BritCits

Quotable quotes from those affected by the rules

“I never ever thought the day would come that I felt ashamed to be British, but that day has come.”
“My poor boys. First their mummy leaves them and now their daddy. They don't deserve this.”
“As British citizens we have fewer rights in Britain than our EU friends and
even their non-EU partners... ”
“..I can’t just move to another country to be with my fiancé as I still have three years left to complete my Masters degree. I cannot simply drop out of university and earn £18600, as I don’t have the work
experience and would not have the qualifications without the degree, to earn that figure. ..“
"If it’s impossible for us as lawyers to understand the rules, what hope is there that a layperson would be able to?"
“I would never wish for my worst enemy to be in the situation I am in now. I feel like I am being told
that I do not have the right to love whom I choose or to start a family when I want to.”
“All I have left is the hope that, one day, these rules will be made fairer, so I have a chance at the family life we so desperately want.”
“I served in the British army, defended British lives and the British way of life, and now am kept apart from my own wife and child... ”.
“My parents are much older than my wife's and we wanted to be closer to them, so my wife, our son and I could see more of them and help them out in their old age. Not too much to ask, is it... ?”
“UK puts a price tag on love”
“Expat in exile.”
“As a result he missed the birth of his first-born child.”
“This government will be remembered as directly and indirectly attacking the
most vulnerable in society....”
“They rejected the spouse application because of a technicality, knowing I would not meet the income criteria under the new rules, in another attempt to extort more money.”
“We're not asking for hand-outs, just the chance to live as a family unit.”
“I am keen for my small family to be near my parents, to gain recognition of our family as a legal unit and be around to look after my parents as they get older.”
“My life now is just about work, work, work ... and when I have time off, I am too fatigued to do
anything but sleep... .”
“I believe in my marriage vows, and am firm in my commitment to my wife.”
“I don’t know how anyone could expect me to be separated from my baby’s daddy ... until I get a job the UKBA agrees with, we miss out on special family moments and our baby misses out on his daddy.”
“Why is it that there is one rule for Europeans and another for British citizens, in Britain?”
“All we want is the opportunity to live together; we are a family, even if it is just the two of us.”
“What if my 92-year-old grandfather dies, without ever having met my wife, and she can’t even pay her last respects at his funeral?!”
“What married couple wants to spend twelve months – maybe more – living in separate countries?”
“In the Conservative pre-election waffle Mr Cameron made a great deal about his views on the sanctity of marriage and family values.”
“This is not how I expected my married life to be, a fight to be with my husband… .”
“Are these the family values the government wants to promote? Keeping parents and children/grandchildren apart ... breaking up husbands and wives?”
“I haven’t seen my wife and son in nearly a year and my family in Britain hasn’t met or held my son.”
“UKBA is happy to take the visa application fees, and find spurious reasons to reject visa applications, in order to take yet more fees....”
“It's about love. It’s about respect. And it's about responsibility.”
“The message we are getting from the UK government is that we are not rich enough to love... ”
“I am being punished by my country for exercising my right to marry who I want. I can’t be with my
daughter and grandchild – I can’t look after my grandma and parents because of these rules.”
“My wife is eminently employable, and would be a genuine asset to this country, yet we have to face choices no one should ever have to consider in a so-called "civilised" country – or any country for that matter!”
“When you marry somebody you love for richer or poorer, it should mean just that...I shouldn’t have to choose between being a mum and granddaughter, and being in love.”
“They said I was too old for my husband and our marriage would not be accepted in Moroccan culture and so, refused his visa.”
“I am in despair. My family has been kept apart for many years, despite playing by the rules...which the government keeps changing.”
“I am being pushed out of my own country by this government because I dared to fall in love, have a
baby with and marry a woman who is Japanese ”.
“It is ludicrous and unlawful to put a price on anybody’s marriage and love. We are human and deserve to be together with our loved ones.”
“I have to fulfil my duty to look after my mother in her 70s, and my 12-year old son, so I have no choice but to fight for my partner to come to the UK. In the meantime I go out to see him as often as I can, nearly 20 times in 5 years!!"
“We live a simple life …yet I am being kicked out of my own country”
“How do you explain to kids that we just don’t make enough money to be together as a family. We have tried to teach our children the importance of family and more so the importance of not judging people by what they have or how much money they make...”
“ My wife has made coming home every day worthwhile..and now the government wants to take this
away from me…“
“My American wife is bemused. All visas for non-EU citizens are stamped with a clear ‘no recourse to public funds’. So she doesn’t understand why the burden on taxpayer is even an issue for the British government.”
“ I want people to know I am not a statistic affected by these new rulings, I am a person whose life has been ripped apart; I can’t see how there is going to be a future for me while these rulings are in place. Time is running out for me, I acknowledge I am not a young man any more and this is my last chance of happiness. Why should it be cruelly snatched away from me?”
“My crime - I fell in love and exercised my right to do so.”
“I work, but don’t earn £18,600 and so am condemned to a life in a country where my physical and
mental health deteriorate”
“This used to be a great country but the government’s attitude to British people make us 2nd class citizens. Clearly, they want to force us out to make room for rich people and EU nationals“
“As a British student, I can’t live in my country with my wife, because she is American and I don’t earn £18,600 – how many British students do?!”
“The government is separating me from my wife and stepchildren, just because I don’t earn more than £24,800”
“As a British Masters student, I can’t live in my own country with my partner, because he is
Argentinean and I don’t earn £18,600 – how many British students do?! However, international
students coming to the UK from elsewhere in the world can live here with their partner and kids, without needing to earn £18,600. The UK is slamming the doors on its own people, just because we accidentally fall in love with someone from outside Europe’s borders”.
“Despite being in a genuine loving relationship, the government has forced me into becoming a single mother, juggling work, being a full-time mum and a wife. Family life is supposed to be a right, not a privilege..but it sure doesn’t feel like it!”
“I hope one day I can be with the woman I love, without that love having a price tag..”
“We want to raise our baby together, in a country where the culture and language are not going to
damage my career as I need to financially support my family.”
“Just when my son and I have found a wonderful man to give us the family life we so desire, UKBA persists in snatching away our chance at happiness..”
“In order to be with my husband I need to move to Tunisia or elsewhere in Europe..I don’t understand
why I can’t live in my home, with my husband..why must I be forced out just to live with the man I have married?!!”
“It’s a shame the UK government is blind to common sense and so averse to doing the right thing, in the interest of massaging some numbers.”