A retired shopkeeper, who had lived in the UK for nearly 50 years but was told he was not British, can now stay for good, according to the Home Office.
Nelson Shardey, from Wallasey in Wirral, has been in Britain since arriving as a student in 1977. In 2019, he was informed that he had no right to live in the UK.
The 74-year-old, originally from Ghana, has now been granted indefinite leave to remain after the government recognized his case as “exceptional.”
Mr. Shardey’s family announced that over £48,000 raised for his legal fight would be donated to charity.
Bravery Award
Mr. Shardey arrived in the UK on a student visa, but a coup in Ghana prevented his family from paying his fees.
He worked various jobs, including at Mother’s Pride bread and Kipling’s Cakes near Southampton, and Bendick’s Chocolate in Winchester.
He said no one ever questioned his right to live or work in the UK.
He married a British woman and moved to Wallasey to run his own business, a newsagent called Nelson’s News.
After that marriage ended, he married another British woman, and they had two sons, Jacob and Aaron.
Mr. Shardey says he never left the UK because he regarded it as his home.
In 2007, he received a police award for bravery after tackling a robber who was attacking a delivery man with a baseball bat.
However, when he applied for a passport in 2019 to return to Ghana after his mother’s death, he was told he was not a British citizen.
Officials advised him to apply for the 10-year route to settlement, which costs about £7,000, with an additional £10,500 over the same period to access the NHS. Mr. Shardey initially despaired of finding these sums.
His case against the Home Office argued that he should be treated as an exception due to his long residence in the UK, his bravery award, and his service to the community.
The Home Office stated that the Immigration Act allowed it discretion to grant Mr. Shardey indefinite leave to remain outside the normal immigration rules and would waive the application fee.
Mr. Shardey said he was “overwhelmed, very, very happy, and relieved.”
“I would like to thank everybody who believed in us and supported us with words and donations,” he said.
Mr. Shardey added that while the “battle” was won, he and his supporters “hope to win the war, for the authorities to agree that the 10-year route is inhuman and to abolish or shorten it.”
Mr. Shardey’s lawyer, Nicola Burgess of the Greater Manchester Immigration Aid Unit, expressed her delight at the decision.
“Nelson’s bravery in facing a dysfunctional immigration system has been inspirational,” Ms. Burgess said.
She called on the new government to simplify the system to prevent “many more” individuals like Mr. Shardey from being trapped in “an endless cycle of applications, bureaucracy, and expensive fees.”
Mr. Shardey’s sons, Aaron and Jacob, said his victory “means the absolute world to us.”
“We are so grateful to our legal team and everyone who supported us. From sharing our story to donating, we cannot thank you enough,” they added.
The family will donate the money they raised to three charities: The Boaz Trust, Clatterbridge Cancer Charity, and Wirral Foodbank.
A Home Office spokesperson said officials are working with Mr. Shardey to process his application for indefinite leave to remain.
“We apologize for any inconvenience and distress caused,” the spokesperson added.
