BritCits

Kev and Barbara

“I never ever thought the day would come that I felt ashamed to be British, but that day has come.”

Kev is a British citizen, 68 years old, retired, living in Yeovil and in love with his American fiancée, Barbara, 65 years old and also retired.

They met on a pen-pal site about 18 months ago, and soon finding that they had a lot in common, such as Barbara’s love of everything British, i.e. our history, castles, cathedrals, landscape and, indeed, us, the British people.

Barbara has been to the UK a few times to visit Kev, each time staying with him. They fell in love and decided they wish to spend what remaining years they have together, as husband and wife.

Kev and Barbara have been sensible. They haven’t rushed into marriage, they have assessed their finances; with a pension totalling £1,200 a month between them plus their savings, they have enough  to provide themselves with an adequate standard of living without recourse to public funds. This was more than adequate to meet the Family Immigration Rules prior to 9 July 2012.

So they decided to get married in late 2012 or early 2013. However, these new rules have played havoc with their dream of spending their retirement together, with the person they love.

As a British citizen, Kev has worked here and paid his taxes diligently, yet now he is having his British and human rights stripped away from him.

Barbara is finding it very difficult to understand how the British government can do this to one of their own citizens, after a lifetime of work. Indeed how they can do this is beyond Kev’s comprehension.

Kev understands that we can’t have an open-door immigration policy; but restricting non-EU family
migration in this manner is not acceptable, especially when it represents such a small percentage of all migration into the UK.

The fact that other EU citizens can come into our country with their spouse, children, parents and grandparents, even aunts, uncles and cousins, with none of the financial restrictions that are placed on Kev, has made him realise how this government has turned him into a second-class citizen in his own country.

Although he never thought the day would come, he now feels ashamed to be British.