BritCits

Amanda

“Why is it that there is one rule for Europeans and another for British citizens, in Britain?”

Amanda is a British citizen who has been unlucky in love. Her brother died a couple of years ago, followed by her mum, auntie, grandmother and cousin. Her ex-husband was violent and abusive towards her. And now the government wants to keep Amanda apart from her husband.

Amanda and her husband, Imed got married in a ceremony in Tunisia with her family and best friend in attendance. Imed is lovely and is very different from her ex-husband.

Amanda earns £16,200 a year; £2,400 short of the magical £18,600 figure. So the government tells Amanda that she cannot live with her husband in the UK.

Amanda understandably feels like she is being punished by her own government, for marrying someone whose religion and race don’t fit in with the correct ‘image’. She doesn’t believe
that the stringency of the rules have anything to do with the interests of the economy. Indeed, it can’t have anything whatsoever to do with that, given the government and UKBA have stipulated that anyone from outside the EU has no access to public funds.

Amanda’s husband is not asking for handouts. He has always worked, and worked long hours, for wages that some in the UK would not even get out of bed for.

All Amanda wants is the right to live in the same house as her husband, in the same country as her husband...and for that she feels like a criminal.

People have asked Amanda, ‘Why don’t you go and live with your husband in Tunisia’?
Her response – she has a home in the UK. She has two children who live with her. She has two grandchildren. She has a great job.

It’s not right that she is being forced to choose between husband and the rest of her family, her home, her career. Especially not right when as a British citizen she is facing this choice in her own country, but those from elsewhere in the EU have no income criteria to bring their spouse, parents, grandparents, children, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles and even cousins to the UK.

Amanda just wants to be with her husband.



(Note: We have reached out to many interested parties, including many politicians, with the stories in this pack. We will shortly start to publish some of the responses we have received).