"I have never welcomed the weakening of family ties by politics or pressure" - Nelson Mandela.
"He who travels for love finds a thousand miles no longer than one" - Japanese proverb.
"Everyone has the right to respect for his private and family life, his home and his correspondence." - Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
"When people's love is divided by law, it is the law that needs to change". -
David Cameron.

Saturday 16 March 2013

EXILED

One family's experience of these rules - affecting people across three generations and two continents : http://britcits.weebly.com/our-stories.html

Our sister/mirror/portal site - powerful stuff : http://britcits.weebly.com/index.html

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I should have spent this last Christmas at home with my family in the UK. Instead I find myself exiled in a developing country with my British son. My son’s grandparents are in tears at the prospect of never seeing their son or grandson again. I am shocked that I cannot return home. I am horrified that my little boy cannot enjoy a family Christmas or feel the warmth and love of his grandparents.

I have worked in Thailand for the past ten years. My wife is Thai and my three year old son British/Thai. I am desperate to return to the UK to spend time with my parents in their final years. I want my son to know his family and culture in the UK and I want a decent early education for him.

Moving to the UK has become more urgent recently as my parents, who used to visit us in Thailand regularly, are no longer able to travel. My mother and father have both been fighting cancer and my Mum especially is really depressed. She cries every time she sees her grandson on Skype. Seeing their beloved son and precious grandson would be good medicine for them both.

  To return to the UK as a family I would have to sponsor my wife’s UK spouse visa application. Not only would I need to show a confirmed offer and signed contract for a salaried job at not a penny less than £18,600 per year in the UK (very hard to secure from abroad), but that I have also been earning the same amount over the last six months in Thailand. I have a good stable job with an excellent salary for Thailand (around £7,500 per year), however this is nowhere near enough to satisfy the new financial requirement. To return home is now impossible. I am effectively exiled.

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