Essex Woman Told She Can't Work

17 February 2011, 00:00 | Updated: 2 March 2011, 12:40

Cindy Sanford has lived in the UK for 50 years but has no British passport or birth certificate - Now she's lost her job because she couldn't prove she's eligible to work in the UK.

The 52 year old care worker from Braintree has been told by her employers that because she couldn't provide 'documentary proof' confirming her immigration status and work entitlement, they could no longer offer her any further work.

Cindy was born in the US to a mother from Chelmsford and has lived in the UK since the age of 2.

She's told Heart she's now been left homeless and jobless because of it as she has no other means of income.

A UKBA spokesperson said:

"It is the legal responsibility of all employers to check that employees have the right to work in the UK.

“Those born abroad to British born mothers can apply to be registered as a British citizen. There is no fee for these applications.

“These applications are normally processed within 6 weeks, but in exceptional cases we will seek to process cases sooner."