A mum-of-four who has lived in the UK for 30 years has been denied citizenship – despite her father being a former British soldier.
Christine North, 37, was snubbed by officials who refused to grant her British citizenship – even though she has served on a jury twice.
The married mother was born near an Army base in Dortmund to a German mother but has an English father and has lived in the UK since the age of seven.
Her biological dad, Alan Griffiths, was a British soldier stationed near Dortmund but denied being Christine’s father, so his name and nationality are missing from her birth certificate.
But because Christine has no proof of UK citizenship, she can’t go on holiday, by a house and struggles to find a job.
And so began a long and painstaking battle with the British Government to grant her British citizenship.
Christine was denied a passport in 2014 and is in the process of applying to the Home Office once again with renewed hope.
She said: “The only reason I am applying again is the law has changed to take other factors into account.
“I have letters from my father confirming my ancestry, a copy of his passport and court documents which show DNA tests were carried out.
“I am exhausted with the whole process and angry, but still hope this time it will be approved.”
Christine, from Clacton-on-Sea, Essex, has never had any official paperwork to say she is British and says no-one is willing to help her.
She tracked down her biological father and said she has his passport and German court documents, which state DNA tests have been carried out proving he is her father.
Although she was successful in applying for a job at Sainsbury’s, her celebration was short lived when her would-be employer said her lack of proof of UK citizenship meant they would have to turn her down.
Christine added: “I am now 37-years-old and still I am officially from nowhere.
“This country is all I know, I can’t leave to go on holiday and now I can’t get a job.
“No-one is willing to help me.”
A Home Office spokesman said: “Mrs North does not have an automatic claim to British citizenship as her parents were never married.
“However, she can submit a citizenship application providing there is proof her father was British and that they were related.”