A terminally ill man is desperate for his Thai wife to be allowed to live with him


Source :Gainsborough Standard

http://www.gainsboroughstandard.co.uk/news/local/gainsborough-a-terminally-ill-man-is-desperate-for-his-thai-wife-to-be-allowed-to-live-with-him-1-6757857

'...Norman has since been diagnosed with an incurable bone cancer called Multiple Myeloma and now, more than ever, he wants to be able to live in the UK with his wife by his side.

'He said: “We want to be together as man and wife.”

'“She wants to come here because she loves her husband.”

'“The main stress is not the cancer but the fight because they won’t let my poor wife come and live with her husband.” '

Lauded therapist Harley Miller still in limbo as battle to stay in Britain drags on

Source : Independent

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/lauded-therapist-harley-mille-still-in-limbo-as-battle-to-stay-in-britain-drags-on-9679464.html

'Specialist children’s counsellor Harley Miller finds herself stuck in a seemingly unending struggle to remain in the UK the Australian is as frustrated by court delays as she is with the idiosyncrasies of immigration law.'


Immigrant stories: The psychotherapist and the letter of proof : http://www.politics.co.uk/comment-analysis/2014/01/17/immigrant-stories-the-nhs-nurse-and-the-letter-of-proof

Fury at Border Agency over case of the Australian NHS therapist given just a few days to leave Britain :
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/fury-at-border-agency-over-case-of-the-australian-nhs-therapist-given-just-a-few-days-to-leave-britain-8935743.html

Deportation of the valuable and vulnerable :
http://britcits.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/deportation-of-valuable-and-vulnerable.html

Harley Miller on Twitter :
https://twitter.com/HarleyM65

Immigration tribunal told to reconsider allowing child needing heart operation to stay in UK

http://www.scottishlegal.com/index.asp?cat=NEWS&Type=Civil&newsID=61329#61329

Petition: Please grant Oliver Cameron's sister Keisha Rushton a temporary visa to allow her to donate her already matched kidney to save her brother's life

http://goo.gl/FH21rF 

'UK Visas and Immigrant are refusing entry of a matched kidney donor for British citizen Oliver Cameron. Without a transplant Mr Cameron, who suffered from near fatal renal failure in December 2012 could expect to lose 12 to 20 years of life if he remains on dialysis.'

'When your kidneys fail your two options are dialysis or a transplant.  Dialysis is capable of about 10% of the work of a functioning kidney and because of its effects on the body can result in serious complications. Jamaican Keisha Rushton wants to give her brother the life changing donation of her kidney which will release him from the daily grind of renal dialysis.'

'Patients who receive a transplant typically live 12 to 20 years longer than dialysis patients.  Keisha Rushton is a matched living donor for her brother and is desperate to save his life.

'It is a brave decision for Ms Rushton to visit the UK to save the life of her brother, in addition to the typically 3 months time it takes for a kidney donor to recover assuming no complications, Keisha has a business, a fiancé, seven children and an elderly mother at home in Jamaica whom she needs to return to once this donation has been made.'

Previously -
#Kidneyvisa : http://britcits.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/kidneyvisa.html

The perfect kidney match - but not for the Home Office. Would you give up a kidney just to get into Britain? :
http://britcits.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/the-perfect-transplant-match-but-not.html

Petition via https://twitter.com/HackneyAbbott

Also spotted on Twitter - 'It really comes to something when we have to petition to allow a kidney transplant to take place.'

The perfect transplant match – but not for the Home Office: Would you give up a kidney just to get into Britain?

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/the-perfect-transplant-match--but-not-for-the-home-office-would-you-give-up-a-kidney-just-to-get-into-britain-9255123.html

'Oliver Cameron tells Cahal Milmo how the heartlessness of Britain’s immigration policy is preventing his sister’s mercy mission from Jamaica.

'When Oliver Cameron made the difficult phone call to his family in Jamaica, to explain that he needed a donor for a life-changing kidney transplant, his elder sister Keisha Rushton did not hesitate. She told him: “You are the only brother I have got. I love you. Let me do this for you.”...

'... Despite the risks, Ms Rushton, a mother of seven, decided to sacrifice one of her two healthy kidneys for her younger brother living on the other side of the world, and applied for a visa to come to London to undergo the NHS operation.

'Mr Cameron, a plumber who has been unable to work since suffering near-fatal renal failure in 2012, borrowed £700 he could ill afford to fund her visa application, excited at the prospect of a future without the gruelling order of daily dialysis and being able to once more earn a living.

'While most people would have seen Ms Rushton’s request to visit Britain as the fruit of filial love and an admirable self-sacrifice, that was not how it was seen by those at the Home Office in charge of applying Britain’s draconian immigration rules.

'Inside was a letter bluntly telling her that she had been refused entry to Britain because she could not be trusted to return home. She had been unable to provide evidence to officials of her income in Jamaica and thus prove she would return home after the operation, the refusal notice said.'

Family values?

Harley Miller in the UK.

https://www.facebook.com/HarleytheImmigrantUK

'On 31st October my renewal application for residency in the UK was rejected after legally living here for 9 years. This page is about this experience.'

Fury at Border Agency over case of the Australian NHS therapist given just a few days to leave Britain :
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/fury-at-border-agency-over-case-of-the-australian-nhs-therapist-given-just-a-few-days-to-leave-britain-8935743.html

'Mariam “Harley” Miller, a 48-year-old specialised therapist who lives in south London, was given 28 days’ notice to leave the country by the UKBA after waiting years for a response to an application to stay.

'Despite the Home Office saying it wants to encourage highly skilled migrants in the UK, Ms Miller, who is a qualified systemic therapist with two masters degrees, has had her application to stay refused.

'A posting about her experience on Facebook over the weekend already has more than 1,700 likes and been shared around the world.

'She wrote: “I have been in this country for nine years. In the whole of that time I have worked for the NHS, in the child and adolescent mental health sector, helping young people of this country through sometimes quite severe mental health problems.”...'

More Facebook campaigns : http://britcits.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/facebook
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Spousal Immigration: an ignored homewrecker.

http://commentual.wordpress.com/2014/01/05/spousal-immigration/


'A friend of mine is in love. I recently found out she’s engaged to the man she met years ago, and they are to hold their wedding this year. But here’s the twist: the man in her life wasn’t born in the UK, where my infatuated friend was born, and lives. This means that their love has had conditions placed upon it. Not by her, and not by him but by the UK Border Agency.'

Kuljeet

“I moved here with the expectation that come age 65, my mother would be able to move here with me.”

Kuljeet is a British citizen who has been living in the UK for 13 years. He was handpicked from India to work in the UK design centre as a Digital Electronics Engineer.

Kuljeet’s wife is also a British citizen and she has been working for the NHS as a doctor for 10 years.

Kuljeet was raised by his mother, a single parent and teacher, in India, following her divorce from his dad.

Kuljeet has been aware that he will need to look after his mum; although in a reasonably good state of health at the moment, she is getting older and family bonds mean living in separate countries is not feasible.

The UK seemed ideal to settle in, as it allowed for his to sponsor his mother to have her reside with him in the UK, once she reached the age of 65. Indeed, were it not for this, Kuljeet would have not made a life here, nor opted to become a British citizen.

There was a very clear legitimate expectation set that come time, Kuljeet would be able to fulfil his duties to his parent.

However, changes to UK’s immigration rules have meant that the route for adult dependants is closed, leaving Kuljeet in a very difficult position. Does he leave the UK or let his mother face the hardship of old age on her own?

The latter is not an option. It does not foster the kind of values Kuljeet wants to impart on his two daughters. Daughters who are proud to be British – it’s how they identify themselves, with the UK being the only home they know. Daughters who would be denied the right to a British education, British upbringing and would be forced to leave all that is familiar to them if Kuljeet were to be forced to leave the UK – just to look after his mum. Uprooting them is not something Kuljeet wants to do.

Both the daughters are very attached to their grandmother, who has visited the UK several times. They don’t understand why their grandma is living alone in India – when she could be here with their family.

Kuljeet does not think they are old enough to be told about the government’s rules.

For this family, the rules do not make sense and they feel like they are being punished for having a parent from overseas; for being migrants, albeit British citizens, themselves. Neither Kuljeet nor his wife have ever claimed any benefits – they are both higher rate tax payers and have been so for years. His mother would have no recourse to public funds. How could she be a burden on the state? Indeed, his mother is more likely to get involved in charitable work and keep herself active by helping other people.

More stories about elderly dependants : http://britcits.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/elderly%20dependants

Open letter to the British people from an Australian citizen.
 
"Announcement:

Hello my friends,

You may have noticed that recently I have been posting up lots of political articles, some of which you may agree with, others not. Many of those articles have been about immigration. Some of you may even know why I've been putting those posts up - out of protest.

You see, as an Australian living in the UK, I am an immigrant. In recent times, I have seen how there has been an increasing political campaign by a particular party which very much scapegoats immigrants for what is going on n this country. Sadly, the other parties, afraid of losing votes, have followed suit.

The point of this post is not to get into a political debate with you. Quite frankly, I'm not interested in a debate. The reason why? It's very simple. It has affected me directly.

More on Mumsnet

https://twitter.com/MumsnetBloggers :
"This unjust immigration policy is dividing families and damaging children" - today's guest blog from @The_FIA http://bit.ly/13j2LSc

From the comments on the article :
'Thank you so much for highlighting this MN it is a subject that is very close to my heart.

'DH is currently appealing his right to remain in the country so he can be a father to our 4 DCs. We are married and I am a trainee social worker so obviously don't earn anything as it is all NHS bursaries.

'In order for DH to be allowed in this country as my husband I have to be earning £29600, even when I have qualified I am not going to be earning anything near this. Even if I was, DH would have to leave the country and return to Zimbabwe to apply to return as my spouse as you are not able to do this from within the UK hmm This can take months and months and months.

'So, if DH's appeal fails and he is removed from the country (which is a very real threat we live with every day) he would never be able to return. The children would be left without a father and I would have to stop training and start claiming every benefit available. shock sad

'We would have to consider moving as a family to another European country, remaining there for 3 years and then we would be able to come home and live here together without a problem as DH would be considered ordinarily resident in an EU country!! hmm

'Our paperwork went in 6 months ago, we have heard nothing from them.

'DH has lived in this country for 11 years, has 4 children aged 8, 7, 6 and 9 weeks. He has worked full time and paid taxes, never been in any kind of trouble and he has been an excellent stay at home Dad whilst I have been studying.

'This is only touching the surface of the hell we are being put through because of the changes the coalition have/are making. How anyone can support this kind of madness is beyond me, how can anyone think it is ok to treat people this way! angry

Previously :
http://britcits.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/mumsnet.html

GPs told to charge non-Britons for NHS services

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2013/jun/29/jeremy-hunt-immigrants-free-nhs-services

Presumably a lot of doctors and nurses won't be able to access NHS care then ( http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/joepublic/2010/nov/10/nhs-health ). Policy-based evidence-making, once again.

I will not permit considerations of age, disease or disability, creed, ethnic origin, gender, nationality, political affiliation, race, sexual orientation, social standing or any other factor to intervene between my duty and my patient; - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Declaration_of_Geneva
---
From a Newark deli to Jersey City Hall, Fulop family has made a long journey.

http://www.nj.com/essex/index.ssf/2013/06/from_a_newark_deli_to_jersey_city_hall_fulop_family_has_made_a_long_journey.html#/10

My old councilman, from when I lived in New Jersey. He still sends me Facebook birthday greetings every year.
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A reminder -

Support the right to family life!
http://www.migrantsrights.org.uk/support-the-right-to-family-life

On 9th July!

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And keep lobbying your MPs to attend! A sample letter is here :
http://britcits.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/divided-families-day-of-action.html

Dear ,

As your constituent, I am writing on behalf of the ‘Divided Families Campaign’, a UK-wide campaign for highlighting the impact of the new rules on family migration. I would like to invite you to a meeting in Committee Room 10 of the House of Commons on Tuesday 9th July from 18:00 to 19:30.

I have been separated from my spouse as a result of the income threshold introduced in the new rules, which aims to make it more difficult to sponsor spouses and partners, or elderly dependents, to come to the UK from outside the European Economic Area (EEA). I believe these changes are unfair and I would like for you to attend this meeting to hear how it has impacted me and other like me from around the UK.

The meeting will be chaired by Baroness Ruth Lister. It will bring together campaigners, supporters and parliamentarians to hear about the impacts of the new rules. The meeting will welcome valuable public servants including Maggie Atkinson, the Children's Commissioner for England, and will be a chance for families to share their stories.

The All-Party Parliamentary Group on Migration recently launched a report into the impact of the rules, a copy of which I am pleased to attach. I would be very grateful on your thoughts on the findings of this report.

If you cannot come to the meeting, I would also ask that you write to the Home Secretary, and to the Immigration Minister, Mark Harper MP, asking for an explanation of why policy has not changed as a result of the APPG on Migration’s report published on 10 June this year. 

Thank you very much for your time and I earnestly await your reply.

Yours sincerely,

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Croatia set to join EU!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-23118035

Sattar

This story particularly brings home the desperation and the cruelty of rules towards people who especially deserve a level of respect that UK’s immigration rules prevent us from providing; people who have raised their children so that we, British citizens, can have a better quality of life.

Sattar is not a British citizen. Neither is his wife. He is however the father of a British citizen – Dr Faisal, living in London. The July 2012 rules introduced two conditions which prevent Sattar from continuing to reside in the UK with his wife and son.

Sattar and his wife have been living in the UK for four years, initially on Sattar’s work visa. However tragedy struck when their youngest son living overseas died in an accident. It is not in the natural course of things for parents to have to bury their own child and the resulting trauma took its toll on this family.

Sattar and his wife were devastated; it’s something they naturally found hard to come to terms with and experienced psychological issues as a result. Sattar was unable to continue his work as usual, becoming mainly financially dependent on Dr Faisal, living with him in London.

Under the previous rules, Sattar would have been able to switch from his work visa to obtaining Leave to Remain under the family route, as parents of a British citizen settled in the UK as soon as he was 65. However, in July 2012 when the rules changed, Sattar was four months short. Four months. And now he’s facing a lifetime away from his family. A lifetime living in isolation, away from the son on whom he is dependent; the son on who he has come to rely on more and more because of tragic circumstances which no one could have foreseen.

Sattar feels that these immigration rules fail to recognise the relationship between parents and their children...be the children adults themselves. As much as Sattar and his wife need their son, Dr Faisal himself needs the emotional support only his parents can provide. This interdependency is interestingly recognised and appreciated as far away as Australia – a country renowned for strict immigration rules…a country where parents of adult citizens and residents are encouraged to come join their family when they are younger, healthier and more able to integrate.

Dependency between family members is much more than what is portrayed as a one way matter only. Unsurprisingly, Sattar states that if he or his wife were in such a precarious medical condition as required by the rules, to be already on their death bed, they would have no interest in immigration – if it was a matter of just waiting to die. They want to live…live with their son, support each other..all with no recourse to public funds.

This is a classic example of the need to recognise that family bonds continue through grandparents, parents, adult children, grandchildren, and between siblings – the value of these relationships should not be obscured by portrayal as extended family of less significance.

Sarwat

“As a doctor, I spend my life looking after other people’s parents and grandparents..yet I’m being told I can’t look after my own mother.”

Dr Sarwat is a British citizen and a doctor working on a geriatrics ward in an NHS hospital. She looks after old people…providing her patients with the best care possible at a time when they need support the most. As she helps other people’s elderly parents and grandparents, the one person she is unable to help is her own mother.

The one person she regrets not being able to look after, hold the hand of, have a cup of tea with, support and see on a daily basis, is her own mother living alone in Pakistan.

Here is someone who spends her life looking after our aged, and we are denying her the right to look after the one person who gave her life.

Dr Sarwat is intelligent. She understands the rules now make it impossible for her to have her mother live with her…to have her mother live with her in the UK.

She is intelligent. She understands the rules are forcing her to choose between her home country, albeit adopted, and her parent.

She will in all likelihood make the right choice. But at what cost to our country, our people, our patients and our beloved NHS?

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BMA : Family migration rules lack basic 'common sense'.

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The latest version of the BritCits pack, with even more stories, is now online here :
http://www.scribd.com/doc/149987423/BritCits-June-2013

Mahi

“We just want to look after our mother and have the means to do so..yet we’re being told we can’t...”

Mahi is a permanent resident in the UK. This means she has earned the right to live here for the rest of her life, without any conditions attached. Mahi’s sister is a British citizen, also living in the UK. They are both married and well settled here.

Mahi earns a decent salary, certainly enough to look after her family without recourse to public funds. Their mum is aged 54 and a widow. Two of her daughters – Mahi and her sister – live in the UK with their husbands and children. Her third daughter lives in the USA. Mahi’s mum is completely alone.

Yes she is relatively young and no, she doesn’t need help being fed, bathed and dressed. She is haunted by a loneliness. As she has always been a housewife, her life revolved around looking after her husband, her children and her home. Her children and grandchildren – her family – are all overseas. Her husband is no longer alive. She is completely alone.

She is lucky though. Mahi has been supporting her financially. Mahi and her sister have had their mum visit them on three occasions now. Mahi’s mum liked being surrounded by her kids, grandkids..it made her feel younger, more alive, less lonely certainly and less depressed.

Mahi and her sister want their mum to live with them permanently. They have the means to ensure she can live here without ever having to fall back on public funds.

Yet they are being denied this and understandably bemused. They are not wanting to take their mother away from her home country, to dump her in an old people’s home..they want to look after her themselves, to ensure that they can return the favours that this mother bestowed on them…the favours that have allowed Mahi and her sister to make a better life for themselves, in the UK, providing services that we all benefit from.