The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
Woman’s fight to get UK passport for adopted son
51-year-oldhitsoutat‘hideous’treatmentfromHomeOffice
A woman who adopted a baby to save his life has been left devastated following an unsuccessful three- year battle with officials to get a British passport for her son.
Debbie Rafferty, 51, originally from Alford, rescued Alfie after he was born when she realised he was at risk of abandonment, mistreatment or death due to being conceived by an unmarried woman.
Ho w e v e r, she has struggled to get citizenship for her little boy because
“Insteadof treatinghimlike aperson, theysee himasanumber”
her application to the Home Office was refused – leaving the youngster stateless.
Mrs Rafferty works as a security consultant in a south-east Asian country, which she cannot reveal details of due to the nature of her employment, where she adopted Alfie.
Now, after a failed attempt to get a British passport for her son, she is upset at the way she has been treated by the Home Office.
“They have treated us hideously ever since the application was rejected,” she said. “Instead of treating Alfie like a person, they see him as just a number.”
Alfie is three years old and has a passport under the same nationality as his birth mother but it will not be renewed.
“We’re running out of time,” said Mrs Rafferty. “He’s only got one page left in his passport because everywhere he goes he needs a visa.
“It means if I have to move away for work, I can’t take him with me.”
Ha v i n g a British passport would offer Alfie more freedom to travel with his parents and also grant him the safety net of citizenship in the country.
All the toddler ’s documentation shows him as British, so if he was to be deported from his Asian family home, he would be flown to the UK.
In a letter to the family, the Home Office stated: “The country in which your son’s application took place was not recognised by United Kingdom law at the time of adoption.”
It stated that his case did not meet the requirement because it was “not an adoption under the terms of the 1993 Hague Convention on In tercoun try Adoption”.
Mrs Rafferty appealed this decision five months ago but has still not heard back from immigration officials.
Andrew Bow ie , Conservative MP for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine, added: “The UK Visas and Immigration department have been a complete disgrace.
“A kid’s life has been stuck in limbo for too long and the family deserve better.”
A Home Office spokesman said: “The case is ongoing and so it would be inappropriate to comment.”