Petition · past parliament

Recognize as British anyone who was legally in the UK before 1.1.73

Rejected 21 signatures

What the petition asks

The stories of Albert Thompson and Sarah O’Connor have rightly provoked compassion and outrage from the public. Thompson's story is particularly tragic as a man who has lived in the UK since 1973 has been denied life saving cancer treatment.

Michael Braithwaite arrived in 1961 aged 9.
Braithwaite is one of a group who were born in the Commonwealth, arrived in the UK as children and now have immigration problems. Home Office officials request to see preferably 4 pieces of evidence for every year spent in the UK.

Anyone who arrived in the UK before 1973 already has an automatic permanent right to remain in the UK. This petition calls for grant of British citizenship to anyone legally in the UK before 1 Jan 73 and who has been continuously legally in the UK since then.

Why it was rejected

There was already a petition about this issue. Duplicates are rejected so signatures collect in one place.

Timeline

11 Apr 2018 Petition opened for signatures
23 Apr 2018 Rejected by the Petitions Committee

Key facts

Signatures 21
Status Rejected
Rejected 23 Apr 2018

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Source: the official petition page. Last checked 15 Jul 2026.