I don't legally exist because of a paperwork mishap when I was born - I can't work or get a passport and can't own a home
- There is no legal proof that Caitlin Walton, 26, was born in the UK
- READ MORE: My partner of 14 years has left everything to our children in his will but left me out of it - should I be concerned?
A British woman says she feels like she has been 'wiped from the face of the earth' after discovering she was never registered as a baby - so 'legally doesn't 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 mother, from whom she is estranged, delivered Caitlin without any medical assistance in her Gateshead home in 1997.
Despite the legal requirement that a birth must be recorded within 42 days, it was never registered.
But Cailtin only found out about the lack of records at the age 18 when she moved out and her mother could not supply her with a birth certificate.
'That's when everything started to unravel,' she said.
As a result, Caitlin has been in bureaucratic limbo ever since.
Without a birth certificate, she can't get a full national insurance number, passport, or driving license. She therefore cannot get a job and legally 'does not exist.'
Caitlin Walton (pictured) is classed by the government as an 'white British immigrant' because there is no legal proof she was born in the UK
Without a birth certificate, Caitlin is unable to apply for a passport, a national insurance number or a driving licence
'I wanted to get a job, but when I tried, I realised I had no way of proving my existence,' 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 could be authorised we would need to be satisfied, by means of independent documentary evidence, of the precise date and place of your birth.
'There must also be a qualified person who can attend a register office to give information for the registration of the birth and to sign the register.
'As it would appear that the above conditions cannot be fulfilled the late registration of the birth cannot be authorised.'
Caitlin said she only managed to get a bank account after her aunt and cousin came in with her and pleaded with Halifax to give her an account.
Her aunt and cousin have had to provide everything for her since she was 18 as she has no way to earn 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 untraceable.'
Caitlin believes that if she died, she would be untraceable
Caitlin was born in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, in 1997 - although her birth was never registered
Caitlin has reached out to the civic centre for answers.
'I went through a six-hour search at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Gateshead,' she said, 'but they couldn't find any record of me being born there.'
Even a nationwide hospital birth record search came up empty.
Caitlin's heartbreak was compounded when she had to request her medical records, only to find that there was no documentation of her life until she was three years old.
'I feel totally invisible,' Caitlin said. 'It feels like I've been wiped from the face of the earth.'
Although she went to school, Caitlin remembers frequently moving when authorities raised questions about her background.
Recalling her restless childhood, she said: 'I was passed from school to school like a parcel.
'I've been in about ten schools.'
The Home Office told Caitlin that they cannot help her as she is not by public record a 'British citizen', while both the General Register Office and Gateshead Council are unsure how to progress with her case.
Upon requesting her medical records, Caitlin discovered that there is no documentation of her life until she is three years old
Although she went to school, Caitlin remembers frequently moving when authorities raised questions about her background
In a last ditch attempt, Caitlin even tried to get legal representation but was quoted £20,000 by a lawyer.
The 'constant trauma of basically not existing' has taken a toll on Caitlin's mental health.
She explained: 'There's 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 council and even the police, Caitlin feels caught in a cycle of rejection.
She said: 'I've gone to the police, but they told me it was a "family matter".
'It's like nobody cares.'
Caitlin's mother and father are no longer part of her life, and she has lost contact with her two siblings who, she believes, also weren't registered at birth.
The 26-year-old woman said: 'I feel so alone.
'My family won't help, and now even the government seems indifferent.'
The 'constant trauma of basically not existing' has taken a toll on Caitlin's mental health
Caitlin's mother and father are no longer part of her life, and she has lost contact with her two siblings who, she believes, also weren't registered at birth
Still living at her aunt's house, Caitlin is desperate for a chance to build her own life.
She said: 'I want to work, to rent my own place but without proof of who I am, I'm stuck.'
'If anything happens to my aunt, I don't even know where I'd go.
'How can I have lived in this country my whole life but be invisible?
'The government has a duty to help people like me. No one should go through life like this, unable to work, drive, or even prove they're alive.'
A Home Office spokesperson said: 'A birth certificate is a key piece of evidence needed to apply for a British passport.
'However, someone being unable to register their birth will not prevent them from successfully applying.
'Once a passport is issued it can be used as a form of identity, such as to obtain a driving license or to prove the right to work in the UK.'
