Emma (not her real name) has spent her whole life thinking she was a British citizen.
She was born in the UK to a Portuguese mother, she has only ever lived here and has a British birth certificate.
So it came as a huge surprise when the 22-year-old's request for a British passport was rejected.
Following Brexit, EU citizens living in the UK were offered the chance to apply for settled status.
Last year, however, Emma realised she had missed the deadline to apply.
She understood she was not officially a British citizen when she applied to be a care worker and needed to show the right to work.
She is not allowed to appeal the Home Office's decision and risks being removed to a country she has never lived in.
"When I got the rejection letter I was basically told how to leave the country," she said, adding that she was "shocked".
"There's a high chance I could be deported to Portugal and I would be separated from my family," E
"I would have to start a whole new life.
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