Dispatches: Season 2017, Episode 16

2017 - 16: Brexit - How to Get a British Passport

A year on from the referendum the Brexit talks are just starting. Top of the agenda will be the status of three million Europeans living here. Many of them and their children were born in the UK or have lived here most of their lives. You may have thought that being born here would immediately guarantee them a British passport, but that's not the case. For Dispatches, Datshiane Navanayagam investigates just how hard it can be to get a British passport and the real impact that the lack of a passport has on many people's lives. Navanayagam reveals that there are already 120,000 children and young people born or raised in the UK who think that they are British but will not automatically gain citizenship. She reveals some of the huge costs involved in applying for citizenship, examines how the Home Office assesses claims and asks whether Brexit will make the situation worse.