March 20, 2025
"Home Office Broken Promises: Windrush Victim Denied British Citizenship After 45 Years of Injustice"
“I have a bad heart, I have had surgery for it, I’m almost 70 years of age and have spent 45 of those years fighting the Home Office.”
London, United Kingdom – Mr. Augustin Castang, who first arrived in the UK at the tender age of three in 1959, has faced a harrowing journey spanning over four decades. Locked out of the UK and denied the right to return, his story is a poignant example of the continued injustices faced by many members of the Windrush generation.
Mr. Castang's troubles began when he was wrongfully denied re-entry to the UK, forcing him to live abroad for 40 years. Despite his Citizenship of the UK and colonies and long-term residence in the UK, he was initially denied assistance under the Windrush Scheme, which was established to rectify the wrongs inflicted upon the Windrush generation.
Mr. Catang was told by the UK government in the 1980’s that he was no longer British as St. Lucia had become independent. He was never told that he had a right to register as a British citizen via special provisions of the British nationality act or that he had residual rights to continue living in the UK. Like many others he faced a hostile environment policy that left him out in the cold.
Acceptance and Indefinite Leave to Remain
Decades later, Mr. Castang was finally recognized under the Windrush Scheme as a returning resident and granted Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) and, after being denied previously since the inception of the Windrush Scheme. This ILR status allows him to live and work in the UK, yet his quest for British citizenship remains elusive.
The Legal Battle
In October 2024, a letter was sent to the Home Office on behalf of Mr. Castang, invoking Section 9 of the Nationality and Borders Act 2022, after being refused citizenship twice in 2023. Section 9 grants the Home Secretary the power to waive all of the residency requirements for individuals who would have become British citizens, but for acts or omissions of the state and exceptional circumstances beyond the victim’s control. Mr. Castang was locked out of the UK beyond his control and denied re-entry by the Home Office.
The then Home Secretary, Priti Patel, had emphasized the need for these legislative powers in her introduction of the Nationality and Borders bill to Parliament back in 2021.
She stated:
“This bill gives the Home Secretary power to grant British citizenship to people who would have become British citizens if not for unfairness and exceptional circumstances beyond their control.
For example, in one case an individual had to be refused citizenship due to an absence from the UK on a given day, in spite of many years of previous residence, even though it was of course no fault of his own.
The bill provides further flexibility to waive residency requirements, to help members of the Windrush generation and others acquire British citizenship more quickly.”
Hope and Disappointment
The Home Office's Legal Department initially withdrew their decision to refuse Mr. Castang's citizenship application, in a letter dated October 25, 2024, and requested three months to arrive at a new decision, raising Mr. Castang's hopes. However, in January 2025, a letter signed by Mr. Nigel Hills, head of the Windrush Scheme, dashed those hopes by reaffirming the previous refusal of 2023. This marked the 4th time in 4 decades, that Mr. Catang has been given false hope after a series of blunders by the Home Office.
Mr. Castang's Response
Mr. Castang remains perplexed by the Home Office's flip-flopping decisions. "Home Office lawyers withdrew the caseworker's decision on account of the letter and spirit of the law, only for the Windrush Taskforce, who are charged with ‘righting the wrongs’, to retraumatize me with this horrendous decision," he lamented. There is absolutely no justice, "The Government does not care about people like me, I have been fihghting 45 years for status and still have to fight for compensation. It's Obvious the schemes are not working in the hands of the Home Office", he said.
Mr. Castang is approaching the age of 70 and urgently needs a resolution and ultimately compensation for his compounded suffering. In 2021 The High Court found that the 5 year residency rule breached the human rights of Vernon Vanriel a former English professional boxed who had been locked out of the UK for 13 years after attending his father’s funeral in Jamaica.
In October 2024 the Home Secretary Yvette Cooper promised a reset of the Windrush Schemes, but the specifics of this reset remain unclear. As Mr. Castang and others continue to fight for justice, the government faces mounting pressure to deliver on its promises and ensure that the Windrush generation receives the recognition, compensation, and citizenship they rightly deserve.
