BritCits

Naila

“This government will be remembered as directly and indirectly attacking the most vulnerable in society....”

Naila is a British citizen living in Bradford.

She got married last year on April 29th and had to wait until she turned 21 to apply for a spouse visa. As she didn’t have a job in the UK, she moved to Pakistan to live with her husband there, rather than spend the time immediately after her wedding living apart.

Naila is British. She was unable to adjust to life in Pakistan – the culture, expectations and rights of women are very different to what she is used to. So she returned to the UK.

She is now working full time in a newsagent's, and has been doing so for the past three months, but then the rules came in requiring her to earn a salary of £18,600 for at least six months.

So now she has wait even longer until she can apply for a visa. Under the new rules her right to live happily with her husband has been taken away from her. It seems to Naila that now, in order for British person to marry someone from outside the UK, you have to be as rich as a politician.

Naila insists her husband is very hard working; he owns a sports shop in Pakistan; and they intend that ,when he is in the UK, he will also work very hard here to support Naila so that they can live happy life.

There is no way he will just sit back and do nothing – he would not qualify for benefits so that’s not an issue either.

Naila has been married for nearly 16 months and still has not been able to apply for her husband’s visa.

The new rules for Naila and others in her position are unrealistic and unachievable. They are just causing pain, misery and heartbreak across our country.