In May this year, we left behind our daughter Selene, born in the Philippines on April 18th, as we had no passport for her. We are returning in July to collect her but we still have no passport. I will return to the UK with the boys and my wife will stay in the Philippines if still no passport is issued by the end of August, which now looks possible.
We are both British citizens, myself a citizen all my life born in Wales, Shane my wife a citizen since January 2016. We have been married for seven years. Yet as far as the Home Office is concerned, we are treated the same as foreigners trying to acquire British citizenship, and months are needed to process our application.
The Home Office knows full well Selene is a British citizen, and they are not disputing the fact. Yet we will not permit us to bring our daughter home.
Our MP Owen Paterson wrote to The Home Secretary and we received a reply from The Minister For Immigration, the Rt Hon Caroline Nokes.
Below is my response to Mr Paterson which explains our situation.
Our daughter Selene
Re CS Ref M5204/18
I thank the Minister of State for Immigration, The Rt Hon Caroline Nokes, for her reply to our enquiry dated 3rd July, which we received today. She mentions that, before issuing a passport, she needs to establish our daughter Selene’s nationality, identity and eligibility.
The Rt Hon Caroline Nokes
Re eligibility, Selene is the daughter of two British citizens.
Re identity, short of a DNA test, which has not been requested, all the requisite proof has been provided, and we are told that no further evidence is required.
The Minister herself acknowledges that no further evidence is requested.
Re nationality, I repeat that Selene is the daughter of two British citizens. This fact, I note, is not contested by the Minister. So there is no possible question that she is British.
The further documents mentioned by the Minister, as still being required, such as the Cenomar, were all provided well before the time of her writing. The letter confirming wrong address she mentions, for example, was sent on the 20th May to HMPO by registered mail. It is disconcerting that the Minister has not been properly briefed by her department as to the facts of our case, in that she still believes we have not supplied all the requested documents.
The question from our point of view now is purely one of dates. The original application was lodged on the 24th April 2018. If the Minister insists on a 16 week timescale being followed, that would take us to a date of August 10th. Were Selene’s passport to be issued on this date, and it is delivered by then to Selene’s Philippines address, it would be just in time for our return to the UK, and our family need not be broken up. That would indeed be most helpful.
Although that is a month away and takes us down to the wire as regards booking flights etc.
The Passport Office will not confirm to us whether our dates are possible or not.
I note the Minister is saying that she intends to issue the passport as soon as all checks have been completed. As there is no question that Selene is British and is our daughter, what pray, is there remaining to be checked?
I note that the Minister in her letter kindly states that she intends to issue the passport as soon as possible. As our documents were lost by the Passport Office for some weeks, it would seem that any further delay would be unfair and unnecessary, as I repeat all requested documentation has been lodged.
I hope and request that the Minister can issue us with our daughter’s passport forthwith.
I thank Mr Paterson for his ongoing support to our passport application.
Yours etc,
Tap. We’ll be with you soon Darling. We won’t leave you behind again.
