre-settled status (also known as Limited leave to remain) is for EU citizens and their family members who have been living in the UK for less than five years. But the most important of all- the deadline for all EU citizens and their family members to apply under the EUSS is 30 June 2021. Stella asks the solicitor ‘If we apply for the permanent residence cards under EEA regulations 2016, we will still need to apply for settled status under EUSS?’. The solicitor answers yes as the EEA regulation 2016 will no longer be in effect after 31 December 2020. Still worried, Stella asks ‘How will this affect Valentina’s application, and our unborn child?’.
The solicitor explains that when Giovanni and Stella apply for settled status under EUSS and being very confident that the application will be successful, Giovanni and Stella will be granted settled status. While EEA regulations 2016 and the EUSS is operating at the same time during this period, Giovanni and Stella’s settled status will only further assist in showing that they are settled in the UK for Valentina’s application and makes a suggestion to the couple to apply for settled status first before applying for British citizenship for Valentina. The solicitor details the evidence required for Stella and Giovanni’s EUSS application.
As for their unborn child, the child will be born around September 2020 as Stella is seven months pregnant. As this is before the end of the implementation period), their child will be born British by birth in accordance with BNA 1981, s1(1) as Stella and Giovanni acquired the right of permanent residence under EEA regulation 2016 in 2019 before the child’s birth.
Also, if either Stella or Giovanni is granted settled status under EUSS before their new arrival’s birth, they have the option in using evidence of their settled status under EUSS or evidence of their the right of permanent residence under EEA 2016 to prove their child is British by birth under BNA 1981, s1(1) for the child’s British passport application.
Giovanni and Stella decide not to apply for permanent residence cards and just apply for settled status under EUSS with help from their solicitor and wait until they are granted settled status to apply for British citizenship for Valentina. Fingers cross they receive a decision/outcome quick!
Wanting to save money for the Home Office fee of £1,012.00 for Valentina’s application, Giovanni is talking to his manager, Kofi, about overtime and the reason why he needs more hours. Kofi is unsure whether the company can afford overtime this month, but he asks Giovanni to give him a few days to review the rota and the accounts. When Giovanni leaves Kofi’s office, Kofi leans back in his chair, thinking about his own immigration matter and how his application for a British passport was refused three years ago…
Joins us, next week Thursday where we learn more about Kofi and his unsuccessful British passport application.
If you are concern about your immigration matter or your child’s immigration matter, please contact a reputable solicitors’ law firm that specialises in immigration law to find out your options.
Remember the deadline is 30 June 2021 so just a year left!
No further reading this week as we have covered a lot of information however if you are begging for more, then check out the Gov.uk link above of the EU settlement scheme.
Trigger warning: This post discusses anxiety and mentions depression.
I was hesitate to write a post about my experience being furloughed, that it took me nearly two months to write the post!
Every time I write the word ‘diary’, I always sing in my head the song ‘Diary’ by Alicia Keys-sounding like Alicia in my head but sounding like an elderly, distressed cat when I open my mouth. I am on furlough (if you have not notice from the title) and today marks exactly 3 months since I have been furloughed. 3 MONTHS !!! *Insert deep exhale* What can I say ? First things first, I am blessed as my immediate family is safe and healthy and during this pandemic, I have received 80% of my monthly salary due to the furlough scheme. *Insert praise break* Things could have been a lot worse.
For a twenty something year old, the initial idea of being paid 80% of your salary while not actually working sounds like a dream. You can do all the things you have wanted to do like learn a new skill, finish that Netflix series and watch 20 more, binge eat on your favourite snacks and finally finish that book you bought last year. And the most important of all-you can wake up as late as you want (I am slowly trying to get back a decent bedtime routine).
While all that sounds fun, nothing could prepare me for the mental roller-coaster ahead…
I love outdoors, ever since I was a child. The park is my favourite place to go, especially in summer. I love the swings (Yes at my big age). The thought of being told to that I could only go out for a short walk, did not make me want to run outside and walk every day. Instead, I wanted to stay inside and have my room window closed.
Before the pandemic, I knew what anxiety was and I had sympathised with people who suffered or experienced anxiety regularly. I am not one to self-diagnose but the feelings I felt during the pandemic, could only be describe as anxiety. Panic attacks, chest pains, stomach pains, sweats and my mind racing to a point I felt had no return. I have been worried many times in my life but being busy deceived me to think that I had everything under control. The anxiety I experienced bought demotivation (which I am working on even to this day), being very defensive, trouble sleeping and crying every other day, if not every day. Writing this post now, it may have been depression too. It felt like I did not know who I was. It was more than not celebrating my mom’s 60th in style, it more than not going shopping to raid the charity shops and the sale racks- it was the fear of not knowing what the future holds.
Before the pandemic, I did not have a crystal ball, but I was making moves and things were up and running. In personal life, there was (and still is) stressful things going on-which would make anyone concerned, but during the lockdown my mind went into a spiral of worst-case scenarios for everything. Heart palpitations and tension headaches from imagining the worst-case scenario- ‘What if I lose everything ?’ It is not like I have a lot, but it is a lot to me. The thought of sleeping on the streets with no job and worst of all, having my family to experience that too- I was a wreck. Unfortunately, the sad truth is that this is some people’s reality in the UK!
Last week, I realised uncertainty is a trigger for me. The hardships I have faced in my life made me feel uncertain. However, before the pandemic, I was busy (or a busy body) therefore I did not dwell on the fear of uncertainty for too long because there was always something to do (or I was always doing something).
Lockdown has saved many lives but even with WhatsApp, Facebook and our beloved friend Zoom (NB: The video call function on Microsoft Teams is not my friend), lockdown made it so easy to isolate yourself from friends and family. Uncertainty is part of life and I am taking each day as it comes.
Being on furlough, opened my eyes to my flaws; I knew I had flaws but being somewhat of a- know -it- all, I perceived my flaws as minor. I realised my life revolved around work. Although I thought I had a life outside of work, unconsciously I defined myself through my work because I was doing something. I would be lying to you, if I said I did not take being on furlough personal. I took it very personal! Even though I knew it wasn’t, given the whole world was put on pause.
I thought about my clients-as I knew they were obviously thinking about me. All jokes aside, I did think about my clients, especially my vulnerable clients. I pride myself on being a relatable fee earner who genuinely wants to help people and see people win. I believe I give a certain ‘je ne sais quoi’ that makes my clients feel comfortable (sometimes too comfortable as they can over share), but they know I have their back. In the consultation rooms, there were laughs, tears, gifts, and frustration. If you are wondering, my vulnerable clients were passed on to another un-furloughed fee earner.
I have seen a lot of sadness during the pandemic, but I am seeing hope now. You remember when celebrities like Patti LaBelle were singing ‘He got the whole world in his hands’? Well, God does, and he has got the future in His hands.
Gods ask us to trust, rely on and depend on Him with all our heart and lead not to our own understanding. Surrendering all worries and anxiety to Him without focusing on what my eyes see and my ears hear-this is very hard for a busy body on furlough like me. But every day, I am working on giving it all to God because He is the reason I am still here.
No word yet as when I will be working part-time. I have not a clue what the future holds but I guess that is the beauty of life-it can change in an instant. If anyone ask, yes I have been doing training.
If you have been suffering from anxiety or feel like your mental health is deteriorating, I advise to you speak to a trusted friend/family member or seek a referral to a therapist. You are not alone. Our mind is our world.
Quick tips (which you can also implement after the pandemic is over)
Have an uplifting playlist- songs that make you want to dance like from Earth, Wind and Fire to Bruno Mars. Do not, I repeat, do not fall into the trap of listening to sad songs when you are down;
Have 15-20 mins each morning where you just sit or lie and do nothing before you start your day- yes I mean nothing, nada;
Get some fresh air (Be safe and wear a mask while we are still in a pandemic)
Exercise self-compassion- Be slow to put yourself down, but instead be kind to yourself;
Talk, talk, talk- talk to someone you trust about your worries and fears. Anxiety thrives on silence and we do not want it thriving.
This post is dedicated to everyone we have lost during this pandemic whether from Covid-19 or other illnesses, domestic violence, gun and knife crime and police brutality.
I would also like to thank every single person who has continued to work during the pandemic whether at home, in the hospitals, in the farms, at the factories, on the shop floors, on our transport systems, on the helplines etc. Thank you.
To the people who have not been working during the pandemic, stay strong and be hopeful.
Fingers crossed, I will be back soon with another blog post about being back to work
Thank you for reading!
Anonymous Fee Earner x
This post was first published on 01 July 2020 but has since been updated.
We are back with the British Citizenship for Children series.
This series and post is fiction and is for illustrative and educational purposes only to discuss British nationality laws. Names, characters, storyline, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents is the products of the editor’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
We ended last week’s post, after meeting Stella, a 40-year old Brazilian national who is married to an Italian national, Giovanni. After listening to Sharon, her Trinidadian neighbour concerns about Tia’s immigration status, Stella impatiently waits for Giovanni to return home from work. Stella and Giovanni have two children, Francesco, age 8 who was born in Brazil and Valentina, age 3 who was born in the UK. Stella is six months pregnant with their third child.
Giovanni, age 36 was born in Brazil however he acquired Italian nationality through his Italian parents as well Brazilian citizenship from being born in Brazil. Giovanni’s parents applied for his first Italian passport when he was 9.
Stella and Giovanni have been married for 15 years. When Francesco, their firstborn was 2 years old, Giovanni and Stella decided that they wanted to move to the UK to be closer to Stella’s older sister, Teresa who was willing to help care for Francesco while Giovanni works and Stella studies. Before Giovanni left, he applied for Francesco’s first Italian passport.
Giovanni moved to the UK first as an Italian national on 02 February 2014 to find a job. Giovanni stayed with Teresa, his sister in law and found a job within 3 weeks. Giovanni wanted to wait until he passed his probation period before Stella and Francesco joined him in the UK. Three months later after passing his probation period, Giovanni and Teresa attend a consultation with a solicitor from a reputable solicitors’ law firm to find out Stella and Francesco’s options to join Giovanni. The solicitor informs that Stella and Francesco can join Giovanni as family members of an EEA national who is working as prescribed under Immigration (European Economic Area) Regulations 2006 (now 2016). With help from the solicitor, Giovanni applied for a visa called an EEA family permit for Stella to join Giovanni. Stella and Francesco arrive in the UK 5 on 02 July 2014). Due to the EU free movement rules, as an EU/Italian national, Francesco entered the UK without a visa like his father, Giovanni.
Fast forward to today, Stella and Giovanni have a daughter, Valentina age 3 and another child on the way. Francesco has remained with the same employer since 23 February 2014 and although Stella has finished her studies, she is a stay at home mom. Stella and Francesco decide to prioritise Valentina’s immigration matter and attend a consultation with their previous solicitor. Valentina was born in the UK on 23 June 2017 and is an Italian citizen, like her brother Francesco as prescribed under Italian legislation, Article 1 of Law No. 91/1992 but is she is also a British national?
EU Immigration in the UK
The difference between Tia and Valentina’s immigration matter is that Valentina has an EU/Italian father. The UK was a member state of the European Union from 01 January 1973- 31 January 2020 and the rules established by the EU is applicable to all EU states. EU immigration/ free movement of people which is applicable to all EU member states is found in Directive 2004/38/EC. In a nutshell, EU nationals (and their family members) can freely move around the EU, providing they meet certain requirements. The UK implemented EU law appropriately in UK legalisation. The UK legislation relevant to EU immigration rule/free movement of people is Immigration (European Economic Area) Regulations 2016 (EEA Regulations 2016). Although, the UK is no longer an EU member state, the UK is in a transition/implementation period with the EU until 31 December 2020 for the EU and the UK to continue to negotiate terms of Brexit such as trade deals. During this time, most EU law applies in the UK, including the free movement of people.
Last week we saw how British citizenship is acquired at birth under British Nationality Act 1981 (BNA 1981), s1(1).
British Nationality Act 1981 (BNA 1981), s1(1) states:
A person born in the United Kingdom after commencement [of the BNA 1981 which is 01 January 1983] shall be a British citizen if at the time of the birth his father or mother is—
(a)a British citizen; or
(b)settled in the United Kingdom
Neither Stella nor Giovanni are British citizens, but were they settled in the UK at the time of Valentina’s birth?
EEA Regulations 2016 deals with immigration in the UK for EU nationals and their family members. For this post, ‘Settled in the UK’ under EEA Regulations 2016 is known as ‘the right of permanent residence’. The principle of the right of permanent residence is ‘acquired’ as opposed to be ‘granted’.
15.— (1) The following persons acquire the right to reside in the United Kingdom permanently—
(a)an EEA national who has resided in the United Kingdom in accordance with these Regulations for a continuous period of five years;
(b)a family member of an EEA national who is not an EEA national but who has resided in the United Kingdom with the EEA national in accordance with these Regulations for a continuous period of five years;
Regulation 15(1)(a) applies to Giovanni and 15(1)(b) applies to Stella. ‘In accordance with these regulations’ means meeting the requirements of EEA Regulations 2016.
The requirements for an EU national to reside in the UK under EEA Regulations 2016 is that they must be a qualified person. There are different ways to be a qualified person as defined in EEA Regulations 2016, Regulations 6. Giovanni is a qualified person as worker and has been since February 2014. The requirements for a non-EEA national to reside in the UK under EEA Regulation 2016 is as a family member of an EU qualified person. Stella fulfil this requirement as Giovanni’s wife.
Although Giovanni is a qualified person and Stella is Giovanni’s family member, at the time of Valentina’s birth on 23 June 2017, neither Giovanni and Stella had resided in the UK in that capacity for at least five years in order to have acquired the right of permanent residence in accordance with EEA Regulations 2016, 15(1)(a) and (b) before Valentina’s birth as they both arrived in the UK in 2014. Therefore, Valentina is not British in accordance with BNA 1981, s1(1).
After the long consultation, Stella goes to see Sharon to inform her about the consultation.
Join us, next week Thursday to see what options are available for Valentina. Also, with three months until their new arrival, we join Stella and Giovanni back to the law firm for more advice.
If you are concern about your immigration matter or your child’s immigration matter, please contact a reputable solicitors’ law firm that specialises in immigration law to find out your options.
Please see below for further reading materials relevant to this post.
Further reading:
For those of you who would like to read Immigration (European Economic Area) Regulations 2016
First thing first- hold up! British nationality law is a little complicated. Let me take that the words ‘a little’ out. Due to its history, it is an area of immigration law that requires some people do some serious digging, e.g. create a family tree or go on the BBC ‘Who do you think you are?’. For the majority, the digging is minimal.
Welcome to the British Citizenship for Children Series. Today’s post will introduce British Citizenship for persons born in the UK on and after 01 January 1983.
Fun Fact- Being born in the UK, does not mean you have automatically acquired British citizenship.
This can come as a shock to many people-whether you are British or not-like Sharon, a 24-year-old Trinidadian national living in the UK.
To help you understand common British nationality law scenarios, Sharon and other fictional characters will pop up to help. There may be times where you will be thinking ‘Really?’ or ‘that would never happen in real life!’- just stay with me on the journey.
This series and post is fiction and is for illustrative and educational purposes only to discuss British nationality laws. Names, characters, storyline, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents is the products of the editor’s imagination . Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
British Citizenship by Birth (Part 1)
British Nationality Act 1981 (BNA 1981), s1(1) states:
A person born in the United Kingdom after commencement [of the BNA 1981 which is 01 January 1983] shall be a British citizen if at the time of the birth his father or mother is—
(a)a British citizen; or
(b)settled in the United Kingdom
Sharon has been living in the UK for nearly 4 years with her Trinidadian husband, Michael. Both born and raised in Trinidad, Sharon and Michael entered in the UK as students (on Tier 4 Student visas). They have both completed their undergraduate degree and have now started their masters at the Royal United State University in London. They renewed their student visas to extend their stay to complete their masters. Sharon gave birth to a baby girl, name Tia at the Royal United Hospital in London on 23 December 2019. Sharon and Michael registered Tia’s birth in the UK, and they were issued a UK birth certificate for Tia.
Luckily for Sharon and Michael as new parents- their second semester is focused on their dissertation, so they work from home. Michael attends a consultation with a solicitor from a reputable solicitors’ law firm to find out Tia’s options. The solicitor explains although Tia was born in the UK and was issued a UK birth certificate; Tia is not British by birth under BNA 1981, s1(1) because Sharon and Michael are neither are British Citizens, nor settled in the UK at the time of Tia’s birth. Tia is not eligible for British citizenship; therefore her parents cannot apply for a British passport on her behalf.
What does ‘settled’ mean?
Although, Sharon and Michael, may feel settled in the UK, for the purpose of the BNA 1981 and other immigration rules/legislation, ‘settled’ means you can stay in the UK without any time restrictions.
People who are settled in the UK have:
indefinite leave to remain (ILR),
settled status (under the European Settlement Scheme (EUSS)) or;
There are various ways to obtain settlement. Most are eligible for settlement between 5 -10 years of lawful residence depending on their immigration history and circumstances.
At the time of Tia’s birth, Sharon and Michael had limited leave to remain as students. They have restrictions on how long they can stay in the UK as students.
What happens to Tia?
Michael and Sharon contact the Trinidadian embassy in London to see if Tia is Trinidadian citizen although she was born in the UK. The embassy informs Sharon and Michael, that according to the Citizenship Act of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, section 5, they can apply for certificate of citizenship for Tia as a citizen of Trinidad and Tobago by descent. Michael contacts the UK solicitor and shares the news and wants to know if Tia can get a visa as a dependant of Michael who is on a Tier 4 Student visa.
What happens next, is dependent on Michael’s and Sharon’s future plans-will they return to Trinidad or will an opportunity arise for them to stay in the UK after they finish their studies? The decision they make will affect Tia.
Sharon is very stress and decides to invite her neighbour, Stella, a 40-year old Brazilian national who is married to an Italian national, Giovanni. Stella and Giovanni have two children, Francesco, age 8 who was born in Brazil and Valentina, age 3 who was born in the UK. Stella is six months pregnant with their third child. Hearing Sharon’s stressful situation is making Stella stressed about her children’s immigration status.
Join us, next week Thursday to found out what is Stella’s children’s eligibility for British Citizenship.
I have mentioned a few words such as ‘Indefinite Leave to Remain’, ‘Permanent Residence’ and ‘Settled Status’, ‘by descent’ and hopefully throughout this series you will understand these words.
If you are concern about your immigration matter or your child’s immigration matter, please contact a reputable solicitors’ law firm that specialises in immigration law to find out your options.
Thank you for reading. Stay safe and take care, Nellie x
Please see below for further reading materials relevant to this post.
Further reading:
For those of you want to learn about the history of British Nationality Law-
As an aspiring lawyer, I know stress is inevitable. Although, many people forget, lawyers are humans. As a well respected profession in our society, lawyers tend to be ‘the problem solvers’ at work…and at home. At times, we happily take this responsibility with open arms because at the end of the day, problem solving is at the core of our job. But sometimes, it gets a little too much. With my long lists of legal work experience, I have picked up a few tips I would like to share…
Tip 1- Is this job really what you want to do? Working in a job that is not for you or no longer meets your needs can make life harder. Money is necessary to live but there is something about passion and purpose in a career which can propel you through the good times and tough times. Be honest with yourself. The person we usually lie to is ourselves. Never feel like it is too late for a career change. Talk to your partner or a friend that you trust and who has your best interest to discuss your concerns. Deep down inside we know what decisions to make but talking it out can help. Or if you are like me, the pros and cons list is a good starting point. Do some research in how the change could affect you and your family. If you are not in the financial position to change career paths just yet- see if there are any local volunteering opportunities (suitable around your schedule) in your new passion to bring some happiness while you continue to plan the next stages.
Tip 2- Take a break! Make sure you schedule at least 20 mins a day to have a break during your working day. Have some good food for lunch. #PackedLunchSavesLivesAndPockets. Stop eating at your desk! I know it’s easy and the chair is comfy but let’s work smart, not hard. People are likely to ask you work related questions when you are at your desk- even with a mouth full of food in your mouth and a fork. We need to step completely away from the working environment. Don’t get me wrong, there will be exceptions but the rule is take a break. If you buy lunch but get tempted in the shopping centres to buy more than just lunch, only bring the cash amount enough to cover a meal deal, so should we say £5 ? (in case you want to treat yourself to a piece of cake)
Tip 3-Accept that some clients (very few) will ignore your advice. This will definitely help those in the early stages of their legal career. I know it’s frustrating! The whole point we get instructed is to give advice. Always maintain your morals and your cool and make a note so there is record of your advice and record if your client decides not to take your advice. Continue to keep abreast with the current laws in your specialism and trust your gut. When in doubt, discuss the matter with a senior member within the team.
Tip 4-Do you have an after work ritual? Something that signifies you have finished work for the day. E.g. phone a friend for a ten minute chat, play your favourite song, eat a snack like an apple. The aim is to find something that will represent letting go the stress of work before you open your front door.
Tip 5-Create Boundaries! This is for people who are generally the last ones to leave the office and the ones who work at home beyond the times they should be working. That email could wait until tomorrow ! Do not give clients your personal mobile number. Be kind to yourself so you can be kind to others.
Tip 6-Ask for help! Do you need a paralegal to help with administrative tasks ? Or maybe an earlier start time when the office is quiet ? Or a pay rise? We tend to shy away from asking for what we need. Instead, we suffer in silence. Prevention is better than cure.
Tip 7- Remember the important people in your life. The people you love and who love you back. Have their picture on your desk or on your phone but make physical time for them. We tend to remember how people made us feel more than what they do for us. Time is precious.
Tip 8-Encourage your workplace to do regularly activities at a convenient time for those who desire to participate. This is a tricky one because everyone is busy but all work and no play breeds stress.
Tip 9- Considering writing a daily journal or having therapy sessions. I have found journaling is great for when I’m stressed about 11pm at night. Personally, I haven’t tried therapy but I have heard it can be helpful. Trusting someone with your thoughts , secrets, concerns and insecurities is a big step so do good research on the organisation or practice you decide to try psychological therapy with.
Quick notes
Spread your annual leave evenly throughout the year,
Always have snacks in your draw at work,
Always carry a pair of headphones (trust me),
Buy a small stress ball,
Have a happy and calm screensaver on your work computer,
Attend a well being course,
In all things, be safe and have a balance life and moderation is the name of the game.
The Legal Chit Chat 