A WOMAN who has been a British citizen since 1979 has been left shocked and worried after the Home Office wrote to her suggesting she needed to apply for settled status.

Dagmar Rathbone, a German expat, said the letter wrongly identified her as a Swiss national and demanded she sign up to the EU Settlement Scheme by June or she could face losing any benefit entitlement, access to the NHS and the right to live in the UK.

Mrs Rathbone, aged 63, said she was “extremely worried” to receive the three page letter on Saturday, May 15 demanding she sign up to the scheme by June 30.

She said: “It’s just so concerning. When the country decided to exit the European Union, I thought I’d be fine as I have British citizenship. But to get this letter out of the blue and not have any verification on whether they have the right details, has got to be flagged up.”

Dagmar, who has lived in the Droitwich area since 1984, was shocked to find the government had recorded her as a Swiss national. She said: “I tried to make several calls to the helpline, with no answer. I then contacted the National Archive and confirmed they had my details down correctly. But when I made a call to the DWP, they confused me even more - she told me if I had the letter I surely couldn’t be a British national.”

Dagmar was told to “ignore” the letter if she felt it didn’t apply to her but she said: “This is an official letter. It’s not something you put in a drawer and forget about. I think about it every day. There will be other people out there who won’t know which way to turn either and it’s not right.”

Dagmar married a British solder in 1977 before he was posted back to the UK the following year. She said: “A family officer suggested I apply for citizenship so the army could look after me better. I went through the process with their help and I’ve carried a British passport ever since.” The Home Office have yet to provide confirmation on Dagmar’s citizenship.