"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.
1.New front cover graphic!
2.Print out itineraries/hotel accommodation
3.Visa is free
4.Cover letter incorporating the old and the new
one
5.Relevant parts of the Directive
6.If quizzed on entry what to say.
7.Warning ‘Do not mention ‘Surinder Singh’ on
entry
8.Don’t be alarmed at number of days stamped in
passport
9.Factor in Prices, Health Care, and Transport
10.New links to Self-Employment
11.Non EU working without stamp 4
12.New link for PPS numbers
13.Opening Bank Accounts /Changes
14.Submit EU1 earliest opportunity and include
cover letter for missing docs.
15.Centre of Life issues
16.Family Permit Apps and inclusion of ‘Teleperformance’
17.Map with locations and distances and times to
travel to Dublin
18.PRTB explained in Family Permit Docs section.
19.Section 5 on EEA2 app relating to Singh and tick
box if you have FP
20.Warning about planning and lack of planning
21.Additional useful sites
And for 2015 :
1.Introduction ‘Who Is Surinder Singh’? 2.Cain Ruling, with regards to
unmarried durable relationships. 3.Marriage information site regarding
getting married in Ireland. 4.Rewrite and change of fonts to make
the guide easier to read. 5.Info on 30 day limit to submit all
documents for C visa. 6.Travel any time within the validity
period of C visa. 7.Emphasis on irrelevance what is
stamped in passports on entry (90 days) 8.Stress importance of choosing
location regarding homes and jobs. 9.Hidden costs e.g. TV licence,
dentistry etc. and how expensive. 10.When choosing schools, make sure they
are not oversubscribed, other costs include school uniforms & books etc. 11.Extra house rental sites added. 12.Article 23 from Directive confirming
right to work for non EU. 13.Warnings on costs of living. 14.Overview of PPSN with added sites for
tax & PPSN information. 15.Sending in EU1 application before
resuming work. 16.Explanatory Leaflet EU1 link. 17.Check Bank charges with link to
comparison websites detailing charges. 18.Explanation of PRTB. 19.Suggestions for integration into your
local community for COL. 20.New EEA(FAM) RC application form +
new fee and fee for biometrics. 21.Emphasis on patience will be needed
throughout your stay in your host country. 22.To offset printing and photocopying
costs suggest buying a cheap 3 in 1 printer. 23.Change of disclaimer description to
now include people need to consult a lawyer or immigration specialist if
needing advice. 24.New front page cover with new wording
and description. 25.New graphic and vector art to
compliment the wording and new site inclusions. 26.Explanation of abbreviations e.g. FP,
COL, RC etc.
It's important to highlight that this is a guide, not a manual, as
things change all the time and the nature of these things means that
the sphere of knowledge is always growing.
This route is not easy - and preparation is key. But the rewards are great.
Lewis Clark, a victim of the family division rules (his wife-to-be is American), shares his story with a group of comedians who can't really help. Still, a problem shared is a problem halved, as they say.
The general incredulity that the poor lad gets is quite breathtaking really. Good luck Lewis, if you read this, and thanks for sharing the issue (which apparently even hip socially-aware comedians know very little about)!
(Thanks to Sanjee for sharing the link).
Thursday, 16 April 2015
Write to your future MP
Migrant Rights Network's Our Vote campaign is urging voters to write to their candidates to ask for fairness and justice in immigration: to protect the right to family life, end mass detention, end the 'hostile environment', and more.
The rather excellent online tool locates local parliamentary candidates who have an email address recorded and lets you contact them.
In the interests of all the families that have been divided and harried over the last parliament, I urge you to make your voice heard and get commitments from your candidates - by using this link :
Source : BBC News with Analysis by Europe correspondent Chris Morris http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-30002138 The ruling Today the European Court of Justice gave its ruling on a case that could have a wide ranging impact on European Free Movement. "The European Court of Justice has said member states are within their rights to refuse to give financial help to unemployed EU citizens who move to that country just to claim benefits". The most concerning part of the ruling could be the part relating to the right of residency. "The Court also said Ms Dano and her son could not claim a right of residence in Germany because they do not have sufficient resources to support themselves" It could pave the way for even more restrictions to be announced before the end of the year. "The BBC's assistant political editor Norman Smith said the government - which has often been at odds with the European Court of Justice in the past - was hailing the ruling as evidence the UK and Germany were on the "same page" when it came to benefit abuses and could pave the way for further restrictions in the coming months."
"The prime minister has said he wants to go further and will set out his plans in a speech before the end of the year, amid pressure from Conservative backbenchers to act."
The extent of the effect of family division rules is highlighted by these recent news stories, which have been covered in the local press. It would be good for national media and national politicians to join the dots to see how widespread these stories are - thousands upon thousands of families affected or divided.
My own experience, after 2 1/2 years of campaigning and working with divided families, is that the local news media does a very good job of picking up on the stories of those affected - which can then be relayed to the national media or by campaigning MPs, as some of the stories on this blog attest. I'd suggest to anyone affected that approaching the local newspaper or local radio station is a very effective way of getting your story out there and building momentum for your campaign.
----------
Torquay Herald Express : Brixham family 'could be torn apart by immigration rules'
'Andrew Wade, 42, has been married to his wife Kingdao, a Thai national, for five years and has three children with her. But he fears his family could be devastated by bureaucracy and immigration rules as her visa to stay in the UK is soon to run out.'
---------- Burton Mail : Family ripped apart by laws campaigns to reunite children with their father
'Her husband, Omer, should be there with her and their two daughters, but, instead, he is stuck in one of the most dangerous places in the world, almost 3,000 miles away.'
... "The rules need to be readdressed by Theresa May and the Home Office," she said. "The disproportionately high financial requirements serve only to filter out the rich from the poor and put a price on love and happiness.'
Here is a summary of some useful case law and other official documentation which could prove useful to those
interested in exercising free movement rights. Reliance
on case law should not be blind as it is not necessarily all that is needed to
establish rights.It may not be
appropriate for your situation and showing off how much more you know than the
caseworker by OD’ing on case law references is likely to piss them off.Pride is a strange thing!
Furthermore, Home
Office is notoriously slow in updating UK regulations to reflect recent court
decisions it is not happy with. Sadly, it is also
not unknown for the Home Office to adopt the most restrictive interpretation possible, leaving it to another case years down the line, to shed clarity or
hold the department accountable.
There are sometimes inconsistencies
between judgments where the more recent judgment could ‘trump’ an earlier one,
or provide clarification.
The key message is based on my understanding. Links are provided so readers can form their
own opinions and as always, when in any doubt, you are strongly advised to seek
specialist immigration advice.
Please send any suggestions and corrections (much welcomed) to BritCits@gmail.com
Thursday, 23 October 2014
Thousands of UK families forced to live apart due to visa rules
'A UK Labour MP has called for income requirements for marriage visas to
be reviewed, after being contacted by two families who are being forced
to live apart under the current scheme.'
'... The first is Phillip and Kyoko Malloy,
who met and married while Mr Malloy was teaching English in Japan. Mr
Malloy then returned to the UK with his wife...
'The second family is Mr and Mrs Briggs,
who met in New Zealand after Mrs Briggs moved there for work. They
married, and settled down happily with successful careers, until Mrs
Briggs decided she needed to be closer to family in the UK..'
Trial collapses after immigration officials 'lie under oath'
'The UK's biggest sham marriage trial has collapsed with the judge accusing UKBA officers of deliberately concealing evidence and lying under oath.
'The Home Office has revealed to Channel 4 News that three immigration officers have been suspended and the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) has been called in to carry out an investigation.
'The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is to conduct a full review into the handling of the case and accepts it fell below acceptable standards.'
Living in the shadows: When Brits are made illegal
'... A hard-working single father, Aubrey was sacked from his job of three years when he couldn't prove his immigration status. For the past nine months, he has been reliant on borrowing money from friends and family. His passport, with its precious 'indefinite leave to remain' stamp, was lost some years back. When he made a new application earlier this year, it was refused. When his solicitor started judicial review proceedings, the Home Office initially defended the case, although they backed down before it went in front of a judge.'
'A new report from the Legal Action Group (LAG) details the
experiences of people who have lived in the UK for many years and who
had believed they were British citizens or at least had a legal
residence status.'
'Chasing Status challenges the idea that being ‘legal’ or ‘illegal’ in
the country is a simple matter and everyone must surely know if they
are one or the other.'
Quotes : 'In the past, British embassy handling of EEA Family Permit visas has systematically violated EU Law, even in the straight forward cases. The problems are detailed in the Oct 2012 complaint to the European Commission CHAP(2012)3146. 'The executive summary of the complaint (reproduced below) highlights some of the problems encountered by married couples applying for an EEA Family Permit. The full complaint has significantly more detail.
'Mr Draper, 59, a property developer, said: "After more than a year of visa negotiations involving lawyers and wranglings with the court, our faith in the immigration system has been totally destroyed. We don't know why Mae wasn't given a one-on-one interview at the time of applying, in which our circumstances could have been explained properly, instead of forms containing tick boxes.
"Mae is a trained midwife and wants to work and live in this country but is being denied that opportunity, despite us having been married for nearly 20 years.
"The UK Border Agency should not be using immigration rules in this way, to keep a decent hard-working family apart."
'A DVD highlighting the Save Mae Campaign has been produced, in which the
couple’s 14-year-old daughter Rhian, a student at the John Cabot
Academy in Kingswood, pleads with the immigration authorities not to
take her mum away, saying: “My family is being torn apart by the UK
Government.” '
"If I’m deported there’s no chance of seeing my son. I left Nigeria 31 years ago – where on earth I going to stay? I don’t know anybody in Nigeria, my mum died in 2002, my dad died when I was four years old. What happens to my wife and who looks after my son? They call this justice – there is no justice in the Home Office. Detention is inhuman – I don’t know what to do."
