Citizenship Issue: It Feels Like A New Life

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NASSAU, BAHAMAS – A happy ending for a young mother who was one of thousands of residents impacted by the recent Privy Council citizenship ruling. 

After years of back and forth over the issue she is now the proud holder of a Bahamian passport. 

It was a day of celebration for Bahamian citizens, Thajay Smith and her brother, Craig Hepburn as they exited the Passport Office with their brand-new Bahamian passports.

You may remember that back in May, Smith told me her heart-wrenching story of how her life has been affected by the controversial citizenship issue where bahamian men were unable to pass on citizenship to their children, born out of wedlock to foreign women.

Smith was born and raised in The Bahamas. Her mother, a foreign woman and her father, who has now passed away, was a Bahamian.

But the Privy Council recently ruled that all children born out of wedlock to foreign women and Bahamian men, are citizens at birth, paving the way for the siblings to finally get passports.

The young woman says she feels like she has a new lease on life. With aspirations of becoming a nurse, she says this dream can now come true.

But Smith is not the only one overcome with joy. Her 18-year-old brother, Craig Hepburn was also filled with a sense of excitement.

Smith says this is just the first step in getting the life she has long wanted.