Every few weeks, we send a campaign update email to our supporters, including many of those affected. We will share those communications on this website to generally update everyone on the work we do.
If you would like to be added to our mailing list, please contact us - britcits at gmail dot com. Especially contact us if you are affected by the rules in any way, as we would relish the chance to lobby on your behalf, as well as helping you make the connections you need for your situation. We believe that the connections we have made have been effective in raising the profile of a number of specific cases, as well as all the issues surrounding this.
The email bulletins are managed by Sonel, who tweets here - https://twitter.com/britcits .
Hello all
Warm welcome to the new britcits, and a huge thank you to those who sent in updates and photos.
Attached are two documents.
a) BritCits pack
BritCits pack as promised, with many new stories and several updates. Please do read about how the rules our government has brought in are devastating the lives of British citizens with non-EU families - citizens across the spectrum forced into health breakdowns, poverty, dependency on the state, separation, exile and in some cases, break-ups.
Further updates on your story are appreciated as BritCits and our members will be following your story with interest and cheering on for your family to be, or remain, reunited in your home country while we simulataneously continue to campaign for fair immigration rules to be brought in.
(Note: The pack consists largely of a selection of stories of people affected and families divided by UK immigration rules, such as the examples here : http://britcits.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/stories )
At
the last APPG on immigration meeting hosted by MRN, Lord Teverson asked
that I submit some suggestions. Copy of the letter I sent to some on
the panel of this committee attached. The committee has indicated their
report will come out in May - we await this with much interest.
(Note: The letter has been uploaded here: http://www.scribd.com/doc/130034286/APPG-letter2 )
Regular meet ups
Steven is
hosting regular meetups, giving britcits a chance to meet others
impacted by the rules, knowledge share and empathise. If you're
interesting, please register at the link below: http://www.meetup.com/
Other
At the most recent APPG meeting hosted by MRN we heard about how mothers are being forced to stop breastfeeding their babies when their age is still measured in weeks. In some cases this is British mothers being forced to return to full-time work in order to try and earn £18,600 p.a. while also saving for trips to their partner's home country for visits or non-EU mothers not allowed to remain in the UK to be with their newborn British babies.
We heard about NHS doctors taking their skills and experience to other countries who are now benefiting from the invaluable medical training we provided - just so they can have the privilege of being able to live with and look after their non-EU parents. The impact on the NHS is devastating and will be felt by us all. The government seems to have overlooked the fact that these emigrants will need to be replaced by expensive locums and new non-British immigrants, and/or a decline in the quality of service.
We
unfortunately also continue to hear stories of abuse of power by UKBA, with
deportations of those who common sense dictates should be allowed to
remain in UK.
Stories of UKBA cock-ups are now unsurprising, with an applicant being denied a visa on the basis her husband was not British - even though he is staunchly Welsh bred & born. Even when UKBA admitted their mistake, they suggested an appeal or re-application, at the applicants expense, rather than rectifying their oversight.
Individuals being informed by way of an early Christmas present via SMS of expired visas and that they must leave the country, is common knowledge, as is the fact that some who received such messages are British citizens! What isn't publicised is how UKBA and their contracted consultants are reprimanded for incompetencies most of us would lose our jobs for. Indeed, it appears that the contracted consultants are rewarded instead with further UKBA work.
While UKBA is back into the remit of the Home Office, and divided into two sections, it's clear that with the same management involved, the quality of service is not likely to improve. A rose by any other name...(or a thorn in this case!). Whether this is showing me as a cynic or realist, only time will tell.
Other
At the most recent APPG meeting hosted by MRN we heard about how mothers are being forced to stop breastfeeding their babies when their age is still measured in weeks. In some cases this is British mothers being forced to return to full-time work in order to try and earn £18,600 p.a. while also saving for trips to their partner's home country for visits or non-EU mothers not allowed to remain in the UK to be with their newborn British babies.
We heard about NHS doctors taking their skills and experience to other countries who are now benefiting from the invaluable medical training we provided - just so they can have the privilege of being able to live with and look after their non-EU parents. The impact on the NHS is devastating and will be felt by us all. The government seems to have overlooked the fact that these emigrants will need to be replaced by expensive locums and new non-British immigrants, and/or a decline in the quality of service.
Stories of UKBA cock-ups are now unsurprising, with an applicant being denied a visa on the basis her husband was not British - even though he is staunchly Welsh bred & born. Even when UKBA admitted their mistake, they suggested an appeal or re-application, at the applicants expense, rather than rectifying their oversight.
Individuals being informed by way of an early Christmas present via SMS of expired visas and that they must leave the country, is common knowledge, as is the fact that some who received such messages are British citizens! What isn't publicised is how UKBA and their contracted consultants are reprimanded for incompetencies most of us would lose our jobs for. Indeed, it appears that the contracted consultants are rewarded instead with further UKBA work.
While UKBA is back into the remit of the Home Office, and divided into two sections, it's clear that with the same management involved, the quality of service is not likely to improve. A rose by any other name...(or a thorn in this case!). Whether this is showing me as a cynic or realist, only time will tell.
Sonel
Twitter id: https://twitter.com/BritCits
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