A former British Army Soldier has had his application for citizenship and leave to remain in the UK refused more than 15 times and has been detained under immigration powers.
For 17 years, Trevor Rene has called Britain home. He has built a life here, married a British citizen, and served in the British Army Reserve, swearing an oath to protect Queen and Country. Yet, despite his service and sacrifice, the Home Office has denied him citizenship almost every year for the past 15 years, refusing to acknowledge his rightful place in the nation he offered his life to protect.
Trevor Rene with wife Diane, Mr. Rene served faithfully with the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers.
Born in British-Dominica when it was still a part of the UK and Colonies, Rene once held a British passport. But when Dominica gained independence in 1978, he lost his UK citizenship. Years later, he answered the call to serve as a Commonwealth citizen, joining the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers. The British Army had no issue with his status when he enlisted, yet the government has spent over a decade trying to force him out.
Section 9(3) of the Nationality and Borders Act 2022 was meant to fix injustices for those who served in the British armed forces. Under the law, British Army reservists and regular forces are now treated equally for British Nationality purposes, meaning Rene qualifies for British citizenship. But the Home Office has ignored this legal change, seemingly more focused on reducing net migration numbers than upholding the law.
The Home Office refused every application made by Mr. Rene from 2014 - 2020
In a nasty race to the bottom for political power, immigration remains the biggest political football in the UK. Rene has stood-by patiently for nearly two decades, observing millions of foreign nationals come into the UK and sailed past him, in the queue for citizenship and leave to remain. To make matters worse, the Home Office has held Rene’s Dominican passport for more than a decade, refusing multiple requests to return it. Without it, he remains trapped in limbo—unable to leave, unable to stay, and unable to move forward with his life.
Rene told Jam Radio, "I feel trapped, I have not left the UK in many years, I'm unable to do normal things like going on holiday with my wife, we have yet to have a proper honeymoon or vist the place where I grew up. It feels cruel and unsual, it's not normal."
in 2016 Mr. Rene says he was detained at an immigration detention centre in Oxforshire for 10 days. His MP (Andrew Lewyn) has written to the Home Office about his case and the recent legislative changes which have been inforce for the past 3 years, since June 2022.
Rene’s case remains a damning indictment of Britain’s immigration system and reflection of Home Office attitudeds to those who offered their service to keep all of us safe at home and abroad. If risking one’s life for the country isn’t enough to earn the right to stay, then what is?
Trevor Rene's fight continues, but the question remains: Will Britain finally do right by the soldiers who served it?