4 ms·

Don't you have a birth certificate? A school diploma? Old passports?

arp242 3y ago
Other than the school diploma that wouldn't really prove anything for the Windrush people because it was about residency rather than nationality. The immigration laws changed in the early 1970s so you had to prove you were in Britain before the change (and, IIRC, in some cases provide evidence for every single year you were in Britain for it to be considered valid). I could perhaps get some records from the school I attended, maybe? No idea if they still have records from decades ago. I certainly don't have anything from that lying around. Who still has records from their elementary school or high school? Some probably do, but I don't think it's uncommon for people to have nothing at all from that when they're in their 60s.
data_maan 3y ago
You can lose it, it can be stolen, burned, flooded - you name. The thought of having to keep every one of these objects because some government bureaucrat ejaculated a thought prematurely to now require various forms of evidence you were in the country is ridiculous.
rsynnott 3y ago
Who keeps _old passports_? Actually, I think at least here you’re supposed to send them back on replacement.
- jdietrich 3y ago
  In the UK, they return your old passport with a corner clipped off if you make a paper renewal. You don't have to return your passport to renew it, because passports can be renewed online in most circumstances. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cancellation-of-passports/cancelling-british-passports-accessible https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cancellation-of-p... https://www.gov.uk/renew-adult-passport/renew https://www.gov.uk/renew-adult-passport/renew
  - rsynnott 3y ago
    Last time I renewed mine was about 9 years ago (oops, should probably renew it soon); at least in Ireland you couldn’t renew online at that point. Though, actually, the corner clipped off thing sounds familiar. I think we may do that too. I’ve probably got it somewhere…
- halostatue 3y ago
  I do. I have most of my old passports (all of them since I was an adult). My wife also has all of hers (she might even have a childhood one). You are supposed to send them back on replacement, but both countries with whom I maintain passports return them to you in an "unusable" state (mutilated).
- ianburrell 3y ago
  The US sends back the old passport with hole punched after renewal. I would never get rid of my old passports, they are reminder of travels. Also, expired passport can be used as identity document for driver's license (but not Real ID) or passport. You be able to bootstrap identity from expired passport.
- 8n4vidtmkvmk 3y ago
  I had mine and then at some point in Canada I think they decided to stop returning them when you renew.
ClumsyPilot 3y ago
For a person without passport, just citizenship - none of that would prove anything. You need to prove continuous residence for 5 years, the only accepted form of evidence in utility bills, bank statements and council tax. You need 1 document per 3 months of residence, so at the very least 15 documents, and they have to be from 3 different organisations, without gaps. Do you have that?
- 8n4vidtmkvmk 3y ago
  That's intense. And a lot of fucking companies won't give you any documents more than about 18 months old and even that's assuming you still have an account you can log in to.

Other than the school diploma that wouldn't really prove anything for the Windrush people because it was about residency rather than nationality. The immigration laws changed in the early 1970s so you had to prove you were in Britain before the change (and, IIRC, in some cases provide evidence for every single year you were in Britain for it to be considered valid). I could perhaps get some records from the school I attended, maybe? No idea if they still have records from decades ago. I certainly don't have anything from that lying around. Who still has records from their elementary school or high school? Some probably do, but I don't think it's uncommon for people to have nothing at all from that when they're in their 60s.

data_maan 3y ago

You can lose it, it can be stolen, burned, flooded - you name. The thought of having to keep every one of these objects because some government bureaucrat ejaculated a thought prematurely to now require various forms of evidence you were in the country is ridiculous.

rsynnott 3y ago

Who keeps _old passports_? Actually, I think at least here you’re supposed to send them back on replacement.

jdietrich 3y ago
In the UK, they return your old passport with a corner clipped off if you make a paper renewal. You don't have to return your passport to renew it, because passports can be renewed online in most circumstances. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cancellation-of-passports/cancelling-british-passports-accessible https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cancellation-of-p... https://www.gov.uk/renew-adult-passport/renew https://www.gov.uk/renew-adult-passport/renew
- rsynnott 3y ago
  Last time I renewed mine was about 9 years ago (oops, should probably renew it soon); at least in Ireland you couldn’t renew online at that point. Though, actually, the corner clipped off thing sounds familiar. I think we may do that too. I’ve probably got it somewhere…
halostatue 3y ago
I do. I have most of my old passports (all of them since I was an adult). My wife also has all of hers (she might even have a childhood one). You are supposed to send them back on replacement, but both countries with whom I maintain passports return them to you in an "unusable" state (mutilated).
ianburrell 3y ago
The US sends back the old passport with hole punched after renewal. I would never get rid of my old passports, they are reminder of travels. Also, expired passport can be used as identity document for driver's license (but not Real ID) or passport. You be able to bootstrap identity from expired passport.
8n4vidtmkvmk 3y ago
I had mine and then at some point in Canada I think they decided to stop returning them when you renew.

ClumsyPilot 3y ago

For a person without passport, just citizenship - none of that would prove anything. You need to prove continuous residence for 5 years, the only accepted form of evidence in utility bills, bank statements and council tax. You need 1 document per 3 months of residence, so at the very least 15 documents, and they have to be from 3 different organisations, without gaps. Do you have that?

8n4vidtmkvmk 3y ago
That's intense. And a lot of fucking companies won't give you any documents more than about 18 months old and even that's assuming you still have an account you can log in to.