A British woman says she feels like she has been “wiped off the face of the earth” after discovering she was never registered as a baby – so “it doesn’t legally exist”.

Caitlin Walton, 26, from Tyne and Wear, is classed as a “white British immigrant” by the government because there is no legal proof she was born in the UK.

Her estranged mother gave birth to Caitlin without any medical assistance at her home in Gateshead in 1997.

Despite the legal requirement to register a birth within 42 days, it was never registered.

But Cailtin didn’t discover the lack of records until she was 18 when she moved away and her mother couldn’t provide her with a birth certificate.

“That’s when everything started to go downhill,” she says.

As a result, Caitlin has found herself in a bureaucratic limbo ever since.

Without a birth certificate, she cannot obtain a full national insurance number, passport or driving license. She therefore cannot find work and legally “does not exist”.

Caitlin Walton (pictured) is classified by the government as a ‘white British immigrant’ because there is no legal proof she was born in the UK.

Without a birth certificate, Caitlin cannot apply for a passport, national insurance number or driving license.

“I wanted to find a job, but when I tried, I realized I had no way to prove I existed,” she said.

With nowhere else to turn, Caitlin moved in with her aunt.

In 2019, Caitlin attempted to apply for a passport, but was told by the Passport Office: “Before a registration can be authorized, we will need to be satisfied, through independent documentary evidence, of the precise date and location of your birth.

“There must also be a qualified person who can go to a civil registry office to give information about birth registration and sign the register.

“As it appears that the above conditions cannot be met, late registration of birth cannot be permitted.”

Caitlin said she only managed to get a bank account after her aunt and cousin came with her and begged Halifax to give her an account.

Her aunt and cousin have had to provide for her since she was 18, because she has no way of earning her own money.

Caitlin said: “I just want to be able to work and live a normal life, but at the moment if I died I would be nowhere to be found.”

Caitlin thinks if she died, she wouldn’t be found

Caitlin was born in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, in 1997 – although her birth was never registered

Caitlin contacted the civic center for answers.

“I did a six-hour search at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Gateshead,” she said, “but they found no record of me being born there.”

Even a search of hospital birth records nationwide came up empty.

Caitlin’s heartbreak was compounded when she had to request her medical records, only to discover there was no documentation of her life before the age of three.

“I feel totally invisible,” Caitlin said. “I feel like I’ve been wiped off the face of the earth.”

Although she went to school, Caitlin remembers moving often when authorities asked her questions about her background.

Recalling her turbulent childhood, she said: “I was passed from school to school like a parcel.

“I went to about ten schools.”

The Home Office told Caitlin it could not help her because she was not, according to public records, a “British citizen”, while the General Register Office and Gateshead Council did not. didn’t know how to move forward in his case.

Upon requesting her medical records, Caitlin discovered that there was no documentation of her life before the age of three.

Although she went to school, Caitlin remembers moving often when authorities asked her questions about her background.

In a last ditch attempt, Caitlin even tried to get legal representation, but was offered £20,000 by a lawyer.

The “constant trauma of not existing” took a toll on Caitlin’s mental health.

She explained: “There is the trauma of what my mother did, but also the feeling that I have no control over my life.”

Despite her efforts to contact the Home Office, the local council and even the police, Caitlin feels caught in a cycle of rejection.

She said: “I went to the police but they told me it was a ‘family matter’.

“It’s like no one cares.”

Caitlin’s mother and father are no longer a part of her life and she has lost contact with her two siblings who she says were also not registered at birth.

The 26-year-old said: “I feel so alone.

“My family won’t help me, and now even the government seems indifferent. »

The ‘constant trauma of not existing’ took a toll on Caitlin’s mental health

Caitlin’s mother and father are no longer a part of her life and she has lost contact with her two siblings who she says were also not registered at birth.

Still living with her aunt, Caitlin is desperate for a chance to build a life of her own.

She said: “I want to work, rent my own place, but without proof of who I am, I’m stuck.”

“If something happens to my aunt, I don’t even know where I would go.

“How have I been able to live in this country all my life without being invisible?

“The government has a duty to help people like me. No one should live a life like this, unable to work, drive, or even prove they are alive.

A Home Office spokesperson said: “A birth certificate is a key piece of evidence needed to apply for a British passport.

“However, the fact that a person is unable to register their birth will not prevent them from applying successfully.

“Once issued, a passport can be used as a form of identification, for example to obtain a driving license or to prove the right to work in the UK.”