Gerard - the epilogue
Our good friend and comrade Gerard has now awoken from his #settlementvisanightmare, documented here : http://britcits.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/gerard , and here : https://twitter.com/search?q=%23settlementvisanightmare&src=hash .
However, as an epilogue of sorts, and in light of today's decision to scrap the UKBA, we submit two pieces of primary documentation :
Gerard's letter to Rob Whiteman, the soon to be former shogun of the UKBA : http://www.scribd.com/doc/132520547/Gerard-Hearne-to-Rob-Whiteman .
One rather feels that Gerard is channelling the spirit of Henry Root here... most amusing...
Our close ally Lord Avebury's ( https://twitter.com/EricAvebury ) somewhat terse note on the matter to the Immigration Minister : http://www.scribd.com/doc/132520722/Avebury-to-Harper
No doubt they get an avalanche of similar complaints every day because of the hoops they are demanding people go through to be reunited with their spouses. You may have succeeded in reducing the immigration numbers by a few hundred by making it so difficult to get family reunification visas, but I hope you realise the enormous personal cost of this ‘achievement’.
Indeed!
Showing posts with label gerard. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gerard. Show all posts
Tuesday, 26 March 2013
Thursday, 21 March 2013
Waking from a settlementvisanightmare
https://twitter.com/gerardhearne 's settlement visa nightmare is over, but the fight goes on for others.
https://twitter.com/search?q=%23settlementvisanightmare&src=hash
http://britcits.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/gerard
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https://twitter.com/BritCits immigrant of the day :
Malala Yousafzai http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-21846817
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Family migration policies in the UK: What can academics contribute?
http://compasoxfordblog.co.uk/2013/03/family-migration-policies-in-the-uk-what-can-academics-contribute/
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'If we want to be serious about growth, we will need to be positive about migration.'
http://notthetreasuryview.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/immigration-as-growth-strategy.html?m=0
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A song of hope for women far from home.
http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/community/a-song-of-hope-for-women-far-from-home-1-5508019
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1000 years of Polish history in 8 minutes.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slFUDZtpZVw
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Tuesday, 12 March 2013
Crowning moment of eloquence
Below, with permission, is a wonderfully written piece of prose by our co-conspirator, Gerard. It had me smiling on the train as I read it on my phone this morning - no mean achievement. It's addressed to the bureaucrats/victimisers in question, with many interested parties copied in.
I've written about Gerard's situation before (mentioned here http://britcits.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/a-good-day.html , and here http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-21178405 ). Gerard writes eloquently and wittily on the whole sorry situation and we reproduce the letter with his permission.
Somehow I don't think he's the kind of man to give up on this.
He tweets here https://twitter.com/gerardhearne - I recommend following him, and the hashtag https://twitter.com/search/realtime?q=%23settlementvisanightmare&src=hash
The government has succeeded in reducing immigration numbers for family reunification by a couple of hundred - for now (because people have agency, and will not tolerate being separated from their families). But this has come at an enormous personal cost for many, no doubt with consequences for the future.
---
Dear Sir or Madam,
I am well aware that First-tier Tribunal have given you a deadline of 2 May. They allow up to three weeks for the appeal to reach you, i.e. by 10 January, so of course I am told that it reached you on 10 January, but it may well have been late December.
You are then allowed up to 16 weeks, i.e. by 2 May, to make your decision, so you seem to be hinting strongly that you will wait until then to respond, because you can. That date, 2 May, is the upper limit, it does not mean that you have to wait until then. You could equally well respond in January, February, March or April. But doubtless you won’t, because you don’t have to.
You have Rob Whiteman claiming that you offer a ‘world class’ service’ and yet you seem to want to cause British citizens and their spouses, who pay you a LOT of money, the maximum delay and inconvenience, simply because you can.
Why do you approach the issuing of visas as something resembling a gladiatorial contest, a fight to the death? It is as if every visa you issue is another defeat, another failure. Instead of celebrating the fact that two people have found each other, might have found happiness, might be able to lead a contented productive life together, you seek to make that as difficult as possible and to delay it as long as possible, because you can.
There is nothing clever in an odious policy that results in the maximum delay, inconvenience and unhappiness. The effect of what you are doing on a global scale is to build up a huge pool of anger and resentment that will have who knows what knock-on effects and repercussions in the future. In the short term it results in facebook groups and organisations that offer assistance and run campaigns for change, because they/we can. We talk to, support and help each other, because we can. While you see us as the enemy, utterly bizarre and ludicrous if you pause to think about it, we will team up, and become politicised, to fight back, because we can. And we will.
And the result is a lot of wasted time, effort and energy on all sides and at many levels. We have a home secretary who is hell bent on reducing net immigration to the tens of thousands, i.e. a purely arbitrary target of under 100,000 for who knows what reason, other than to appease a populace indoctrinated by the Daily Mail to see immigrants as something bad and negative. Because she can? But without its immigrants many parts of the UK, e.g. the London Underground and the NHS, would cease to function. And for reasons known only to you, you seem to want to support Rob Whiteman and Theresa May in their aim to ‘keep them out’, because they can try to. An opinion poll would probably find a majority favoured the return of hanging, would you support and implement that too? Because you can’t.
In the UK there is net immigration, now falling rapidly as you keep out the foreign students, the foreign business people, the foreign investment and the foreign spouses and family members, because you can, for now, none of which is doing the economy any good at all. The deficit and the debt will only be brought under control by expanding the economy, Keynesian economics, not by making savage cuts across the board. It does not and is not working, because it doesn’t. You don’t turn a business round by saving on staples, stamps and paper clips and sacking employees while the sales manager makes wild promises, because it won’t work.
But net immigration includes substantial emigration, now including doctors emigrating to support elderly relatives abroad because they can’t get UK visas for them, and because they can and must. Plenty of Brits are getting out because they have had enough, because they can; one day I might join them, but for now, for various reasons, I will be staying in the UK, though both France and Thailand have their appeal. In fact, once you finally do what you are supposed to do and could have done a long, long time ago, we may well split our time between all three, because we might like and choose to.
Since you are choosing to make our lives, like those of so many others, so difficult, I will point out a few salient facts to you, because I can. I’m not going to tell you a sob story because I am above that. I am resigned to you having no compassion for anyone and seeking only to stretch things out for as long as the rulebook and the court will let you, because you can. It’s a very sad state of affairs, I almost feel sorry for you, almost but not quite, because I am keenly aware of the harm and the hurt that the UKBA causes around the world. In brief, I do not expect you ever to do the decent thing, because you don’t, only what you are forced to do by ‘the rules’ and by the court, i.e. very reluctantly because you must, especially for someone like me who answers back, because I can and I will. Why and how you have got to this point I do dot know, but if you have no conscience then so be it, because it is so.
I will do and/or have done what I need to do to get my wife her visa. We are married and we will live together, because we will. And I will do as much as I legitimately and legally can to help others get their visas, because I can, because you have driven me to that. The more you inconvenience us, the more I want to help others, because I can. It is not a war but it feels like one. And for the record, talking of wars, my two maternal uncles died in World War One, ‘the war to end all wars’, because one chose to (Gunner John Henry, 690400, 2 Aug 1896 - 13 Sep 1917) and the other had to (Lance Corporal Henry Thomas, 204241, 26 Mar 1898 - 23 Aug 1918 ), for various reasons, before another war to make the world ‘a better place’. I presume all that is lost upon you as you are fighting your own war, against me and my wife and against all the other couples like us. And do you know why? Because I’m sure I don’t, other than because you can.
In my case I divorced my wife because, after 24 years of mutual fidelity, she chose to have an affair with and leave me for a fat teetotal chain-smoking Greek Cypriot motorbiking social worker who knocked her around a bit, allegedly, and eventually succumbed to lung cancer, because he did ... or is there another explanation? I used the exact same description of him in my recent long letter to Rob Whiteman, with copies sent to various interested parties (like this one), because I could.
And then I had a rough decade but I’m still here, because I’m strong, ‘Somehow we survive, and tenderness frustrated does not wither’ (Dennis Brutus). I survived the deep clinical depression, I took a sabbatical, I finished my French degree, I worked in France as a language assistant, twice, I did an MA, I rented out my old photographic studio, I still do, I rented out my home, I paid off all my debts, I supported and support my two sons, I was a volunteer Samaritan, I got into academic proofreading, I do a lot of work for foreign students, I export my work and bring foreign currency into the UK, I pay my tax and NI, I support my wife and her elderly widowed mother, because I do what’s right. I paid huge fees to you, because I had to. I tolerate your stubborn, obstinate and obstructive implementation of ‘the rules’, because I must.
In my wife’s case she found someone for the first time in her life. So she gave up her job at Redalpi/Alpithai in Bangkok, she gave up the little apartment she shared with her friend in Wangthonglang, she rented out her little house, her little refuge, outside Bangkok, she sold her nice Isuzu pickup to her younger sister, she worked through all the Thai bureaucracy, which is vast but fair and relatively fast, because she could and because she chose to.
So yes, two people found each other and married, because we love each other. And what is your response to all of that?
To make us wait, just because you can. And because you have no imagination?
Good day to you,
Gerard Hearne (MA).
Below, with permission, is a wonderfully written piece of prose by our co-conspirator, Gerard. It had me smiling on the train as I read it on my phone this morning - no mean achievement. It's addressed to the bureaucrats/victimisers in question, with many interested parties copied in.
I've written about Gerard's situation before (mentioned here http://britcits.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/a-good-day.html , and here http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-21178405 ). Gerard writes eloquently and wittily on the whole sorry situation and we reproduce the letter with his permission.
Somehow I don't think he's the kind of man to give up on this.
He tweets here https://twitter.com/gerardhearne - I recommend following him, and the hashtag https://twitter.com/search/realtime?q=%23settlementvisanightmare&src=hash
The government has succeeded in reducing immigration numbers for family reunification by a couple of hundred - for now (because people have agency, and will not tolerate being separated from their families). But this has come at an enormous personal cost for many, no doubt with consequences for the future.
---
Dear Sir or Madam,
I am well aware that First-tier Tribunal have given you a deadline of 2 May. They allow up to three weeks for the appeal to reach you, i.e. by 10 January, so of course I am told that it reached you on 10 January, but it may well have been late December.
You are then allowed up to 16 weeks, i.e. by 2 May, to make your decision, so you seem to be hinting strongly that you will wait until then to respond, because you can. That date, 2 May, is the upper limit, it does not mean that you have to wait until then. You could equally well respond in January, February, March or April. But doubtless you won’t, because you don’t have to.
You have Rob Whiteman claiming that you offer a ‘world class’ service’ and yet you seem to want to cause British citizens and their spouses, who pay you a LOT of money, the maximum delay and inconvenience, simply because you can.
Why do you approach the issuing of visas as something resembling a gladiatorial contest, a fight to the death? It is as if every visa you issue is another defeat, another failure. Instead of celebrating the fact that two people have found each other, might have found happiness, might be able to lead a contented productive life together, you seek to make that as difficult as possible and to delay it as long as possible, because you can.
There is nothing clever in an odious policy that results in the maximum delay, inconvenience and unhappiness. The effect of what you are doing on a global scale is to build up a huge pool of anger and resentment that will have who knows what knock-on effects and repercussions in the future. In the short term it results in facebook groups and organisations that offer assistance and run campaigns for change, because they/we can. We talk to, support and help each other, because we can. While you see us as the enemy, utterly bizarre and ludicrous if you pause to think about it, we will team up, and become politicised, to fight back, because we can. And we will.
And the result is a lot of wasted time, effort and energy on all sides and at many levels. We have a home secretary who is hell bent on reducing net immigration to the tens of thousands, i.e. a purely arbitrary target of under 100,000 for who knows what reason, other than to appease a populace indoctrinated by the Daily Mail to see immigrants as something bad and negative. Because she can? But without its immigrants many parts of the UK, e.g. the London Underground and the NHS, would cease to function. And for reasons known only to you, you seem to want to support Rob Whiteman and Theresa May in their aim to ‘keep them out’, because they can try to. An opinion poll would probably find a majority favoured the return of hanging, would you support and implement that too? Because you can’t.
In the UK there is net immigration, now falling rapidly as you keep out the foreign students, the foreign business people, the foreign investment and the foreign spouses and family members, because you can, for now, none of which is doing the economy any good at all. The deficit and the debt will only be brought under control by expanding the economy, Keynesian economics, not by making savage cuts across the board. It does not and is not working, because it doesn’t. You don’t turn a business round by saving on staples, stamps and paper clips and sacking employees while the sales manager makes wild promises, because it won’t work.
But net immigration includes substantial emigration, now including doctors emigrating to support elderly relatives abroad because they can’t get UK visas for them, and because they can and must. Plenty of Brits are getting out because they have had enough, because they can; one day I might join them, but for now, for various reasons, I will be staying in the UK, though both France and Thailand have their appeal. In fact, once you finally do what you are supposed to do and could have done a long, long time ago, we may well split our time between all three, because we might like and choose to.
Since you are choosing to make our lives, like those of so many others, so difficult, I will point out a few salient facts to you, because I can. I’m not going to tell you a sob story because I am above that. I am resigned to you having no compassion for anyone and seeking only to stretch things out for as long as the rulebook and the court will let you, because you can. It’s a very sad state of affairs, I almost feel sorry for you, almost but not quite, because I am keenly aware of the harm and the hurt that the UKBA causes around the world. In brief, I do not expect you ever to do the decent thing, because you don’t, only what you are forced to do by ‘the rules’ and by the court, i.e. very reluctantly because you must, especially for someone like me who answers back, because I can and I will. Why and how you have got to this point I do dot know, but if you have no conscience then so be it, because it is so.
I will do and/or have done what I need to do to get my wife her visa. We are married and we will live together, because we will. And I will do as much as I legitimately and legally can to help others get their visas, because I can, because you have driven me to that. The more you inconvenience us, the more I want to help others, because I can. It is not a war but it feels like one. And for the record, talking of wars, my two maternal uncles died in World War One, ‘the war to end all wars’, because one chose to (Gunner John Henry, 690400, 2 Aug 1896 - 13 Sep 1917) and the other had to (Lance Corporal Henry Thomas, 204241, 26 Mar 1898 - 23 Aug 1918 ), for various reasons, before another war to make the world ‘a better place’. I presume all that is lost upon you as you are fighting your own war, against me and my wife and against all the other couples like us. And do you know why? Because I’m sure I don’t, other than because you can.
In my case I divorced my wife because, after 24 years of mutual fidelity, she chose to have an affair with and leave me for a fat teetotal chain-smoking Greek Cypriot motorbiking social worker who knocked her around a bit, allegedly, and eventually succumbed to lung cancer, because he did ... or is there another explanation? I used the exact same description of him in my recent long letter to Rob Whiteman, with copies sent to various interested parties (like this one), because I could.
And then I had a rough decade but I’m still here, because I’m strong, ‘Somehow we survive, and tenderness frustrated does not wither’ (Dennis Brutus). I survived the deep clinical depression, I took a sabbatical, I finished my French degree, I worked in France as a language assistant, twice, I did an MA, I rented out my old photographic studio, I still do, I rented out my home, I paid off all my debts, I supported and support my two sons, I was a volunteer Samaritan, I got into academic proofreading, I do a lot of work for foreign students, I export my work and bring foreign currency into the UK, I pay my tax and NI, I support my wife and her elderly widowed mother, because I do what’s right. I paid huge fees to you, because I had to. I tolerate your stubborn, obstinate and obstructive implementation of ‘the rules’, because I must.
In my wife’s case she found someone for the first time in her life. So she gave up her job at Redalpi/Alpithai in Bangkok, she gave up the little apartment she shared with her friend in Wangthonglang, she rented out her little house, her little refuge, outside Bangkok, she sold her nice Isuzu pickup to her younger sister, she worked through all the Thai bureaucracy, which is vast but fair and relatively fast, because she could and because she chose to.
So yes, two people found each other and married, because we love each other. And what is your response to all of that?
To make us wait, just because you can. And because you have no imagination?
Good day to you,
Gerard Hearne (MA).
Wednesday, 30 January 2013
Gerard and Vilai
“UKBA is happy to take the visa application fees, and find spurious reasons to reject visa applications, in order to take yet more fees....”
Gerard is a British citizen and 59 years old. He is a seventh child and grew up in a loving family.
Gerard’s wife, Vilai, is a good woman, and Gerard, a good man, good husband and good dad. Gerard and his wife are being forced live apart, surviving on emails and phone calls. Gerard does not need to work, having paid off his mortgage. Yet he works, yet he pays his taxes, and yet he is kept apart from his wife.
To be together in the UK they must now embark on further unnecessary onerous bureaucracy to satisfy a cold heartless agency doing this government’s cruel callous bidding. Family friendly? Gerard and Vilai think not; to the UKBA they are just two more pawns contributing towards statistics showing what a good job 'they' are doing to protect ‘our borders’ and ‘the taxpayer’. But Gerard too is a taxpayer.
Thon has never been married before, nor had any children. Thon would prefer they live in Thailand, near her mum and four sisters, but Gerard prefers the UK, where his home and children are. So Vilai is prepared to give up her family, friends and career so that Gerard doesn’t have to give up his.
Gerard is very accomplished having attended university not once, but four times. He has been self-employed most of his life, and was a professional photographer for about 25 years, in the Cumbria area. He has worked hard, worked long hours and made many weddings and other events memorable for many British families. Indeed, when his work expanded to include a letting agency renting out holiday homes in the Loire Valley, Gerard’s photos were even featured on the front cover of Chez Nous.
The work was very successful and Gerard and his first wife contributed a lot in taxes to the British
government. To help develop the business further, Gerard went to study French: conversation classes, A-level at night school, a BA at university starting at age 47, at every level he was encouraged to go further.
He soon closed his studio and rented it out as half shop, half flat. All however wasn’t to continue smoothly.
In 2002, two years into his BA degree, Gerard’s wife of 24 years admitted to an ongoing affair. Gerard was shattered and subsequently diagnosed with severe clinical depression.
As one must do, however, he learnt to move on, going to work in a BT call centre before completing his degree at university where, despite the upheavals, he succeeded in obtaining a 2:1, a hair's breadth away from a first. With his qualifications, he was offered work at a university in Brittany (France), as a language assistant. Gerard spent a year in France while also completing the divorce proceedings. Many of his students were the children of families from Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria, and all delightful students.
He was able to retain his house and studio ... and a hefty mortgage; his other assets, including his share of the French business, went to his now ex-wife. Gerard knows all about beans on toast and no heat; better that than claim benefits. He is a proud man.
Gerard went on to complete an MA TEFL course, again at university, just six weeks after burying his mum, aged 97 years. Both Gerard’s uncles (John and Thomas) died in World War One, in 1917 (Ypres) and 1918 (between Arras and Cambrai), aged 21 and 20.
Gerard completed the MA, along with students from Greece, Iran, China and Taiwan, for whom he did some proofreading. He worked so hard he got a distinction for his dissertation.
Being over 50, Gerard found obtaining work difficult. He spent some savings on renovating his home. In the summer of 2007, he worked as a postman for a short period, followed by some proofreading work. Then he spent several months helping his elder son renovate the house he had bought in north Manchester – hard unpaid physical graft. Gerard had planned to sell his house, pay off his mortgage and perhaps move to France, but helping his son meant he got caught up in ‘the crash’, and he missed the boat.
So he rented out his renovated house and went to France on the off chance that some work would come his way. He succeeded in obtaining a language assistant job in Lille. As before, he paid all the deductions in France and living/ travelling expenses (not tax deductible), more tax on his French salary in the UK, and tax on his rental income. He came back to find the flat he had ented out trashed, not for the first time, and had to spend several weeks sorting that out.
In late 2009 Gerard was fed up, lonely and disillusioned. However, finally, things were to take a turn for the better; the mortgage was nearly paid off and Gerard met his now wife, Vilai. They spent a lot of time together in Thailand and the UK.
Last year Gerard applied for a visit visa in Bangkok, but was turned down, with the usual ‘insufficient reason to return’, despite having a long-term job to go back to and proof of same. While querying the decision, Gerard contacted his MP’s office and other individuals. Mysteriously, the decision was reversed and no explanation was given. Gerard wanted Vilai to marry him while she was here, but Vilai had promised her boss she would go back, and so she did.
The plan last December was for Gerard to spend more time with Vilai, his fiancée, and proceed to marriage if and when they were both sure. She always was, he became so, despite and perhaps because of some cultural differences.
Finally, one fine day, they got married. The intention was Gerard would return to UK with his wife, but they were hit by the English test requirement; it had to be taken and passed before applying for a visa, along with the health checks.
Gerard firmly believes, in line with various studies, that the place to learn English is in an English-speaking country, by immersion (acquisition), not just in a classroom. Soon it became apparent that they would not be travelling together as Gerard had urgent matters to attend to at home. Gerard did at least hope that his wife would be with him in time for the Olympic torch coming through his village. Alas, it was not to be.
Thon sat the English test in March and passed first time, although it took until May for the certificate to arrive. There was then an IOM query over her TB test, and it took another two months for the all-clear to be received. All these delays meant that they could not submit a spouse visa application before 9 July.
Finally, in August, Vilai was able to apply for a settlement visa, pay over £800 (Gerard reimbursed her of course) and wait up to 12 weeks for the UKBA to decide if this married couple could live together.
Worse was to come. Vilai’s application was rejected as the UKBA wanted a vast array of additional
documentation. No chance was given to respond. It was a rejection, and probably another £800+ to be paid before they would consider this spouse's application again.
The UKBA appears to be happy to advise what they want after they turn you down; then, on subsequent applications, they may find something else, and so it goes on. They don’t ask for more information during the waiting period, which is scandalous.
What does Gerard think of all this? He thinks it’s appalling. What should have been a happy joyous time after a decade of misery turned into an edelweiss trampled on by jackboots. HMRC is happy to accept the thousands he pays in taxes, meanwhile the UKBA is even happier to take the visa application fees, and find spurious reasons to reject visa applications, in order to take yet more fees.
This government doesn’t care how long they keep married couples apart; they don’t care about British citizens and their spouses; they don’t seem to respect marriage or family. Article 8 is just a thorn in their side. All British citizens hear about are scam marriages, terrorists, drug dealers and people-trafficking.
They somehow seem to have forgotten that there are still many decent honest citizens who just want to live their lives.
“UKBA is happy to take the visa application fees, and find spurious reasons to reject visa applications, in order to take yet more fees....”
Gerard is a British citizen and 59 years old. He is a seventh child and grew up in a loving family.
Gerard’s wife, Vilai, is a good woman, and Gerard, a good man, good husband and good dad. Gerard and his wife are being forced live apart, surviving on emails and phone calls. Gerard does not need to work, having paid off his mortgage. Yet he works, yet he pays his taxes, and yet he is kept apart from his wife.
To be together in the UK they must now embark on further unnecessary onerous bureaucracy to satisfy a cold heartless agency doing this government’s cruel callous bidding. Family friendly? Gerard and Vilai think not; to the UKBA they are just two more pawns contributing towards statistics showing what a good job 'they' are doing to protect ‘our borders’ and ‘the taxpayer’. But Gerard too is a taxpayer.
Thon has never been married before, nor had any children. Thon would prefer they live in Thailand, near her mum and four sisters, but Gerard prefers the UK, where his home and children are. So Vilai is prepared to give up her family, friends and career so that Gerard doesn’t have to give up his.
Gerard is very accomplished having attended university not once, but four times. He has been self-employed most of his life, and was a professional photographer for about 25 years, in the Cumbria area. He has worked hard, worked long hours and made many weddings and other events memorable for many British families. Indeed, when his work expanded to include a letting agency renting out holiday homes in the Loire Valley, Gerard’s photos were even featured on the front cover of Chez Nous.
The work was very successful and Gerard and his first wife contributed a lot in taxes to the British
government. To help develop the business further, Gerard went to study French: conversation classes, A-level at night school, a BA at university starting at age 47, at every level he was encouraged to go further.
He soon closed his studio and rented it out as half shop, half flat. All however wasn’t to continue smoothly.
In 2002, two years into his BA degree, Gerard’s wife of 24 years admitted to an ongoing affair. Gerard was shattered and subsequently diagnosed with severe clinical depression.
As one must do, however, he learnt to move on, going to work in a BT call centre before completing his degree at university where, despite the upheavals, he succeeded in obtaining a 2:1, a hair's breadth away from a first. With his qualifications, he was offered work at a university in Brittany (France), as a language assistant. Gerard spent a year in France while also completing the divorce proceedings. Many of his students were the children of families from Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria, and all delightful students.
He was able to retain his house and studio ... and a hefty mortgage; his other assets, including his share of the French business, went to his now ex-wife. Gerard knows all about beans on toast and no heat; better that than claim benefits. He is a proud man.
Gerard went on to complete an MA TEFL course, again at university, just six weeks after burying his mum, aged 97 years. Both Gerard’s uncles (John and Thomas) died in World War One, in 1917 (Ypres) and 1918 (between Arras and Cambrai), aged 21 and 20.
Gerard completed the MA, along with students from Greece, Iran, China and Taiwan, for whom he did some proofreading. He worked so hard he got a distinction for his dissertation.
Being over 50, Gerard found obtaining work difficult. He spent some savings on renovating his home. In the summer of 2007, he worked as a postman for a short period, followed by some proofreading work. Then he spent several months helping his elder son renovate the house he had bought in north Manchester – hard unpaid physical graft. Gerard had planned to sell his house, pay off his mortgage and perhaps move to France, but helping his son meant he got caught up in ‘the crash’, and he missed the boat.
So he rented out his renovated house and went to France on the off chance that some work would come his way. He succeeded in obtaining a language assistant job in Lille. As before, he paid all the deductions in France and living/ travelling expenses (not tax deductible), more tax on his French salary in the UK, and tax on his rental income. He came back to find the flat he had ented out trashed, not for the first time, and had to spend several weeks sorting that out.
In late 2009 Gerard was fed up, lonely and disillusioned. However, finally, things were to take a turn for the better; the mortgage was nearly paid off and Gerard met his now wife, Vilai. They spent a lot of time together in Thailand and the UK.
Last year Gerard applied for a visit visa in Bangkok, but was turned down, with the usual ‘insufficient reason to return’, despite having a long-term job to go back to and proof of same. While querying the decision, Gerard contacted his MP’s office and other individuals. Mysteriously, the decision was reversed and no explanation was given. Gerard wanted Vilai to marry him while she was here, but Vilai had promised her boss she would go back, and so she did.
The plan last December was for Gerard to spend more time with Vilai, his fiancée, and proceed to marriage if and when they were both sure. She always was, he became so, despite and perhaps because of some cultural differences.
Finally, one fine day, they got married. The intention was Gerard would return to UK with his wife, but they were hit by the English test requirement; it had to be taken and passed before applying for a visa, along with the health checks.
Gerard firmly believes, in line with various studies, that the place to learn English is in an English-speaking country, by immersion (acquisition), not just in a classroom. Soon it became apparent that they would not be travelling together as Gerard had urgent matters to attend to at home. Gerard did at least hope that his wife would be with him in time for the Olympic torch coming through his village. Alas, it was not to be.
Thon sat the English test in March and passed first time, although it took until May for the certificate to arrive. There was then an IOM query over her TB test, and it took another two months for the all-clear to be received. All these delays meant that they could not submit a spouse visa application before 9 July.
Finally, in August, Vilai was able to apply for a settlement visa, pay over £800 (Gerard reimbursed her of course) and wait up to 12 weeks for the UKBA to decide if this married couple could live together.
Worse was to come. Vilai’s application was rejected as the UKBA wanted a vast array of additional
documentation. No chance was given to respond. It was a rejection, and probably another £800+ to be paid before they would consider this spouse's application again.
The UKBA appears to be happy to advise what they want after they turn you down; then, on subsequent applications, they may find something else, and so it goes on. They don’t ask for more information during the waiting period, which is scandalous.
What does Gerard think of all this? He thinks it’s appalling. What should have been a happy joyous time after a decade of misery turned into an edelweiss trampled on by jackboots. HMRC is happy to accept the thousands he pays in taxes, meanwhile the UKBA is even happier to take the visa application fees, and find spurious reasons to reject visa applications, in order to take yet more fees.
This government doesn’t care how long they keep married couples apart; they don’t care about British citizens and their spouses; they don’t seem to respect marriage or family. Article 8 is just a thorn in their side. All British citizens hear about are scam marriages, terrorists, drug dealers and people-trafficking.
They somehow seem to have forgotten that there are still many decent honest citizens who just want to live their lives.
Thursday, 24 January 2013
A good day.
A very busy day for us today, with a number of our supporters making media appearances. It is very encouraging to see this story finally gaining traction.
The story of the ongoing tragedy of divided families, coupled with the farce of kafkaesque governmental bureaucracy, will not go away.
We will do our best to summarise, along with the usual links :-
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John Vine's report on marriage visa backlog.
http://icinspector.independent.gov.uk/decisions-in-marriage-applications-are-reasonable-but-chief-inspector-raises-concerns-about-backlogs-and-a-lack-of-consideration-of-the-best-interests-of-children/
'However, once again I was concerned to find backlogs within the Agency. These consisted of 14,000 requests from applicants to re-consider decisions to refuse them further leave to remain, and a further 2,100 cases where people were awaiting an initial decision on their application for further leave to remain. Some dated back nearly a decade. This is completely unacceptable and I expect the Agency to deal with both types of case as a matter of urgency.
'Immigration decisions can have a significant impact on children. My inspection could find no evidence in the files that specific consideration was given to the best interests of children in 59 of the 60 cases where children were involved. In addition, I found that caseworkers in the UK routinely considered Human Rights, but this rarely happened when the application was made overseas.'
More - http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2013/jan/23/inspector-uk-border-agency-backlog
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UKBA backlog: Couple's story.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-21178405
'A report has revealed a significant backlog in the UK Border agency's dealing with marriage and civil partnership immigration applications.
'The findings from the Chief Inspector for Borders and Immigration revealed 14,000 requests from applicants to re-consider decisions and 2,100 cases where people were awaiting an initial decision, some of them dating back a decade.
'Gerard Hearne, from Rotherham, explained that he has been waiting for a visa for his Thai wife for nearly ten months. '
This story concerns http://www.britcits.com supporter Gerard Hearne, his wife, and the hoops they have had to jump through. (I may be over-using the word 'kafkaesque' somewhat, but it seems strangely appropriate).
Listen to Gerard on the BBC Today Programme, starting at 02:10:00 :
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01q02mm/Today_24_01_2013/
Gerard on Twitter : https://twitter.com/gphearne
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Inspector uncovers huge UKBA immigrant backlog.
http://www.channel4.com/news/inspector-uncovers-huge-ukba-immigrant-backlog
Another BritCits supporter Andy (who we have mentioned before - http://britcits.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/andy ) and his situation, on Channel 4 news.
Skype Mummy : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhHpaq4KBxY
Andy on Twitter : https://twitter.com/andyrussellshao
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UKBA: Your stories.
http://m.guardian.co.uk/uk/blog/2013/jan/24/uk-border-agency-your-stories
'Guardian readers share their stories and experiences of dealing with the UK Border Agency in seeking permission to stay in Britain for themselves or their partners '
Everyone gets to have their say!
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Very good coverage of the UKBA backlog also on the BBC Asian Network : http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01pt525
'Immigration inspectors uncover thousands of cases yet to be dealt with by the UK Border Agency, plus the ancient Kathak dance form inspiring a new generation of British Asians.'
Via https://twitter.com/jcwinews
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https://twitter.com/Channel4News tweets -
Immigration has yr passport but wont process it; retrieve it & go to the back of the queue - Kafka? no, Britain today: http://bit.ly/W1U0Gc
https://twitter.com/ZrileB tweets -
#bbcr4 John Humphrys cried 'you could not make it up' 'these are peoples lives we are talking about, #UKBAshambles http://bbc.in/SGiFzi
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Expat or immigrant? A personal reflection.
http://thebookisonthetable.me/2012/12/20/expat-or-immigrant/
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UKBA refuse to remove overstayers.
http://www.freemovement.org.uk/2013/01/24/ukba-refuse-to-remove-overstayers/
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Refugee children and family unity.
http://jcwi.org.uk/blog/2013/01/23/refugee-children-and-family-unity
'Regular readers of this blog won’t need to have been blessed with the sharpest observational skills to notice our passion for family unity. Our key campaign is centred on cross-border couples who are partly rooted in the UK. JCWI views immigration policy and law from a human rights based starting point, and the right to family life is enshrined in the UN Declaration of Human Rights and, of course, The European Convention on Human Rights.'
From our good friends at the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants.
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Virtual solidarity with Ivo Kuka.
http://ncadc.org.uk/campaigns/ivo/
'... 'Let down by the fast-track detention system and his previous solicitors, Ivo has now been given the chance to appeal his asylum refusal, having already been threatened with removal. You can attend a virtual vigil on the day of his appeal (Monday 28 January) to show solidarity with Ivo in his fight for justice. '
Via https://twitter.com/ncadc
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Migrant Chinese workers dance Gangnam style over unpaid wages.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jan/23/chinese-workers-gangnam-style-protest
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In pictures: Vienna Votivkirche asylum-seeker protest.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-21179674
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