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is in (see link above) and includes data per quarter, with information about applications made, processed, refused, withdrawn, and lapsed.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.

From Bang and David: News!

Source :Wang Bang / David Rushmer / I love my foreign spouse Facebook group

This has just been posted on the I love my foreign spouse Facebook support group by Bang :

'After a one year battle, we won our appeal!
(To watch our documentary film please click the link of Google Drive below)

'Our court day came in early August 2014. We had 11 witnesses attending the courtroom including my parents-in-law, my sister-in-law, and most of our common friends, although many of them had to stand outside because of the limited availability of seats in the courtroom. The hearing lasted for about 45 minutes. The Judge ended by saying, "I hope my decision will bring an end to this matter."

'Four weeks after we received the final determination from the First Tribunal, the Judge produced a carefully written report pointing out every error in my wife’s refusal, and our appeal fee was also refunded.

'In the 7 page long statement, the Judge said:

'There is a strong evidential base for inferring that the future intention of both parties is to live together as husband and wife. The supporting evidence appears to have been overlooked because of the focus on previous applications…

'I have no hesitation in finding on the voluminous evidence before me that there is a genuine and subsisting relationship between the parties. The evidence is well documented and supported not only by a documentary record but by the sponsor who I found to be a credible witness. He provided a straightforward and plausible account…
'Setting these concerns against the evidence regarding the current relationship and the development of that relationship since 2012 I find that the Appellant has demonstrated an intention to live permanently in the United Kingdom. Both of them are mature adults who have entered into this relationship with considerable regard for each other and their respective families. They are deeply committed to each other, share common interests and enthusiasm for literature and poetry in particular. The sponsor occupies a responsible position in the academic world and is responsible for the care of elderly parents. He has the strong support of colleagues and a wide circle of friends who know him…

'The Appellant has demonstrated through her actions in seeking leave, namely returning voluntarily to China, maintaining this close relationship, committing herself to marriage and submitting an application from outside the UK that she has a settled intention to live together with the sponsor…

'As indicated above I have taken into consideration her previous applications. I do not find in them anything which would suggest that the previous relationships were used in order to contrive entry clearance into the United Kingdom. In all the circumstance I find that the refusal decision was not in accordance with the law and Immigration Rules.

'No appeal has been lodged by the Home office against the Judge’s decision, therefore the determination is final and my visa will be issued.

'All our families and friends are over the moon. We cannot wait to share this good news with everyone who has been kind enough to support us. We would like to especially thank everyone in this group, thank you so much for sharing your stories, advice, experiences, happiness, kindness and compassion, your support has given us great strength to fight for justice. We would also like to say a big thank you to BritCits, who have been outstanding in defending the rights of international families and documenting the plight of those divided families, and a big thank you to Steven Green from BritCits, Journalist Michael Allen from The Independent, freelance Journalist and writer Hsiao-Hung Pai, Journalist Claudia Leong from Cambridge Tab and all the people who have helped us to gain publicity on various social medias, and 2,164 supporters who kindly signed our online petition.

'And finally, a big thank you to our lawyer, Paul Richmond from Richmond Chambers Immigration Barristers(winner of numerous prizes including the Best Immigration Set of the Year in the UK at 2014 Global Mobility & Immigration Award. )

'We will continually fight for a humane immigration policy with you for a fair and better society.
Please don’t give up hope! Never give up!
Love and hugs from David and Bang
xxx

A FILM:
our marriage.mpg
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BxQ7py3TeOx4ZHl1QmljbVZwSFU/

David's update on change.org :
https://www.change.org/p/uk-border-agency-our-marriage-is-not-a-sham-please-sign-the-petition-and-help-me-get-my-wife-back-home/u/8209560
'... Don’t forget we are still only one couple of approx 17,000 people currently separated by these rulings, do continue to give them your support.'

Bang's blog :
http://wangbangy.tumblr.com/

David and Bang's story :
http://britcits.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/david-bang-we-are-aware-many.html
“We are aware many applications despite satisfying all requirements are being refused for trivial or erroneous reasons...”

Bang's interrogation :
http://britcits.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/account-of-interview-in-british-embassy.html

Paradise Lost? Help Cambridge librarian bring his wife home!
http://britcits.blogspot.co.uk/2014/05/paradise-lost-help-cambridge-librarian.html

http://britcits.blogspot.co.uk/2014/05/our-sham-marriage-httpwangbangy.html 

Paradise Lost? Help Cambridge librarian bring his wife home!

http://cambridge.tab.co.uk/2014/05/19/paradise-lost-help-cambridge-librarian-bring-his-wife-home/

'The Senior Library Assistant at the English Faculty Library, is battling with the UK Border Agency to bring his wife home.

'48-year-old David Rushmer and his wife, Wang Bang, aged 39, were married in China in June 2013, and have since faced a protracted battle with authorities so that Wang can live in Britain.

'After first meeting in June 2012 on a poetry website, the couple moved in together by November of that year. Despite submitting evidence of their relationship, testimonials from family and friends, and receiving coverage in the national press, Wang’s application for a spouse visa at the British embassy in Beijing remains pending.

'The UK Border Agency believe that Wang’s sensitive work with human rights advocates proves she is only marrying Rushmer to escape scrutiny from the Chinese government, and have so far refused to review the case. This means the couple have been forcibly separated since July 2013, apart from a brief reunion in Thailand earlier this year... '

David and Bang's story :
http://britcits.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/david-bang-we-are-aware-many.html

Follow Bang's tumblr :
http://wangbangy.tumblr.com

David and Bang's petition  :
https://www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/uk-border-agency-overturn-my-wife-s-spouse-visa-refusal-and-allow-her-to-return-to-the-uk

 

My own Buddha

http://wangbangy.tumblr.com/

Wang Bang : A Chinese writer torn apart from her husband by UKBA

David and Bang's story :
http://britcits.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/david-bang-we-are-aware-many.html

'Having to rely on the compassion of an ultra-suspicious government simply to be able to live with the person you love is a lamentable, exhausting and an utterly depressing experience.'

Bang's interrogation :
http://britcits.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/account-of-interview-in-british-embassy.html

David and Bang's petition - please sign :
https://www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/uk-border-agency-overturn-my-wife-s-spouse-visa-refusal-and-allow-her-to-return-to-the-uk

More :
http://britcits.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/bang

Good news - campaigning and perserverance pay off for Stephen and Yilei

Via Facebook:
'We won at last, they have 5 days to appeal but is unlikely. Thanks everyone for your support and friendship - been tough but we got there in the end.'

Great news - well done!

Theresa May, let her stay :
http://britcits.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/theresa-may-let-her-stay-httpswww.html

Stephen and Yilei's story :
http://britcits.blogspot.co.uk/2013/12/stephen-yilei-we-dont-claim-benefits.html

Facebook campaign :
https://www.facebook.com/saveYilei

Petition :
http://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/teresa-may-dont-force-my-babies-mother-to-leave-the-uk

More good news stories : http://britcits.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/a%20good%20day

A reader writes :

'Our much loved daughter Joanne has been living and working as an English teacher in Suzhou, China for almost six years. Whilst there she met and fell in love with Anthony who is Chinese national.  He is currently a Mandarin teacher who also speaks excellent English. 

'They would desperately like to work and make their home in England. Current rules would make this almost impossible without having a very large bank account. 

'It seems that my daughter's wish to come back to her country of birth with her husband is to be denied to her. We all miss her so much and never dreamed that this country's rules could change in such a callous way.

'We supported her wish to see a bit more of the world and experience life in another country, and also her wish to get married to Anthony, an extremely polite and well educated young man who would definitely be an asset to this country.

'We have visited our daughter in China on four occasions and met Anthony's parents who welcomed us into their home.  We are both retired and we know that we may not be able to continue to afford the expensive flights or cope with the travelling for  many more years. 

'We chat to our daughter daily and we are all desperately following any news that may give us some hope that things will change for the better. '

Joanne and Anthony are now looking into exercising free movement rights for their future :
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-23029195
http://www.jcwi.org.uk/blog/2013/04/19/surinder-singh-and-family-unity
http://britcits.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/surinder%20singh

Chinese language article on Divided Families Campaign
http://helanonline.cn/article/7916

(I suggest pasting the text in translate.google.com - you can get a very comprehensible translation).

The article refers to in the piece comparing developed capitalist countries' income requirements. That was done by the Migrant Integration Policy Index. Only Norway's income requirement is higher, but Norway has a far higher average income than the UK (which is more equitably distributed). Most countries are far far lower, if they have one at all.

Can't buy me love? :
http://www.mipex.eu/blog/cant-buy-me-love

'With less than £18,600, a British citizen or non-EU UK resident could more easily reunite with their spouse in nearly every other major country of immigration in the world—except their own. This briefing used the most recent government and academic sources to calculate estimates of the income levels for sponsors to reunite with their spouse or partner (for EU countries, the amount reflects the requirements for non-EU sponsors/spouses). The UK has now set an income threshold that is higher than in all other major Western countries of immigration, besides oil-rich Norway.'

The tragedy of Donna Oettinger, also referred to :
http://britcits.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/rip-i-was-afraid-something-like-this.html

Donna started to suffer from depression last April when her Egyptian boyfriend – Zaki’s dad, Mohamed Nasr – was not allowed to come and live in the UK because of Visa problems.

The angry friend yesterday said the tragedy should have been prevented. The pal, who did not want to be named, claimed: “It could have been avoided. It was waiting to happen because she has been let down, not by her family – they were the most supportive family – but by doctors and the NHS.

Google translated article below :
 
'2014 Valentine's Day, a group gathered in front of St Paul 's Cathedral in London , England wearing a wedding dress to the bride and groom Interior demonstrators who is a day of sorrow and indignation , because they beloved other half, all of them are not around ! Have all been blocked in the UK outside the border , in Nigeria , Libya , South Africa , in China , in Korea , in Japan, in the United States , in Australia, in Canada , in Vietnam , in Cuba ...... everything does not belong to the European Union country. Many of them are forced to become a " single parent" , forced to live year after year, "skype couples ' lives. Although this kind of life can not be destroyed , "I want to be together , life without end , the mountain ridge , the rivers have dried up, thunderstorms , snow in summer , Heaven, and the king must dare are " the oath , but enough to shake human rights the cornerstone of Western society .

Unhappy Valentine's Day

Via Immigration Insight :

http://immigrationinsight.co.uk/2014/02/13/unhappy-valentines-day/

'Many people will be celebrating with their loved one this Valentine’s Day, but thousands of couples are being forced to spend the holiday in separate countries due to harsh family migration legislation.

'Thousands of couples have been hit by an £18,600 salary requirement for sponsoring the visa of a non-EU spouse in the UK. The unjustly high earnings threshold – which approximately 47% of the UK population cannot afford – means couples have been torn apart and will be forced to spend this special day alone.

'We asked you to email us your stories to us and have chosen two couples separated from their partners to feature in this post...'

 Bang and David

Dee and David

Cambridge University librarian battles Home Office to allow his Chinese wife to stay in Britain

http://www.independent.co.uk/student/news/cambridge-university-librarian-battles-home-office-to-allow-his-chinese-wife-to-stay-in-britain-9034887.html

David and Bang in the Independent - a follow up from yesterday's story!

'A Cambridge University librarian has launched a campaign to prove his marriage to a Chinese woman is genuine after the Home Office labelled it a sham.

'David Rushmer, 48, a senior library assistant, has accused the Home Office of treating him and his wife Wang Xiang “like political pawns just to keep immigration numbers down”.

'“Everybody’s stunned,” he said. “Before I was married I knew nothing about immigration rules. Unfortunately you realise you have to become a bit of an expert if you want to navigate all the traps that are there.”'

Elsewhere -

Heartbreak for Cambridge University man battling to bring wife back from China after marriage branded 'sham' by Home Office :
http://britcits.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/heartbreak-for-cambridge-university-man.html

David and Bang's story :
http://britcits.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/david-bang-we-are-aware-many.html

Bang's interview (must read) :
http://britcits.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/account-of-interview-in-british-embassy.html

Support their petition :
https://www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/uk-border-agency-overturn-my-wife-s-spouse-visa-refusal-and-allow-her-to-return-to-the-uk
-----

In unrelated news...

Spotted on Twitter -
https://twitter.com/NicholasPegg : Bulgarian scrounger, same-sex couple, French immigrant, Peruvian benefit tourist. Has Royal Mail gone mad? pic.twitter.com/BJtp38rADj

Heartbreak for Cambridge University man battling to bring wife back from China after marriage branded 'sham' by Home Office

http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/Cambridge/Heartbreak-for-Cambridge-University-man-battling-to-bring-wife-back-from-China-after-marriage-branded-sham-by-Home-Office-20140101060030.htm

David and Bang in the local press.

'A man from Cambridge faces a heartbreaking battle to bring his wife back to the UK after their marriage was branded a “sham” and she was forced to remain in China.

'David Rushmer, a senior library assistant at Cambridge University, met his wife Wang Xiang on a poetry website last year.

'The Chinese national first came to the UK on a dependant visa with her ex-husband, who had thrown her out of the house following disputes after just six months.

'She had applied for a ‘Leave to Remain’ visa, with solicitors telling her the process would take two to three months. In the 15 months it actually took to process, she had met David in June last year.

'By November 2012, they had moved in together and David said their lives were “transformed”.

'However, on April 9, the couple were dealt with the “life-destroying” news that her application had been refused. When they found out, David proposed and they married two months later in China.

'David said: “It’s devastating. We are newlyweds and we are being treated like criminals.

'“That is the bottom line. They are suggesting my wife has attached herself to me with the sole intention to gain a UK visa.

'“On December 13 we had been married for six months and I have not seen my wife physically since the beginning of July.”

David and Bang's story :
http://britcits.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/david-bang-we-are-aware-many.html

Bang's interview (must read) :
http://britcits.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/account-of-interview-in-british-embassy.html

Support their petition :
https://www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/uk-border-agency-overturn-my-wife-s-spouse-visa-refusal-and-allow-her-to-return-to-the-uk

Stephen & Yilei

“We don’t claim benefits and own our own home, yet Yilei is being threatened with deportation.”

Stephen is a British citizen whose roots in Britain can be traced back several generations. Stephen recently became the proud father of a beautiful baby boy, Ethan, with his partner of about five years, Yilei from China.

 Stephen and Yilei met whilst they were both working in the UAE. They we lived happily together in Abu Dhabi for four years before Stephen returned to the UK.

On advice from the British embassy in Abu Dhabi they applied and paid for the required visa for Yilei to join Stephen as his partner, in the UK. The visa was issued.

Five years on, they have set up home here, their son has been born here, they have fully paid for their home with no outstanding mortgage or loan. However, the Home Office is rejecting their application for Yilei and is trying to deport her.

The wife of a British citizen, the mother of a British citizen is being told she has to leave her husband and son. She is being told that her papers are now with Capita to arrange her removal.

Stephen is bemused. He doesn’t claim benefits. He works hard, they own their home and have a secure family unit for their son. His partner is the best of the best; yet they’re being torn apart.

For what? A few votes? Pacifying some voters who don’t know any better? There is no logic in this decision to take away a child’s mother. It achieves nothing except destruction - financial, emotional physical and mental.

British citizen forced to choose: your country or your family

A British citizen has been forced to renounce his birthright - his British citizenship - to be with his loved ones.

He is a Northern Ireland resident, which entitles him to Irish citizenship. Obtaining an Irish passport and going through the process of renouncing British citizenship - which he has held all his life - has allowed him to become a non-UK, EU national in the country of his birth. This has allowed him to live with his wife.

He says :

'Just got my wife's EEA Permit, finally this ordeal is over, I am no longer a UK Citizen, being born in Northern Ireland I renounced my UK Citizenship, cost £187, it took one month. We then applied for the EEA Family Permit, that also took a month, plus a two week delay while DHL decided to go slow on an express parcel to China ! So after an initial lengthy wait for a visa refusal as a UK/Irish dual citizen, I decided a UK passport has no benefits what so ever. I'm Irish now and damn proud to be sure!!!

'I wish all of you good, decent, genuine people who are going through this terrible ordeal of separation or a expensive temporary move abroad all the very best of luck and a speedy return to normal life.  '

If this seems like a bizarre twist, it is. It really does highlight the absurdity of these rules.

Support Bang and David's petition

https://www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/uk-border-agency-overturn-my-wife-s-spouse-visa-refusal-and-allow-her-to-return-to-the-uk

'My wife,Wang Bang, 39 years old, speaks fluent English, is an established writer from China, has published 8 books in China and France, works as a freelance journalist for some top magazines in China, a feminist author for a monthly column in helanonline.cn (Radio Nederland Wereldomroep), has just published a short story on www.wordswithoutborders.org, one of the best literary magazines containing  many outstanding international writers. My wife’s work  concerns  and respects love and family as the most important value in our lives.

'I am 48 years old, a British citizen, a full time permanent Senior Library Assistant at the English Faculty Library, University of Cambridge, a poet whose work has been published in over 30 poetry publications in Europe and the USA in the past 20 years.

'My wife first came to the UK joining her  ex-husband on a dependent visa in early 2010. She was wrongly accused of being unfaithful by her ex-husband and callously thrown out of their house after just 6 months of living here. She survived by herself, and battled with her PTSD as a result of this domestic violence...'

Bang and David's story :
http://britcits.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/david-bang-we-are-aware-many.html

Bang's account of her interview (interrogation) at a British embassy, as the spouse of a British citizen :
http://britcits.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/account-of-interview-in-british-embassy.html

Follow up to the account of an interview in a British Embassy, by the spouse of a British citizen.

Previously : http://britcits.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/account-of-interview-in-british-embassy.html

'We are refused. They said my intention for marrying David is not pure and our relationship is not genuine, because my work touched some sensitive issues in China. I don't know how I feel right now, I am not just sad. They asked me so many questions about my work, just very little and superficial questions about my current relationship with my husband, and now they used this against our relationship!!!

'If we are not in love, for what reasons we can bear this whole thing!!! How many sleepless days and nights on Skype phone calls emails, how many tears... his twin sister even flew all the way with him to China to marry me, I dont know what I am going to say to my mother in law and father in law and my own parents. This is not fair..............I am so sad I cannot even type here....Thanks for your good wishes.'

Account of an interview in a British Embassy, by the spouse of a British citizen #mustread

'I received a phone call on <day> October 2013 and was told that I need to attend a face to face interview in the British Embassy in Beijing on <day> October 2013 at <time>. It was 4 months after we submitted my UK spouse visa application although we meet all the requirements.

'I wanted to confirm my appointment in person before the interview because it’s about the future happiness of my husband and I, I just could not afford to make any mistakes. So I left my hometown, arrived in Beijing two days before the interview. It took me 3 hours and 10 min on the plane, another 5 hours on buses, trains and tubes, so it was about 8 hours in total, the transport cost about £350 return, and the hotel £100 for 3 nights.

'I arrived in the Embassy in the early morning the day before the interview, and was told by the entrance guards that no advance information of any appointments can be given. It seemed like I would just have to wait at the door until my name was called on the electronic board (if there was one).

Tsinghua professor: Non locals should take tests to get Beijing residency.

http://offbeatchina.com/tsinghua-professor-non-locals-should-take-tests-to-get-beijing-residency

Sounds like a bad pub quiz.

UK to relax visa rules for Chinese

Sunday saw Chancellor George Osborne announce plans to simplify the visa application process for Chinese visitors to the UK.

Under the new rules, Chinese nationals visiting Schengen countries will no longer be required to apply for a separate visitor visa for tourism to the UK if they apply through a designated travel agent.

"We are two great trading nations, with a shared interest in keeping the trade routes of the world open and free,” said Osborne on day one of his five-day trade trip to China.

The trip is the first of its kind since David Cameron sparked anger among Chinese officials when he met with the Dalai Lama in May last year. 

The streamlining of the visa process is aimed at boosting Chinese investment in UK infrastructure but will benefit wealthy Chinese visitors and business people alike.

The news was welcomed by the British Chambers of Commerce whose policy director Adam Marshall said the plans would cause UK businesses to “breathe a collective sigh of relief”.

Under the current visa system, Chinese Schengen visa holders are required to apply for a separate visitor visa for the UK at the cost of around GBP 200. The additional cost and bureaucracy involved in the process is thought to deter Chinese visitors from visiting the UK on their European tours.

Until now Theresa May, the home secretary, has blocked the move to simplify the visa process based on terrorism concerns.

The new scheme will see the existing mobile visa services of Beijing and Shanghai expanded to other major Chinese cities and a ‘super priority’ 24-hour visa service introduced. Applicants will be able to apply using the same form that is used for Schengen visa applications.

There has been an 800 per cent increase in Chinese visitors to the UK over the past decade according to the WorldPay payment service. Yet the UK only receives seven per cent of the total number of Chinese visitors to the EU. Last year, nearly 200,000 Chinese visitors visited the UK and spent around GBP 300m.

The move to streamline UK visas for Chinese nationals is not thought to signal an overall relaxation in visa restrictions for national of other countries, with government plans to trial a controversial new visa bond scheme which will target nationals of certain ‘high risk’ countries still under discussion.

Meanwhile nationals of other non-EEA countries continue to struggle to fulfill the UK’s difficult visitor visa requirements.

David & Bang

“We are aware many applications despite satisfying all requirements are being refused for trivial or erroneous reasons.”

David is a British citizen married to Bang from China. Their experience of the Home Office has not been positive, with nearly 15 months being taken to make a decision on Bang’s earlier application for leave to remain in the UK.

Bang submitted over 15 supporting letters from human rights organisations, universities, artists and writers. However, the application was refused despite the fact that the nature of her work touches on politically sensitive issues in China. The Home Office also ignored the fact that Bang had been a victim of domestic violence from her ex-husband in the UK who kicked her out after just six months.

Bang got by and undertook menial jobs. She took pride in the fact that she supported herself as a Chinese writer and documentary filmmaker; as a freelance translator for a watch company, with a film workshop in a German university and invited to present at British Film Institute and Free Word Centre. Commissions from journalism work rolled in and Bang volunteered at Chinese Information & Advice Centre in London, providing support to domestic violence victims and refugee seekers. Her language skills and personal experience were put to good use to help others.

Two years later David and Bang met. They don’t understand why the UKBA thinks immigrants are only here to take advantage of the UK benefit system. Bang has never claimed benefits in her life, and as a non-EEA person is unable to claim benefits anyway.

They will never forget the day they received the previous visa refusal. It was on David's birthday. The couple was devastated. Having to rely on the compassion of an ultra-suspicious government simply to be able to live with the person you love is a lamentable, exhausting and an utterly depressing experience.

They overcame this and went on to making plans to get married – formalisation of their relationship would surely satisfy the Home Office they thought. David has a flying phobia; not having been on a plane for 15 years. However he agreed to take a 12 hour flight to China to marry Bang with her family present.

The couple does not struggle financially; they lived together comfortably on David's income from a permanent job, well over £18,600. They have their own flat, sufficient savings and Bang also sold her flat in China to minimise the mortgage.

However the couple is worried. They are aware many applications - despite satisfying all requirements - are being refused for minor or erroneous reasons.

David has returned to England as he has no holiday left, and Bang is in China waiting for the decision on her visa. The couple has been waiting since 14th June 2013. Neither can relax because of the constant worry of Bang not being able to return home and the anxiety of not being rich enough to satisfy the UK government’s excessive requirements to safeguard their future.

Theresa May, let her stay

https://www.facebook.com/saveYilei

Please, please, please, look into the unfairness of these new immigration laws that unfairly discriminate against British citizens and are about to tear my family apart.



Petition :
http://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/teresa-may-dont-force-my-babies-mother-to-leave-the-uk

More Facebook campaigning :
http://britcits.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/get-braulio-back-with-his-family-and.html

China orders children to visit their elderly parents.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-20860264

Would be interesting to get China's thoughts on these stories :
http://britcits.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/elderly%20dependants