Any people of T&T out there? mum won’t help with documents required for citizenship by descent any ideas welcome :-)

[Spikyhairbrush]

Is there a way of applying for citizenship by descent for Trinidad where the citizen parent won’t help get their documents together for the dc. My mum won’t help me. She keeps saying she will but has made up some stories that I now know definitely aren’t true as to why she can never get her documents together (things such as she’s currently applying for a drivers license and waiting for docs to come back but 12 months later they’re apparently still there!)

I don’t know if there is a way of obtaining documents maybe through a solicitor or do I just not get citizenship if my mother decides no :-(

What are the documents you need?

If it's birth or marriage certs you need is there an online process for applying for a duplicate Trinidad certificate (like gov.uk in uk)?

@BranchGold i need a copy of her birth certificate

@Daffodilsandsunshine I don’t think so and not without my mum. I’m effectively looking to get the documents without her because for one reason or another she’s not helping get them.

Your mum is hiding something from you.

@howdoesyourgardengrowinmay maybe she’s hiding something,
I think she’s insulted I want T&T citizenship when she’s ’given us all British citizenship’ she told me and siblings she didn’t give us dual citizenship because we were born in Britain and ‘lucky’ to be so. But now she’s just saying she’ll get the documents one day.

She has a British passport so I know she’s here legally etc. I can’t think of any other things she has to hide that would mean I can’t have the documents but of course there may still be reasons. I honestly think it’s simply her way of keeping me in the U.K. :-)

I'm interested to know why you want T&T / UK dual citizenship. Is it because you do plan to move there?

Iike a previous poster said , it's possible she is hiding something from you on the documents .

Are her parents alive ? Could you ask them ?

Any chance of paternity ID being different/ adoption etc

Have you ever seen her birth certificate?

Her parents are not alive, I never knew them and don’t even know their names, my mum is in her 70’s. The reason I want citizenship is because I am thinking of moving to another caricom country (not T&T) I can move there by getting a visa with no rights to work in the country etc but the visa fees are high and need to be renewed annually.

With the passport I wouldn’t need the visa which have to be renewed annually with no guarantee of that being approved, plus the visa fees which are expensive.id also just like to acknowledge where I come from I suppose because even tho I’m born in the uk I’m still not treated like it if I’m honest. Where you come from is still a daily occurrence where I live!!

I don’t know any T&T family really. I know of them and have names of a few siblings but only met them once or twice in my life.

Try this

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/overseas-birth-certificate#:~:text=Complete%20the%20application%20form%20to,the%20process%20will%20be%20quicker.

Or this

https://foreign.gov.tt/documents/361/Application_for_Computerized_Birth_Certificate.pdf

I would think she is hiding something like "father unknown", which would have been very stigmatising, especially in her generation.

I think you should contact the TT High Commission in London, to be certain. However, it looks like you need your mum's permission and a copy of her TT ID. They seem very strict about releasing copies, unlike here.

Your best bet is to discuss with your mum why she is so reluctant.

Mind you, I remember all of the faff my mum went through to get her ID from the High Commission in London. She won't be letting it out of her possession any time soon!

She's a similar situation to your mum. I think a lot of hassle is that they were born before it became a Republic, so the original birth certificate is no longer valid and had to be replaced. Actually, I've not seen her birth cert either, possibly because it must state father unknown. (He was known, but not married to my grandmother.)

I think you are right, somethings amiss here. I do believe I need her permission to get the BC and I have a strong feeling she’s not going to give it. Any kind of taboo subject in her world and she’ll definitely be hiding it! I have outright said why won’t you just say you’re lot giving it and she insists it’s at the dvla office. Over and over. Sigh.

She’s never really spoken of her family other than they were really poor.

I wish you the best of luck, it sounds like it must be a difficult subject for her, if she's not spoken to you about TT.

Does she eat/ reminisce about the amazing food? That's something my mother talks about a lot, although she travels back most years to visit family and for carnival. The food discussion leads on to other memories about family, growing up, etc.

(If you've never had doubles, pilau with kouchela or dhalpuri (sp?) roti, she has deprived you 😋😆!)

Thanks roti and pilau 100% on the menu when I was growing up so not all bad :-)

I don’t think you’ll be able to do it without her OP. From what I can tell, it looks like you will need to submit a letter of authorisation from your Mum as well as a photocopy of her ID.

Bless, she might just not want you to move because she’ll miss you.

@Spikyhairbrush If you're prepared to go to Trinidad you can get your mother's birth certificate yourself from relevant government office. Its not a difficult or expensive process neither do you need her permission - but it can involve a lot of hanging around for the day. Bring your full birth certicate and passport with you. Also your baptism certificate if you have it. The Trinidad High Commission in UK can advise if you have further questions.

@DeeCeeCherry thank you so much. She has my Baptism certificate and I bet she won’t give me that either now but I will see if I can get a copy of that too. I am willing to go and sort this there if that’s what I have to I have to do.

Hopefully once she realises that you can get the documents without her, she will want to save you the great expense and her birth cert will "return" from DVLA.

Best of luck.

Spikyhairbrush
@DeeCeeCherry thank you so much. She has my Baptism certificate and I bet she won’t give me that either

If you know where you were baptised you can get a copy yourself