Retired Wallasey shopkeeper told he is not British by Home Office after 46 years in UK

Nelson has been speaking to ITV Granada correspondent Tim Scott.

A retired shopkeeper has been told he is not British by the Home Office despite being in the UK for nearly 50 years

Nelson Shardey, 74, assumed he was a citizen for many years but when he applied for a passport in 2019 he was told he had no right to be in the UK.

"I tried to be brave in front of my children," the 74-year-old said. "Emotionally, it is really disheartening. It's sucking the blood out of me.

"I worked from 1978 until 2022, I have paid my tax. I have done what any reasonable human being should do."

Nelson, who is recovering from prostate cancer, moved from Ghana in 1977 to study accountancy, but a coup there meant he could never go back.

He married a British woman and ran his own business, a newsagent called Nelson's News, in Wallasey, on the Wirral.

When that relationship ended, he married another woman from the UK and they had two sons together.

After retiring he came to apply for a passport and was told he was not British, that means all his contributions to the country were for nothing.

The Home Office told Nelson that he would need to apply for the 10-year route to settlement, which would cost around £7,000.

Nelson also faces paying more than £10,000 to access the NHS, despite paying taxes all his adult life, so he can have regular cancer check-ups.

"I'm living on £117 a week pension," Nelson explains. "I had cancer. I have been going every six months for check ups.

"My diet was supposed to be strict, but I can't afford it."

Mr Shardey has performed jury service and was given a police bravery award for tackling a robber who was attacking someone with a baseball bat.

A Home Office spokesman said: "It would be inappropriate to comment on active legal proceedings."

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