Change of Right Of Abode after 23 years.

I am so glad I have found this site! I am getting myself in a bit of a state and cant find the answers I need anywhere. I am praying that some of you good people might be able to help me!

Please bare with me, my story/question is quite complicated but I will keep it as simple as possible;

My parents are British, my husband is British and my 3 children are British.

I was born in BC Canada in 1978 and adopted at birth by British parents who had settled in Canada although never gave up their uk citizenship.

In 1987 we moved over to England and I was granted UK Right Of Abode. Since then, every time I have re-newed my Canadian passport I have just had to send it off for my Right Of Abode to be transfered over to the new passport.

After 23 years of living over here and having UK R.O.A I am now told that regulations have changed and I must make a completely new application for it.

But my problem is, I cannot give them the documents that they are asking for!! They want my Long Form birth certificate which, as an adoptee, I havent got/cant get as it doesnt exist. I have seen my original birth certificate which has my biological mothers details on but that is not what they want. They want proof of my connectin to my british parents and have said that the adoption papers I have are not sufficient. I dont know what to do!?!?!

I asked if I could claim my R.O.A through my husband instead as it would make things so much easier but I was told that I could only do that if I had married before 1983 (I was 5 then!!), I have only been married 4 years.

Im not sure if it would just be easier to get dual citizenship but to be perfectly honest, I dont want it! I may have only been 9 when I was made to leave Canada but it will always be my homeland and I will always be Canadian!

Any advice would be gratefully recieved!!!

So, why on earth would you not want citizenship, instead of going thru ROA.

It changes nothing with regards to your Cdn citizenship.

UK citizenship rules have changed. Since you were likley a UK citizen back then, you probably are right now.

In any event, since you seem none to happy about having to go through the bother of getting ROA, why not just opt for the bother of citizenship, which would give you mobility in Europe, by the way.

Your parents never "gave up" UK citizenship, becuase there was never any requirement to.

Even if I chose UK citizenship, they will still require the documents that I cannot provide! Which is the problem I am having.....

is a fact that adoption by british parents living outside britain did not make you automatically a UK citizen, -- they would have had to register you before 18.

You other choice is simply to naturalise: You've been in UK long enough. Again, this does not affect your Cdn citizenship. then there is nothing you need from the Cdn end.