'I'm finally a British citizen after 48 years'

A retired shopkeeper who was told he was not British despite living in the UK for nearly five decades said he is "over the moon" to have been finally made a British citizen.

Nelson Shardey, from Wallasey in Wirral, has lived in Britain since arriving as a student from Ghana in 1977, but in 2019 he was told he had no right to live in the UK.

After his family launched a campaign to have his case reviewed, the government eventually recognised Nelson's case as "exceptional" and he was granted indefinite leave to remain in 2024.

The 76-year-old said he was "delighted" to this week be granted full British citizenship and thanked the people of Wirral for their "unbelievable" support.

"I feel nothing but pride for the place I call home," he said.

"While the journey has not been easy and has tested us, I am delighted that this story ends not in frustration, but in belonging."

When Nelson first came to the UK he took on various jobs, including making Mother's Pride bread and Kipling's Cakes near Southampton, as well as Bendick's Chocolate in Winchester.

He said no-one had ever queried his right to live or work in the UK and after marrying a British woman he moved to Wallasey to run his own business, a newsagent called Nelson's News.

When that marriage ended, he married another British woman and they had two sons, Jacob and Aaron.

In 2007, he was given a police award for bravery after tackling a robber who was attacking a delivery man with a baseball bat.

However, when he applied for a passport in 2019 to return to Ghana after the death of his mother, he was told he was not a British citizen.

Officials told him to apply for the 10-year route to settlement which costs about £7,000, with a further £10,500 over the same period to access the NHS – sums Mr Shardey would have struggled to find.

But after his family started a fresh fundraising campaign to help with his legal fight, his case was looked at again by the Home Office.

Officials said the Immigration Act allowed discretion to grant Nelson indefinite leave to remain outside the normal immigration rules - which was eventually upgraded to full citizenship.

Speaking after a ceremony at Wallasey Town Hall on Thursday Nelson said he was "very proud".

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