Total number of spouse visas processed and refused by selected nationalities, 2016

Author : Steve

A while back I made this Freedom of Information request in response to an online discussion, as I was curious about numbers of rates of refusals for a balanced selection of different nationalities, including some of the most common countries for foreign spouses. The text of the request is here :

I would like to request the following information under the Freedom of Information Act.

1. Total number of spouse visa applications processed for the following nationalities from January 1 2016 to 31 December 2016 : 
Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Egypt, India, Israel, Japan, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Russia, South Africa, Thailand, Turkey, United States

2. Total number of refusals for spouse visa applications processed for the following nationalities from January 1 2016 to 31 December 2016 : 
Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Egypt, India, Israel, Japan, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Russia, South Africa, Thailand, Turkey, United States

This was for a whole year, to even out anomalies such as local holidays. The response is in (see link above) and includes data per quarter, with information about applications made, processed, refused, withdrawn, and lapsed.

The table below shows the numbers of refusals divided by the number of applications over the whole year, followed by a percentage of refusals/applications. Note this comes with a few caveats, e.g. withdrawals and lapses are included in the total so don't assume that every visa not refused was processed; however the numbers for withdrawals and lapses are very low and wouldn't make much difference to the overall figures even if excluded. Note also that an application made in 2015 or 2016 may not be processed until 2016 or 2017.

These are included without comment as there is likely more than one reason for the differences. However the results are enlightening and seem to match the lived experience of both BritCits members and members of other online support groups and forums.

Country Refused/Total = Percentage (2016)
Japan 17/272 = 6.3%
Argentina 4/42 = 9.6%
Australia 93/881 = 10.6%
SouthAfrica 99/834 = 11.9%
Russia 70/582 = 12.0%
Canada 73/517 = 14.1%
USA 371/2544 = 14.6%
Brazil 76/480 = 15.8%
Mexico 28/175 = 16.0%
China 222/1071 = 20.7%
Israel 19/87 = 21.8%
Thailand 242/1094 = 22.1%
Turkey 176/787 = 22.4%
Egypt 102/338 = 30.2%
India 1236/3888 = 31.8%
Pakistan 3032/7472 = 40.6%
Nigeria 555/1131 = 49.1%

Note to the reader : You can make your own FOI request at whatdotheyknow.com, and I think an FOI request is something everybody should do at least once in their lives.

Thousands of UK families forced to live apart due to visa rules

Source : Workpermit.com via QQ

http://www.workpermit.com/news/2014-10-07/thousands-of-uk-families-forced-to-live-apart-due-to-visa-rules
http://goo.gl/s2Jmuo

'A UK Labour MP has called for income requirements for marriage visas to be reviewed, after being contacted by two families who are being forced to live apart under the current scheme.'

'... The first is Phillip and Kyoko Malloy, who met and married while Mr Malloy was teaching English in Japan. Mr Malloy then returned to the UK with his wife...

'The second family is Mr and Mrs Briggs, who met in New Zealand after Mrs Briggs moved there for work. They married, and settled down happily with successful careers, until Mrs Briggs decided she needed to be closer to family in the UK..'

Kilwinning dad reveals campaign to change UK immigration rules keeping his family apart 

Source : Daily Record (Scotland)

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/local-news/kilwinning-dad-reveals-campaign-change-4164196

'Phillip Malloy has begun a campaign to call on the UK Government to review changes to immigration law that are keeping his wife and son on the other side of the world. He first met his wife Kyoko at a Halloween party in Japan five years ago, where he was working as an English teacher. The couple married in 2011 and began to build a life together with their son Joshua, now three years old. But what should have been the start of a dream life turned quickly into a nightmare after UK rules on immigration were tightened up in July 2012.'

Phillip and Kyoko's e-petition is here :
http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/62657

Previous post  :
http://britcits.blogspot.co.uk/2014/03/scots-father-reveals-his-heartache-as.html

Japan takes a step backwards in Human Rights

On Friday in Japan the Supreme Court legalised the further discrimination of non naturalised residents.

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2014/07/18/national/social-issues/top-court-rules-non-japanese-residents-ineligible-welfare-benefits/#.U8m7XlaHdm2

In Japan there are many people born there who are not classed as Japanese Nationals due to the Japanese Nationality Laws which are based on Jus sanguinis(right of blood)

Many of these people could become naturalised but are prevented from becoming naturalised citizens due to their education and not being able to learn Japanese to elementary school level or not wanting to give up their nationality (Japan does not readily allow dual nationality) or due to their ability to get work.

Many Japanese born people who are not naturalised are legally discriminated against in Japan due to their background.  Two examples are "Zainichi" and "Hafu"

The New Ruling now prevents anybody who is not a Japanese National from claiming welfare benefits despite the fact they may have lived and worked in Japan all their life and have permanent residence.  For such people positively contributing to society and paying their taxes now counts for nothing.

Strangely it was also July 2012 that Japan introduced a new residency management system for foreign nationals who were resident there.  This system now looks like  it will be one of he main ways foreign residents are now monitored to enforce this law.

If we do not stand up for our rights we will see similar things happening here in the UK.
We have the chance to learn from the mistakes made in Japan but as with interest rate reductions the UK Government fails to see and learn from the problems caused.

Quick update from day of action... 

Thanks to those who attended. A fuller update will provided in due course, but some highlights :

From the morning All-Party Parliamentary Group session, chaired by Paul Blomfield MP :

Andrew Percy MP (Conservative) and Katy Clark MP (Labour) provide case studies of constituents affected, as well as a thoughtful contribution from the centre-right think tank Bright Blue on values, and an excellent contribution from the Lib Dem peer Lord Teverson. Very heartening to see members of all parties speaking out on this - including Conservatives.

Many great contributions from the floor as well, in particular Guy Taylor of JCWI made an excellent speech calling on politicians to make a commitment to scrapping the rules and reuniting families. Guy wants one more day of action next 9th July, and then for it to be done. 'A review of the rules would be nice, but scrapping them is what we need'. I couldn't agree more.

On the streets :

Demo outside the Home Office - a joyous occasion for solidarity, protest, friendship and laughter, and some excellent chanting (ably led by Lee )  :

'I love my foreign spouse... ' Facebook group has more photos :
https://www.facebook.com/groups/139807999382936/


The parliamentary session in the evening and the launch of the JCWI/BritCits adult dependant relatives report, chaired by Sarah Teather MP :

'You can't see the carpet' :
https://twitter.com/JCWInews/status/486932778643386368

Many great contributions, including linking the adult dependant relative issues with the rights of children. 

'Harsh, Unjust, Unnecessary' : Adult Dependant Relative Report, by JCWI with BritCits, launched 9th July 2014 :
http://www.scribd.com/doc/233262294/Adr-Report

Please read this detailed and moving report!

'I don’t want to leave my country. I will miss my home I will miss my friends and school. I want to live in my country with my whole family and friends. I really really don’t want to go to any other country. It doesn’t feel nice and I don’t want to do it.'

— British child, 7 years old

JCWI : Immigration restrictions condemn elderly parents to lonely twilight years :
http://www.jcwi.org.uk/blog/2014/07/09/immigration-restrictions-condemn-elderly-parents-lonely-twilight-years

In particular : Shadow Immigration Minister David Hanson committed to reviewing the family immigration rules should Labour win office. This follows on from the Liberal Democrats' endorsing a similar position a couple of months ago (see : http://britcits.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/welcome-news-liberal-democrats-endorse.html ). This is a most welcome statement and one we will certainly follow up on.

Our blogs on last year's day of action :
http://britcits.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/a%20very%20good%20day

Immigration Restrictions Condemn Elderly Parents to Lonely Twilight years. - See more at: http://jcwi.org.uk/blog/2014/07/09/immigration-restrictions-condemn-elderly-parents-lonely-twilight-years#sthash.La2MZVi2.dpuf

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And finally...

Self-righting Fukushima dolls on display at U.K. Parliament

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2014/07/08/national/self-righting-fukushima-dolls-display-u-k-parliament/

 'Sixty-six traditional tumble dolls from Fukushima Prefecture are on display inside Britain’s Houses of Parliament, several of them the work of celebrity designers.

'The event was organized by a group of Fukushima expatriates living in Britain.

'They say the “okiagari-koboshi” dolls, which right themselves when tipped over, demonstrate the fortitude of the Fukushima people and illustrate Japan’s efforts to rebuild from the devastation of the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami.'

Spotted while passing through Parliament on the day of action. A nice reminder of (adopted) 'home' for your correspondent.

 

'I get knocked down, then I get up again' : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDkVQvhZx04

Scots father reveals his heartache as immigration laws prevent his Japanese wife and son from living in Scotland

http://www.scotlandnow.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scots-father-reveals-heartache-immigration-3255323

'A SCOTTISH man has been left heartbroken after immigration laws barred his family from moving to his homeland.

'Phillip Malloy, 32, was told that his Japanese wife Kyoko and their son Joshua cannot come to the UK because he doesn't earn enough money.

'Immigration rules state that Philip has to earn £18,600 a year before Kyoko will be granted a visa.

'The administration assistant from Kilwinning, Ayrshire, currently earns £14,500.

'Phillip said: "I feel let down by my country.

'"I'm being denied my human rights to have a family."

'Phillip met massage therapist Kyoko five years ago while he was working as an English teacher in Japan.

'The couple married in 2011 and son Joshua, who is classed as a British citizen, was born a year later.

'The family moved to Scotland in April 2013, but Kyoko, 32, was only granted a six-month family visitor’s visa to enter the UK.

'After her visa expired last October, she was forced to return to Japan and she took two-year-old Joshua with her.

'Phillip has been trying to get them back into the UK ever since, but he feels helpless because of the salary rule.'

Mitsu Aoyama, pioneer of international marriage in Japan and Austria.

http://iadnes.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/mitsu.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitsuko_Aoyama

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Meanwhile...

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2013/10/11/national/u-k-raises-bar-for-dual-nationality-couples/

U.K. raises bar for dual nationality couples.

“Why is it moral to tear people apart based on income?” asked Gough, 24, lamenting the hardship facing international couples seeking to live together in Britain.

Several BritCits featured in this story :

http://britcits.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/stacey

http://britcits.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/steve-and-yoko-im-steve-from-tunbridge.html
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BritCits Elizabeth and Tom in their local newspaper :

http://www.thisissurreytoday.co.uk/Newlyweds-heartache-forced-live-thousands-miles/story-19911346-detail/story.html#axzz2hjP4j9IC

http://britcits.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/britcits-elizabeth-and-tom-in-their.html

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MAX (Movement Against Xenophobia) launch meeting, this Wednesday, London!

http://movagxen.wordpress.com/2013/10/11/max-launch-meeting/

http://www.meetup.com/BritCits/events/144751862/
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The Surinder Singh Route Discussion Forum - please do visit and contribute.

http://surindersinghroute.com.basil.arvixe.com/default.aspx?g=forum
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Net immigration map of the world, in proportion.

http://www.worldmapper.org/display.php?selected=17

Steve and Yoko

'I'm Steve, from Tunbridge Wells. My wife, Yoko, our one year old daughter and I are all stuck 6,000 miles away from home, despite having more than the required funds in a current account. Here's my background and how the Home Office's anti-family rules have affected me and my family:

'I was born and raised in the Conservative heartland of south east England. As it happens, my grandfather was a close colleague of Winston Churchill during WWII, my great-grandfather was a viscount, and if you look further back in my family tree, you'll find Robert the Bruce and a few other well-known figures. Those are my credentials for Britishness, if anybody needs to know.

'I moved to Japan in early 2007, shortly after I completed my masters' degree. Very soon after I arrived in Japan, I reconnected with a friend of a friend who I had met once in London. That friend of a friend was Yoko. We started dating shortly after meeting, and were engaged and living together less than a year after that.

'Now, as much as I love the place, I never intended to spend my life in Japan and I always intended to return to the UK at some point. Meanwhile, Yoko, a fluent English speaker and a great admirer of British culture, was also keen to move to the UK. Because of this, we kept our future visa application in mind, and we were careful to keep records of living together right from the moment we signed our first tenancy agreement.
 
'In 2012, a little while after our little girl was born, we decided that the time was right to move to the UK and settle down, figuring that it would be easier to move while she was still small rather than uprooting her when she was at school. We started looking into the UKBA's immigration rules. We had records of having lived together for five years, we had countless photos, we could get testimonies from friends and family, we had our marriage documents, we even have a daughter who shared our DNA! We could prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that we have a genuine marriage. I imagined that we'd have some trouble filling in the paperwork, and that we might have to answer some very invasive questions, but I thought that our application would really just be a formality. Prior to July 2012, it would have been.

'As we dug further into the UKBA website, we came across the financial requirement. OK, £18,600. It was a lot of money, but we could cover that. I'm just a schoolteacher, but I have savings. Then we came across the Home Office's formula for determining how much money they think you have: savings minus £16,000, divided by 2.5. The £62,500 minimum is a lot more money. Thankfully, my wife works in international investment banking, and also has savings. Pooling our resources together, we could raise over £62,500. What's more, thanks to Japan's low interest rates, we'd never bothered investing our savings. Our savings were in cash, just as the Home Office was demanding. So here's why we still couldn't come home:

'After realising that we had next to no chance of navigating the immigration rules ourselves, we spent a lot of money on hiring a solicitor. Our solicitor looked through all of our documents, and said that an application at the time could succeed, but that a UKBA caseworker might ask for my wife's previous six months' payslips as proof of the source of our savings. Yoko had been on maternity leave. We could not supply those payslips. If a UKBA caseworker asks for extra evidence and the applicant is unable to supply it within two weeks, the application is refused. We couldn't risk that. We'd lose the application fee, and at the time, my employer was asking me if I would sign up for another year or not. A refused application would have left me unemployed in Japan and unable to return to the UK. For this reason, we decided to delay our application until Yoko had been back at work for six months, just so she could get six payslips.

'We'll get there. Once Yoko has her six payslips, the UKBA will have absolutely no legal reason to refuse our application (which is no guarantee, of course!) But the bizarre inflexibility of the rules has meant that we've had to put our daughter into daycare, and put our plans on hold for a year just to satisfy utterly pointless bureaucratic requirements. And in the meantime, our daughter still hasn't met most of her family, and Yoko and I have to cope with raising a kid without any family support for another year. And when we finally get to the UK, we won't be able to buy a house or invest our savings in any way, because we'll have to keep them in a current account for the next five years.

'I fully recognise that my family and I are some of the luckier victims of the family immigration rules. We haven't been separated, and we will be eligible for a visa in the near future. What I think our case shows though, is that you can be self-sufficient, you can satisfy all of the requirements, you can prove beyond a doubt that your marriage is legitimate, and still fall foul of the rules, just because of pointless, unnecessary bureaucracy.

'And just in case anyone's wondering why we want to move to the UK:

1. I'm British. It's my home.
2. My wife still loves the UK, British people and British culture, even after the way she's been treated.
3. My family can help us raise our daughter; Yoko's family is much smaller and less able to help.
4. Mixed race children almost always face racist bullying from their peers and discrimination from teachers at school in Japan. Bullying of haafu ('half') children often starts in preschool and continues into adult life. While racism is still a big problem in the UK, being half Japanese in the UK is more likely to be viewed as something positive.
5. My wife and I survived the Great Earthquake of 2011 and the subsequent Fukushima nuclear disaster. Another major earthquake has been predicted within the next four years. Fukushima is making headlines again with further radiation leaks and risks of another meltdown. It's time to come home.

Stacey and Yoshi - update

Stacey and Yoshi's story was previously featured on the blog :
http://britcits.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/stacey-and-yoshi-stacey-tells-her-story.html

This couple's story has moved on. Fortunately they have an opportunity to live together in Yoshi's home country, Japan - a country which respects its citizens' human rights to marry whom they wish. But the choice between leaving your home or your partner is one that nobody should ever be forced to make.

Nobody should be pressured into effective exile for marrying someone of another race, culture, religion, or nationality.

Stacey has written movingly on their situation, which you can read here :
http://www.scribd.com/doc/164673765/Stacey-and-Yoshi

Ultimately, I'm being forced to choose between my home, my country and the culture I was brought up in - and the love of my life.

I’ve have only very recently decided to move to Japan with my partner and marry him in Japan. Fortunately, the Japanese system is much less discriminatory than the British one and provided that Yoshihiro and I can prove we are in a legitimate relationship, I can marry my fiancé and live with him in his home country.

I am daunted at the prospect of leaving my family and all my friends in the UK and also the idea of trying to assimilate into one of the most unique countries in the world, but I love my partner and don’t want to be separated from him.

I don’t think it’s fair that the British system essentially discriminates against Japanese partners of British citizens, yet the Japanese system does not do the same to British partners of Japanese citizens.  I think it goes against our human rights. It causes devastation and misery to hundreds of people who simply want to live their lives together. Theresa May and David Cameron, members of the current Conservative government have stated that they strongly believe in families and the institution of marriage. Yet the current restrictions set in place against partners of non European citizens do not reflect those statements. 

Steven

'I am a British citizen who has been living in Japan for the past six and a half years. My wife of four years is a Japanese national, and our one year old daughter has British citizenship. We planned to move to the UK in May this year, but we were prevented from doing so by the family immigration financial requirement rules introduced in July last year.

'My wife and I are both professionals, with qualifications and a great deal of experience in our fields. Furthermore, we can actually meet the savings requirement, but we were still unable to apply for a visa due to the accompanying paperwork requirements. The fact that my wife had been on maternity leave left us unable to supply recent payslips.

'As a result, our solicitor advised us to defer our visa application until my wife had been back at work for six months. My wife and I represent one of the more fortunate cases, in that we are still together as a family, and we will be able to apply for a visa in the near future.

' Even so, the process caused a great deal of stress at a time when my wife and I should have been focusing all of our attention on our baby. It has also been exorbitantly expensive. We have spent and are continuing to spend a small fortune just so I can win the right to live in my own country with my wife and my child.'

New Japan campaign

Looking for people affected by #dividedfamilies rules with connections to Japan - either in Japan now or separated from partners/family members by the rules.

Email me to discuss an idea for a campaign - [steve at britcits dot com] . Thanks!

Stacey writes :


Previously :
http://britcits.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/stacey-and-yoshi-stacey-tells-her-story.html

'You can congratulate the Home Office for me because I've made a very difficult decision to move to Japan next year once I've graduated. I'm not running away, but because my partner and I are so young I thought I might give Japan a go for a few years. I'll be working as a language teacher, as will my partner, and all the money we earn will be going to the Japanese government, not the British one. So congratulations the British government/UKBA! You got your way and young, qualified individuals who would have contributed to your struggling economy are going elsewhere! Loves and kisses you Tory muppets!'

 

Stacey is one step closer to resolving her situation, by taking her and her husband's talent out of the UK.

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New campaign in Northamptonshire for divided families.

https://twitter.com/Paulcrofts :
Know Northants families divided by UK immigration controls? Please contact. Campaign/support group to be launched. #NorthantsHour #BritCits
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Map of human migrations.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Map-of-human-migrations.jpg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dymaxion_map - a different perspective on the world.

British mother had abortion 'because of visa rules' - more stories

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-22868332

(UK/Philippines)
I earned over £40,000 the year my husband came to the UK with me. But my job is off-shore and if I got pregnant I could not work. There's no crèche out at sea and taking a year off just wasn't an option.

Whatever other work I might have been able to get in my village, I still couldn't have earned enough to satisfy the new rules. So I panicked.

My doctor said: "This is disgusting. This could be the last time you could have children." But I didn't feel I had a choice. I came out of the doctors crying - a married woman shouldn't have to cry and be forced into a decision like that.
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(UK/Lebanon)
Sometimes the children don't want to speak with their father on Skype as they are so angry that I can't give them a date for his return.

We married 10 years ago but it was 8 December when we were last together. He has missed Christmas, birthdays and important milestones with his children.

It's caused major emotional strain and I suffered a miscarriage without him present. I was under a huge amount of stress at the time.

I work in human trafficking services and I'm called in when victims need support. Elie is a minister in the Baptist church. I work part-time to look after our four children - all under eight - and because Elie isn't here I have to rely on benefits to survive.
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(UK/Japan)
We've been married for nine years. Hazel is three and we're expecting another child in July. We want our children to experience both cultures - Hazel has a British passport. But if we wanted to return the new rules dictate that we can only do so if I become the breadwinner, depriving my young children of invaluable time with their mother.

Am I supposed to come to England without my family, for six months? Because that's what the rules say. My husband would be a single parent. It's crazy.
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(UK/Chile)
We find ourselves effectively exiled from our own country. We have significant savings, but not enough to make the £62,500 we need under the rules.

I am working as a translator in three languages but have always planned to take time to look after our baby. He has lived the first few months of his life in a children's home and I want to give him all the love and cuddles the world has forced him to miss out on.

Separating is not an option for us. We have a strong marriage and would never stay apart and risk our baby's stability and our wellbeing for the sake of these financial rules.

Exercising free movement, redux

Another post about someone's experience of exercising free movement in Europe, mirrored from here :
http://www.expatforum.com/expats/britain-expat-forum-expats-living-uk/153074-eea-nationals-spouse-successfully-entered-without-fp-now-what.html

Earlier today : http://britcits.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/exercising-free-movement-someones.html

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1st May 2013, 10:37 PM

This post has two purposes: 1) to share our experience of entering UK as an EEA national and non-EEA spouse without a Family Permit, and 2) to request advice on the next steps.

First the report. The starting point was that I and my Japanese wife were living in Finland. I then accepted a job offer in the UK. There wasn't enough time to apply for a Family Permit for her, because the next available time at the mobile biometric clinic in Helsinki was beyond my job start date. So we decided to go for the "Code 1A" route described on this forum. We simply got on the plane with the following documentation at hand: i) my contract, ii) an extract from the Finnish population registry (official English translation) to prove our marriage, iii) a printed copy of the Border Force Operations Manual EEA Nationals (often quoted on this forum) and iv) a printed copy of the UKBA EEA family permits guidance.

Once arrived, my wife filled in a landing card, indicating that she intended to stay for a number of years (as a Japanese national she would normally be entitled to enter and remain for only six months without a visa). We approached the immigrations together and I simply said that I'm a Finnish national moving to UK to work and that this is my wife. The official checked her passport, noted the absence of a visa or Family Permit, and said that she "needs" one. I said that we didn't have time to apply for one and that we've understood that she could instead get a Code 1A stamp at the border. The official then excused himself and went away with the passport for about three minutes. When he got back, he said everything was ok and stamped the passport. He didn't ask for any documentation such as a marriage certificate at any point. But the stamp that she got is the same 6-month one as she would get when entering the UK as a tourist.

The whole business lasted perhaps five minutes and the official was very polite throughout. However, I wonder what would have happened if we hadn't asserted ourselves and specifically requested the Code 1A. Would he have insisted on a visa and sent her back? Or just eventually given her the Code 1A (i.e. tourist?) stamp? I'm guessing the latter actually. The fact that Japanese nationals can enter for 6 months without a visa perhaps made things easier for us than they are for those entering from visa countries.

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As for the next steps, I had it all planned out based on what I've read on this forum before: Apply for EEA1 for me and EEA2 for her, both at the same time. However, this border official advised us that she should now apply for a Family Permit within UK. This confuses me. I thought the FP was only needed for getting into the country for in the first place, and that after that its usefulness would be limited. I thought that from now on, the residence card (EEA2) would be the thing that is needed for seeking employment, smoothing subsequent entries, etc. But the official flatly contradicted this, saying that the FP is what gives her EEA rights, establishes the permission work and so on, and that the residence card is not necessarily sufficient documentation for re-entry.

My suspicion is that the official perhaps didn't quite know what he was talking about, and that we should stick with the original plan and go for EEA1 and EEA2 now. But I'd like to hear your opinions -- should she go for EEA2 or FP? To make matters slightly more complicated, she needs to travel abroad for a few days in about 1.5 months from now, so she'd need to have her passport back by then.

View from the free world :

Marianne and Kei

This story – which has been covered in the press ( http://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/japanese-husband-of-uk-businesswoman-may-miss-childs-birth-due-to-visa-rules-8551359.html ) highlights the sheer stupidity – and maliciousness – of the unthinking application of these rules. Read on… and please sign Marianne's petition :
http://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/theresa-may-don-t-force-me-to-give-birth-without-my-husband

Successful British Businesswoman's husband may have to miss birth of first child due to
new "computer says no" Visa Rules

Marianne is a successful businesswoman, and a British citizen. And yet she faces giving birth on her own because the rules visa rules for British Citizen’s spouses may force her Japanese husband to leave the country. (link: http://britcits.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/introduction.html )

Marianne Bailey, 35 met Kei Yamamoto, 30 when she was working as an Industrial Designer in Japan in 2009. They married in Chelsea, London last October. Marianne is pregnant, and happily expecting their baby in July!

But the new, draconian rules - rules that only apply to British Citizens - require Marianne to have over ₤62,500 in a cash bank account for over 6 months. This is because the rigid nature of the rules count only certain kinds of income - with excessively strict requirements, such as Marianne’s University Lecturer PAYE income will not count because it is contracted per term, rather than every 6 months. When income cannot be counted under the tight “tick box” criteria, the requirement can be made up with savings – but the savings requirement is in itself far stricter than the income requirement. The new rules do not count 3 of 4 of Marianne’s incomes which would be over the income requirement, do not count their savings that are over ₤16,000 and do not count her 2 properties, one with no mortgage! Note that ₤62,500 savings need to be held as cash in a bank account for 6 months – investments such as stocks, bonds, or property do not count! It is a particular worry considering the bank raids to savings in Cyprus at the moment.

In contrast, Marianne does not understand why non-British EU citizens have no such financial requirement – a letter of employment or proof of earning will do!

The only way the Government will allow Marianne's husband Kei to remain in the country for the birth and support of their baby is if Marianne renounces her British Citizenship. Marianne Grandmother was born in Ireland so would be eligible for an Irish passport (she has visited Ireland precisely –once- in her life!), and would therefore be eligible under EU rules.

But this means becoming a foreigner in her own country – a country which she has contributed hugely to as an entrepreneur and businesswoman. Insane!

UPDATE: Marianne and Kei were told this could be their only way by one visa specialist but after consulting a top visa lawyer, they have been told a British women already tried to do this and was declined.

Marianne is an Inventor and an Entrepreneur. She has 20 patents, two jobs - as an Industrial Designer and University Lecturer. She has an income well above the £18,600 threshold. She has substantial savings – well over £16,000. She owns two properties in London – one without a mortgage, and the rental of the other providing a steady income.

Truly, Marianne and Kei did not expect to fall foul of spouse visa rules – especially with a baby on the way!

Marianne worked extremely hard during her 20's to be in the position she is now. Even with her success, she works seven days a week, and often twelve hours a day: lecturing, and building a prototype of a new type of urban eco-vehicle which will be of great benefit to UK manufacturing, the economy, and the environment. Every component of the vehicle has been sourced from UK manufacturing, supporting British Industry jobs. Marianne says: "We are clearly are not a burden on the state, quite the opposite! This model of living allows me and my inventions to be of great benefit to our country."

These new "tick box / computer says no" rules, championed by Theresa May, do not count 3 of 4 of Marianne's income streams; they do not count their ₤16,000 savings as sufficient (despite this being the savings threshold disqualifying access to state benefits); and they do not count Marianne's 2 properties in London - unless she sells and liquefies the assets and puts ₤64,000 in a (cash) bank account for 6 months, which she will not have in time for the birth of their first baby. How does that
help the economy?!

What do you think about the earnings threshold rule in general? What are the problems with it?

This is not a one off "blip" in the system, these new draconian "tick box" spouse visa rules are tearing thousands of British families apart. They only apply to British Citizens and not EU Citizens. An EU Citizen has no financial requirement, they only have a letter stating they have a job, it doesn't, matter how much they earn, whereas British Citizens like myself have to have ₤62,500 in a bank account for 6 months! (and more if you have children). British Citizens can only bring ONE family member, their spouse to the UK, EU Immigrants can bring in their non-EU spouse and up to 20 of their spouses non-EU family members! It is clear is clear discrimination against British Citizens in their own country.

The new changes in the law will mean that, of British taxpayers (and voters) in EMPLOYMENT over 47% will not qualify to bring in a family member, that will mean 16-17,000 British families a year will be forced apart or out of their country.

The British Family route for immigration before the new rules were introduced only accounted for around 32,000 spouses a year whereas EU immigrant figures run into hundreds of thousands. Surely British families take priority? It is actually against EU law for an EU Government to discriminate against its own people, why do British Citizens have less rights in their own country than EU citizens?

The Government are spinning that these new rules are "getting tough on immigration" but British Citizen’s Spouse visas are a tiny amount in the total immigration figures and they have ALWAYS and still are stamped "no recourse for public funds", the immigration problem of immigrants claiming benefits has NEVER been with British Citizen's spouses. These rules are cold, inflexible and unfair – and they’ve brought misery to thousands of British families.

Can you give me a bit of background about your marriage? How long ago did you meet? When did you get married?

I was Senior Product Designer for Yamaha's Product Design Laboratory Japan for 5 years and meet Kei a few days after arriving in Japan in 2005 and we started dating in 2009. I returned to the UK after the Great Eastern Tokyo Earthquake and subsequent Fukushima Nuclear Disaster when other British Citizens were being evacuated because of radiation fears. Kei later followed and we were married in Chelsea, London on October 1st 2012.

How would you feel having to give birth without your husband being there? How would he feel if he was forced to miss it?

As any expectant mother knows the idea of giving birth and the prospect of coping with a new born alone without your husband or partner is terrifying, it is pretty terrifying even if your husband is with you, but alone! Kei my husband has lost a lot of weight with worry.

If your husband has to leave will he be able to return? If so, after how long? If not, what will you do?

If this government forces my husband to leave and he applies for Discretionary Leave to Remain from Japan he may not be allowed back into the country for between 6 to 9 months. The government in effect making me a "married single mother" with no help or support. There is no guarantee m husband will be allowed back at all, forcing me also out of the country. The new visa rules destroy hardworking EMPLOYED British Citizens' families. These new rules are not "getting tough" with EU immigrants, as these discriminatory new rules that only apply to British Citizens.

How is it you might be able to become Irish? How would this help?

My Grandmother was born in Ireland and moved to the UK permanently when she was young so I can apply for an Irish passport and Dual Nationality - but in order to apply as an EU Citizen the government will force me to give up my British Citizenship. This is extremely distressing as I am British and I shouldn't be forced to liquefy my property assets by the government or become a foreigner in my own country in order for my husband to be here for the birth and subsequent support of our first child.

Marianne tweets at : https://twitter.com/BaileyYamamoto . We're happy to be campaigning with her.

Please sign and share her petition : http://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/theresa-may-don-t-force-me-to-give-birth-without-my-husband

Noriko's baby

http://migrantsrightsscotland.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/Norikos-Baby.jpg

I am a #migrant too! Or rather my Scottish dad has no choice but to move us to Japan cos mum's not *welcome* here.

( via https://twitter.com/MigRightsScot )

William and Noriko : http://britcits.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/william-noriko-we-want-to-raise-our.html

“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.”

http://migrantsrightsscotland.org.uk/?p=3685

Stacey and Yoshi

Stacey tells her story :

'I AM A 24 YEAR OLD STUDENT, reading Japanese and public relations at university. I met my partner, Yoshi, two and half years ago, and we've been in a relationship for two years now. He is Japanese and I am British. I had no idea that falling in love with someone outside of the European Union would prove to be such an ordeal.

When we met, my boyfriend was studying journalism at the same university as me. Although he very much enjoyed his time in England, the course proved to be unsuitable and so he decided that he would return to his home country and train to be a language teacher instead.

As part of my course, I spent a year in Japan on an exchange program. We lived together for months at a time, both in England and in Japan, and are very much in love. When we are living apart from each other, we Skype, every single day, despite the 9 hour time difference between our two countries. We have shared, and continue to share, amazing experiences and have decided that we want to spend the rest of our lives together.

We both agreed that we would prefer to settle in England together. Although I had an amazing time in Japan I couldn't see myself settling there and Yoshi was more than happy to move to the UK with me. Yoshi started a course at a language school in 2012 and is now fully qualified to teach Japanese. I will be graduating next year.

In order for us to live together in the UK Yoshi decided to apply for a working holiday visa. This would enable us to spend two years together without having to spend a ridiculous amount of money flying back and forth to each other's country every few months, for a short visit. After those two years we plan to marry. Unfortunately, the working holiday visa is like a lottery and only 1000 people will be lucky enough to get one. Yoshi was unlucky this time.

We are so very much in love that we would marry today if it meant we could be together. But due to the new non-European spouse visa restrictions that were implemented not too long ago, it won't make any difference. And I cannot tell you just how devastated Yoshi and I are.

£18,600 is how much I need to be earning in order to sponsor my partner. Even if I were to graduate from university and get a well paid graduate job, I live in the North of England. It could be years and years before I'm earning enough money to fulfill that requirement. My partner is qualified to teach and wants to work; he will never be entitled to benefits or welfare anyway because he isn't European (editor's note: All entering on a spouse or fiance visa have the words NO RECOURSE TO PUBLIC FUNDS stamped into their passport, and cannot claim benefits), so why not take into consideration his income? Why actively discriminate against low income earners of non European spouses? Why is it moral to tear people apart like this based on income?


Long distance relationships are difficult, regardless of visa restrictions. You have to be committed, patient and prepared to endure long periods of time apart from the one person in your life whom you feel you can share everything with. Everyone has their own issues to deal with in life and all I ask for is that I can come home to the one person in this world who makes me feel happy, loved and secure.

When I heard that Yoshi didn't get the working holiday visa, I think I was more shocked than I expected to be and actually fell into depression. People have no idea how difficult it is being in love with someone and being unable to see them and hold them simply because you aren't earning enough money. I have never felt so low in my life. I recently heard about a British woman who committed suicide because she couldn't be with her Egyptian partner and I cried so much because I honestly know what she was going through. The situation is horrendous. (Link : http://britcits.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/rip-i-was-afraid-something-like-this.html ).

Ultimately, I'm being forced to choose between my home, my country and the culture I was brought up in - and the love of my life. I will choose the love of my life. we are still young and considering our options but it upsets me greatly that I'm being forced to make this choice. I am British. I am not a foreigner asking to live in Britain with a foreign partner. I am a British individual who wishes to live in Britain with the love of my life.'

More stories like this: http://britcits.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/stories

William & Noriko

“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.”

William is a British citizen, married to Noriko, who is Japanese.

They live together in Scotland. They have a baby together, but Noriko’s visa expires in April 2013, raising uncertainty and marking the pure joy they should feel at their new arrival.

William is a commis chef, on his way to furthering his career as a chef. At this stage of his career, it is not possible to earn £18,600, despite working really hard and putting in about 50 hours a week.

They face two choices :
- Exile from the UK to go live together in Japan, but face worries over career, money and family. The language and culture are so different from the UK that William will find it difficult make progress in his career.
- Break up their family.

Both William and Noriko believe parents should be together to give their baby the best upbringing. And so do we.

World Flag Ant Farm

World Flag Ant Farm, by the artist Yukinori Yanagi, is a fascinating series of works themed on migration and the crossing of cultures.

http://www.iniva.org/dare/themes/space/yanagi.html

In The World Flag Ant Farm, he created a series of interconnecting boxes,each filled with coloured sand in the pattern of a national flag - representing the nations of the world - and linked by plastic tubes. He then released ants into this system who were able to travel between all the networked flags, transporting food and sand. These 'border crossings' eventually resulted in an intermingling of colour throughout the system, each flag's integrity being slowly degraded, creating in a sort of 'cross-cultural' multinational network.

More :
http://www.yanagistudio.net/works/antfarmproject01_view_eng.html

Union Jack ant farm - http://www.iniva.org/dare/artwork/yanagi/yanagi3.html - "...it simultaneously depicts the spread of a tribe and the decline of an empire." 

Aaron

“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 ”.

A British citizen, Aaron met his Japanese partner, Kano, in Bristol when she was there on a two-year working holiday visa.

They fell in love, she fell pregnant and they decided to get married. Aaron has invested all his time and energy in Bristol and is keen to make a life with his wife and child there. Bristol is where all his friends and family live. He wants a stable place to mark the height of his child as the years pass; he doesn’t want to live in Britain simply in order to claim any sort of welfare benefits.

However, under the new rules, he is unable to give his child the upbringing he so desires in his own country, something which we all as British citizens have and should continue to have the right to.

Aaron’s child is also British. Therefore, in fact, two British citizens have had their basic rights eroded by this government :
• The right to live with your partner without interference from the State for Aaron;
• The right to have both your parents looking after you, for their child.

Aaron earns just under the £18,600 mark. Combining his income with that which Kano could earn, they easily satisfy £18,600. But Kano’s income cannot be included, thus highlighting a huge oversight in the rules.

Not only is £18,600 too high, it does not allow for geographical differences and is much higher than the income criteria required to be excluded from qualifying for welfare benefits. It also shows a complete disregard for the potential value of the spouse’s income.

In practice, both Aaron and Kano would work, each earning a salary that would be taxed and relied upon for their living expenses. Why then is the criterion restricted only to Aaron’s income?

Aaron is being pushed out of his own country, by his own government, for no reason other than that its mission is to achieve a poorly selected and arbitrary net immigration target in the 'tens of thousands'.

Aaron's story, in his own words. I want to have some kind of safe place to put the child in, and I know which place, it’s the place I live In and met Kano in and where I've been investing my time and energy. Its’ where all my friends live, all the people who I want to learn how to be a good parent from. It’s the house my family lived in, where the overgrown garden is takes up the whole world from the front window...

Aaron mention in House of Lords debate 'Motion to Regret' the new immigration rules. Scroll down to Lord Avebury: My Lords, this is a very important debate, focusing as it does on family and children's rights. We have all heard from organisations such as the ones that have been mentioned...

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As mentioned in the introduction to this blog, one of many issues we have with the rules was the way they were introduced - via the 'back door', first through 'secondary legislation', and then, when the courts ruled that the Home Secretary had overstepped her powers (Alvi), through an 'emergency debate' in the House of Lords (as the Commons was in recess on that day) where many Lords were apparently unaware of the full implications of what they were debating. The Free Movement blog wrote at the time : Following the Supreme Court decisions in the cases of Munir and Alvi, as reported on this blog yesterday, the UK Border Agency has acted suspiciouslyextremely quickly...

 The Motion of Regret in which Aaron was mentioned (along with Rob) was the first time a proper debate on this issue had been held by our legislators. We are grateful to Baroness Smith, Lord Avebury, Lord Teverson, and others for their sterling contributions.

The Motion of Regret debate can be viewed in full here, and read in Hansard here.

In some ways this debate laid the groundwork for the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Migration's inquiry into the effects of the immigration rules on families. We are awaiting further developments with alacrity.

As previously mentioned, we have received communications from certain public figures on these matters, and these will be added to this site in due course.