Catch22 Immigrant

Trevor Donald is the victim of the most egregious bureaucracy related to the Windrush scandal. He came to Britain at the age of 11 in 1963 as part of the Windrush generation. It appears that his arrival and right to be a resident of the UK had never been documented. When he went to Jamaica in 2010 to attend his mother's funeral he had to travel on emergency documents, but he was given assurance that he would  be allowed to return to the UK to take up his residence again.  Upon trying to return home later in 2010 ,  he was barred from entry and remained stranded in Jamaica for 9 years.  In 2019 he was finally allowed to return home as part of the Windrush correction scheme, but he has been denied the immediate granting of British Citizenship because he had not been in the country for 5 years. This is an insult and Mr Donald has been treated with contempt as part of a "Catch 22" not so merry go round. 

Before, he went to Jamaica  in 2020 he was already a British citizen albeit an undocumented one. He had lived in the country for 43 years since childhood, it was his right to be British. He should have been granted citizenship in 2010 and been given a passport immediately. The same should have been the case when he returned form his illegal exile in 2019.

We now live in a world where personal testimony seems to count for nothing, there were probably innumerable British citizens who could have vouched for Mr Donald and confirmed that he was living in the UK legally , doctors' and dentists' records could have been checked etc. There is no need for endless bureaucracy and computer records for proof of who you are.

The Crown grants people citizenship upon the recommendation of the Home Office. Under international law no-one should be allowed to be a stateless citizen, but  Mr Donald was forced to be a stateless by British bureaucracy, and he still is. The Home Secretary should recommend, to the monarch, that Mr Donald is granted British Citizenship and a passport immediately. The Queen would probably be pleased to do so in order to right an injustice.