Bermuda-born Laura Roberts was unable to get Bermuda status because her Bermudian father was not willing to take an active part in her upbringing — or to provide financial support.And her mother, Helen Roberts, said that she did not move forward with attempts to get her daughter status in 2005 because she could not prove the father would either welcome Laura, now 23, into his home or provide financial support.Although being born out of wedlock no longer has any legal standing, and children born out of wedlock cannot be discriminated against as a result, the Department of Immigration can, in cases of doubt, require proof before a child reaches age 15 that their Bermudian parents will support them before granting them status.But Laura Roberts is taking her application forward in the hope that the nuances of her situation will qualify — though she admits freely that she never had a close relationship with her Bermudian father as a child.“Her father has not been involved, so we can’t meet these requirements,” said Ms Roberts.Ms Roberts added: “The whole point of this story is that Laura should not be denied because of her father’s ignorance at the time. The point is, her father is Bermudian, she was born and raised in Bermuda, and loved Bermuda, and her father’s family.”Laura’s mother was notified by Immigration in 2005 that her claim of being unfairly treated for having a child out of wedlock did not stand up under Bermuda law.The distinction no longer existed after the 2002 Children Amendment Act.However, Ms Roberts was told that, because of doubt that the familial relationship was genuine, the Minister would have to be furnished with proof that Laura’s father had provided for her prior to her 15th birthday.“It rests on the male,” she told The Royal Gazette, saying that her daughter’s close relationship with her paternal family didn’t come into play.“Every child can’t and should not be granted status, but it should be considered on a case-by-case basis.”Ms Roberts said she continued to believe that her daughter had been denied her human rights.Asked why she had stopped fighting after 2005, Ms Roberts said: “The whole fight over this thing had cost me thousands, and I was a secretary. I couldn’t continue. I could only do so much.”She added that because the paternal requirements couldn’t be fulfilled, “it seemed like a lost cause”.Under the Bermuda Immigration and Protection Act — legislation that was recently described in the House of Assembly as “a blunt instrument” by National Security Minister Wayne Perinchief — a person born in Bermuda between June 30, 1956 and July 23, 1993, is entitled to Bermudian status if he is a Commonwealth citizen — and if, at the time of birth, one of the parents possessed Bermuda status.However, even though Laura Robert’s father signed her birth certificate, the family is required to furnish proof of involvement.Asked for clarification, local lawyer Paul Harshaw said Ms Roberts’ situation, as reported by this newspaper, appeared to favour her case for status.“The fact that the parents were unmarried is a complication, but it is not fatal to an application for Bermuda status,” Mr Harshaw said.“There are a number of Bermudians I know that have grown up away and have come back here claiming status through a Bermudian mother or Bermudian father — these are people in their 30s and 40s.”He added: “All she should ordinarily have to do is prove that her father has taken responsibility for her.”Laura Roberts last night told The Royal Gazette: “My relationship with my father is in its infancy stage.“He was in and out of my life when I was younger but we never had a relationship.”She nonetheless claims “a very close relationship” with her paternal aunts, uncles, cousins and grandmother, as well as “many cousins”.Of the impediments to status or the right to reside in Bermuda, she said: “I get it; but it doesn’t make it right or fair for the child to suffer.”She said her close connections with the Island, nine years of life here and continued links with Bermudian family, made her feel “culturally Bermudian”, and not at home in Massachusetts.Now, after being contacted by this newspaper, the younger Roberts has made her first application request of the Department of Immigration.A National Security spokesman said yesterday: “The law clearly sets out the conditions which must be fulfilled for the child of a Bermudian father to obtain Bermuda status.“Ms Roberts was advised of this in 2005 and to date appears not to have heeded that advice as there is no record of any contact with the Department since that time.”Laura’s mother admitted she saw little hope under existing requirements, but said her daughter intended to “continue the fight”.Reforming Bermuda’s immigration law was a feature of the 2010 Throne Speech, in which then-Governor Sir Richard Gozney said it needed an “overhaul”.Sir Richard called the task of administering the Island’s “myriad immigration laws” “highly challenging”, adding: “The uncertainty, subjectivity and ambiguity created by the law in this area must be addressed.“Therefore, the Government will embark on a wholesale overhaul of the Bermuda Immigration and Protection Act 1956, guided by a need for continuity, protection and fairness.”