BritCits member Andy interviewed at around 2:07:00 here :
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01txqp8
Andy's story :
http://britcits.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/andy-my-poor-boys.html
http://britcits.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/molly
Showing posts with label molly. Show all posts
Showing posts with label molly. Show all posts
Saturday, 5 April 2014
Thursday, 15 August 2013
The families separated by the government.
http://www.channel4.com/news/the-families-separated-by-the-government
An excellent piece by Channel 4. Featuring two BritCits - Andy ( http://britcits.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/andy-my-poor-boys.html ) and Christopher ( http://britcits.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/christopher ) - plus Saira Grant of JCWI ( http://www.jcwi.org.uk/ ) - on Channel 4 News.
'Last year, I met Andy Russell and his two little boys Dylan, aged 6, and Devon, 4. The new immigration rules forced their mother Molly to return to China while Andy searched for work - a job which would pay at least £18,600 - the minimum earnings threshold for his wife to be allowed to stay. (Previous media piece on Andy : http://britcits.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/a-good-day.html ).
'He told me: "The emotional cost you cannot put a price on. When Molly first left, devon just cried, he'd spent every day and night with his mum and suddenly he had nothing"
'They were forced to communicate through Skype and Molly became known as "computer mummy".
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhHpaq4KBxY
'... Chris Reed is still waiting even though an immigration tribunal ruled in his favour.
'At the age of 63 he works 45 hours a week caring for the elderly. He's £17 a week short of that annual £18,600 figure.
'It's not enough to bring his Kenyan wife to Britain, even though he has a rent-free home and no mortgage.
'At the tribunal, the Home Office - which is in the process of defying legal attempts to amend the rules and lower the financial bar - contested that thousands of pounds in premium bonds did not amount to savings and suggested that Mr Reed simply move to Mombasa.
'Chris told us:"I was dumbfounded it should even be an option, that as a British citizen I should be asked to uproot and leave my family behind just because I had fallen in love with someone who doesn't come from the EU."
'The judge agreed, saying: "I do not accept it is reasonable to expect a British citizen to live in Kenya. It would deprive him of of the benefits of his British citizenship."'
‘No free man shall be arrested, imprisoned, dispossessed, outlawed, exiled or in any way victimised, or attacked except by the lawful judgement of his peers or by the law of the land’ - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magna_Carta
http://www.channel4.com/news/the-families-separated-by-the-government
An excellent piece by Channel 4. Featuring two BritCits - Andy ( http://britcits.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/andy-my-poor-boys.html ) and Christopher ( http://britcits.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/christopher ) - plus Saira Grant of JCWI ( http://www.jcwi.org.uk/ ) - on Channel 4 News.
'Last year, I met Andy Russell and his two little boys Dylan, aged 6, and Devon, 4. The new immigration rules forced their mother Molly to return to China while Andy searched for work - a job which would pay at least £18,600 - the minimum earnings threshold for his wife to be allowed to stay. (Previous media piece on Andy : http://britcits.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/a-good-day.html ).
'He told me: "The emotional cost you cannot put a price on. When Molly first left, devon just cried, he'd spent every day and night with his mum and suddenly he had nothing"
'They were forced to communicate through Skype and Molly became known as "computer mummy".
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhHpaq4KBxY
'... Chris Reed is still waiting even though an immigration tribunal ruled in his favour.
'At the age of 63 he works 45 hours a week caring for the elderly. He's £17 a week short of that annual £18,600 figure.
'It's not enough to bring his Kenyan wife to Britain, even though he has a rent-free home and no mortgage.
'At the tribunal, the Home Office - which is in the process of defying legal attempts to amend the rules and lower the financial bar - contested that thousands of pounds in premium bonds did not amount to savings and suggested that Mr Reed simply move to Mombasa.
'Chris told us:"I was dumbfounded it should even be an option, that as a British citizen I should be asked to uproot and leave my family behind just because I had fallen in love with someone who doesn't come from the EU."
'The judge agreed, saying: "I do not accept it is reasonable to expect a British citizen to live in Kenya. It would deprive him of of the benefits of his British citizenship."'
‘No free man shall be arrested, imprisoned, dispossessed, outlawed, exiled or in any way victimised, or attacked except by the lawful judgement of his peers or by the law of the land’ - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magna_Carta
Andy in action.
Sunday, 11 August 2013
Good news
Facebook message says it all :
Andy Russell's period as an enforced single dad ends next Tuesday (August 14th). I had hoped someone with a steady hand would be there to take pictures and better yet, video, and I got my wish. Channel 4 news will interview him and the boys on Monday and they will be at the airport to capture the reunion, showing it on their early evening news broadcast that day.
Andy : Molly Mei... make sure you pack your hair brush because Channel 4 News cameras will be filming your arrival at Heathrow airport next Tuesday.
Andy was one of BritCits' very first 'clients' :
http://britcits.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/andy-my-poor-boys.html
Married for 6 years, has 2 children with his wife, Molly. Doesn’t meet the income criteria, so having to be a single parent. A new job which would satisfy the income criteria means he is travelling a lot and therefore unable to live with his kids. What does this mean? A British husband apart from his wife and children. British children forced to live apart from their mummy and daddy...
British citizen, Andy, has been happily married for six years, and he and his Chinese wife have been patiently waiting for him to find the golden job paying £18,600 so that they can once again be reunited as a family.
Andy met his wife while teaching English in China. They have two lovely sons - Dylan and Devon. Andy returned to the UK, hoping to bring his wife with him, then fell victim to the very sudden, very draconian rule change.
Andy made a video about his family's situation - 'Skype Mummy' - which has been acclaimed :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhHpaq4KBxY
Situation now : Andy is now earning the required income. He's had to go through huge heartache and upheaval to achieve this - effectively travelling around the country to meet it, and leaving his two sons with their grandparents - Andy's parents - to care for them. Dylan and Devon have seen very little stability in their young lives. And this has created huge strains in the family, as they have all been through so much.
Naturally, the whole process to get the visa was onerous as well, with many paperwork requirements that weren't obvious. (A couple of months ago I was getting emails from Andy while I was on a train between Germany and Belgium, asking for help on the forms for the accommodation requirement - and the evidence he needs to produce!).
Nevertheless, Andy meets the income requirement, Molly got her visa, and the family will be reunited in a few days. So this is a success story - but huge obstacles had to be overcome to get here.
Nevertheless - this gives hope for divided families. More and more families are reuniting despite the obstacles being put in their way because it's not possible for any government to deny such a fundamental human need.
And this is why the rules will fail.
Facebook message says it all :
Andy Russell's period as an enforced single dad ends next Tuesday (August 14th). I had hoped someone with a steady hand would be there to take pictures and better yet, video, and I got my wish. Channel 4 news will interview him and the boys on Monday and they will be at the airport to capture the reunion, showing it on their early evening news broadcast that day.
Andy : Molly Mei... make sure you pack your hair brush because Channel 4 News cameras will be filming your arrival at Heathrow airport next Tuesday.
Andy was one of BritCits' very first 'clients' :
http://britcits.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/andy-my-poor-boys.html
Married for 6 years, has 2 children with his wife, Molly. Doesn’t meet the income criteria, so having to be a single parent. A new job which would satisfy the income criteria means he is travelling a lot and therefore unable to live with his kids. What does this mean? A British husband apart from his wife and children. British children forced to live apart from their mummy and daddy...
British citizen, Andy, has been happily married for six years, and he and his Chinese wife have been patiently waiting for him to find the golden job paying £18,600 so that they can once again be reunited as a family.
Andy met his wife while teaching English in China. They have two lovely sons - Dylan and Devon. Andy returned to the UK, hoping to bring his wife with him, then fell victim to the very sudden, very draconian rule change.
Andy made a video about his family's situation - 'Skype Mummy' - which has been acclaimed :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhHpaq4KBxY
Situation now : Andy is now earning the required income. He's had to go through huge heartache and upheaval to achieve this - effectively travelling around the country to meet it, and leaving his two sons with their grandparents - Andy's parents - to care for them. Dylan and Devon have seen very little stability in their young lives. And this has created huge strains in the family, as they have all been through so much.
Naturally, the whole process to get the visa was onerous as well, with many paperwork requirements that weren't obvious. (A couple of months ago I was getting emails from Andy while I was on a train between Germany and Belgium, asking for help on the forms for the accommodation requirement - and the evidence he needs to produce!).
Nevertheless, Andy meets the income requirement, Molly got her visa, and the family will be reunited in a few days. So this is a success story - but huge obstacles had to be overcome to get here.
Nevertheless - this gives hope for divided families. More and more families are reuniting despite the obstacles being put in their way because it's not possible for any government to deny such a fundamental human need.
And this is why the rules will fail.
Saturday, 12 January 2013
Andy
“My poor boys. First their mummy leaves them and now their daddy. They don't deserve this.”
Situation: Married for 6 years, has 2 children with his wife, Molly. Doesn’t meet the income criteria,
so having to be a single parent. A new job which would satisfy the income criteria means he is
travelling a lot and therefore unable to live with his kids. What does this mean? A British husband
apart from his wife and children. British children forced to live apart from their mummy and daddy...
British citizen, Andy, has been happily married for six years, and he and his Chinese wife have been
patiently waiting for him to find the golden job paying £18,600 so that they can once again be reunited as a family.
This has proven to be extremely difficult, despite his qualifications and experience, and so this law abiding and devoted couple have been forced to separate, leaving Andy to act as a single parent to their two infant children in Somerset. There are no words to fully convey the stress this family has been under, with Andy trying to find a well-paid job that will, hopefully, reunite his family.
During Molly’s last visit Andy wrote to MP David Laws asking if there was any way he could help extend Molly’s stay, because Andy stood more chance of finding a high-paying job if she were here looking after the children. David did not reply and so Molly returned to China, rather than overstay her visa.
Two weeks later Andy received a letter from Mark Harper, Minister for Immigration, claiming
categorically that Molly had attempted to deceive the UKBA by visiting her husband and children: ‘If the immigration officer at the port of entry had known this, she would have been refused entry on this basis’. This is because apparently she should have applied for a spouse visa rather than a visitor visa; however, at that time, they were genuinely only intending to visit for a family reunion as Andy’s brother was visiting the UK at that time with his Canadian wife and their newborn daughter.
Despite leaving UK within the six months allowed under a visitor visa, by applying as a visitor rather than a spouse, according to Mark Harper, Molly ‘deceived’ the UK Border Agency, and this alleged deception means that she cannot visit UK for ten years, even though she has proved she is not an 'over-stayer'. David Laws confirmed that Harper's stamp of deception would remain in Molly’s file, leaving this poor couple to face the reality that they would remain separated unless and until Andy could find a high paying job.
They all miss each other so much and while there appears to be light at the end of the tunnel, with Andy receiving a job offer paying over the threshold (which should in theory qualify him to sponsor Molly six months down the line), it raises location and their children as major issues. So, the family faces further heartbreak over the next six months.
The job is in Cornwall, 3 hours away from home in Somerset where the boys are settled in school and
playgroup. As his job involves travelling, Andy would need a live-in child-carer. He can’t cope with the thought of another person taking the place of his sweetheart and the children's mummy – another woman the kids would be looking up to as a mum.
Taking everything into account they have decided that the boys should stay with their grandparents
temporarily, while Andy is working and until a better solution can be found. Andy will see them as many weekends as possible, but he won't be able to spend the school holidays with them, read them a bedtime story, tuck them into bed or be there to soothe away any nightmares.
Andy’s job began in late October and so, exactly six months later, on his eldest child’s sixth birthday, the couple believes they should qualify to begin the application process for a spouse visa. By this time the family will have spent nearly 8 months apart; including Christmas, and all their birthdays.
Update 23.12
The children have already stopped attempting to speak Chinese and it breaks Andy’s heart that his kids are losing their heritage and that memories are being created without their mother being a part of them.
If Molly was here, they’d be moving to Cornwall together, as a strong happy family, but instead they’re being split up in a scenario reminiscent of Australia’s Stolen Generation ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stolen_Generations ) – a disastrous episode in that
country's history. Have we learnt nothing from past mistakes?
Andy is tired and desperately sad, yet somehow finding the energy to stay strong.
“I miss my wife so much and feel so heartbroken for her having to explain to friends, family,
neighbours and colleagues, why she cannot be with her loving husband and sweet little boys. She’s so
brave, so patient and trusting that someday we’ll be reunited. I’m so very proud of her.”
Who with a modicum of decency could break up this family? British MPs could and therefore do.
Andy’s family: wife Molly, and their sons, Dylan and Devon, the night before Molly left the UK.
With the 8 hour time difference the boys only get to Skype their mummy at weekends. A clearly
demoralised Andy says: “Devon (3) now calls us ‘Computer Mummy and Daddy’”.
Skype Mummy : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhHpaq4KBxY
“My poor boys. First their mummy leaves them and now their daddy. They don't deserve this.”
Situation: Married for 6 years, has 2 children with his wife, Molly. Doesn’t meet the income criteria,
so having to be a single parent. A new job which would satisfy the income criteria means he is
travelling a lot and therefore unable to live with his kids. What does this mean? A British husband
apart from his wife and children. British children forced to live apart from their mummy and daddy...
British citizen, Andy, has been happily married for six years, and he and his Chinese wife have been
patiently waiting for him to find the golden job paying £18,600 so that they can once again be reunited as a family.
This has proven to be extremely difficult, despite his qualifications and experience, and so this law abiding and devoted couple have been forced to separate, leaving Andy to act as a single parent to their two infant children in Somerset. There are no words to fully convey the stress this family has been under, with Andy trying to find a well-paid job that will, hopefully, reunite his family.
During Molly’s last visit Andy wrote to MP David Laws asking if there was any way he could help extend Molly’s stay, because Andy stood more chance of finding a high-paying job if she were here looking after the children. David did not reply and so Molly returned to China, rather than overstay her visa.
Two weeks later Andy received a letter from Mark Harper, Minister for Immigration, claiming
categorically that Molly had attempted to deceive the UKBA by visiting her husband and children: ‘If the immigration officer at the port of entry had known this, she would have been refused entry on this basis’. This is because apparently she should have applied for a spouse visa rather than a visitor visa; however, at that time, they were genuinely only intending to visit for a family reunion as Andy’s brother was visiting the UK at that time with his Canadian wife and their newborn daughter.
Despite leaving UK within the six months allowed under a visitor visa, by applying as a visitor rather than a spouse, according to Mark Harper, Molly ‘deceived’ the UK Border Agency, and this alleged deception means that she cannot visit UK for ten years, even though she has proved she is not an 'over-stayer'. David Laws confirmed that Harper's stamp of deception would remain in Molly’s file, leaving this poor couple to face the reality that they would remain separated unless and until Andy could find a high paying job.
They all miss each other so much and while there appears to be light at the end of the tunnel, with Andy receiving a job offer paying over the threshold (which should in theory qualify him to sponsor Molly six months down the line), it raises location and their children as major issues. So, the family faces further heartbreak over the next six months.
The job is in Cornwall, 3 hours away from home in Somerset where the boys are settled in school and
playgroup. As his job involves travelling, Andy would need a live-in child-carer. He can’t cope with the thought of another person taking the place of his sweetheart and the children's mummy – another woman the kids would be looking up to as a mum.
Taking everything into account they have decided that the boys should stay with their grandparents
temporarily, while Andy is working and until a better solution can be found. Andy will see them as many weekends as possible, but he won't be able to spend the school holidays with them, read them a bedtime story, tuck them into bed or be there to soothe away any nightmares.
Andy’s job began in late October and so, exactly six months later, on his eldest child’s sixth birthday, the couple believes they should qualify to begin the application process for a spouse visa. By this time the family will have spent nearly 8 months apart; including Christmas, and all their birthdays.
Update 23.12
The children have already stopped attempting to speak Chinese and it breaks Andy’s heart that his kids are losing their heritage and that memories are being created without their mother being a part of them.
If Molly was here, they’d be moving to Cornwall together, as a strong happy family, but instead they’re being split up in a scenario reminiscent of Australia’s Stolen Generation ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stolen_Generations ) – a disastrous episode in that
country's history. Have we learnt nothing from past mistakes?
Andy is tired and desperately sad, yet somehow finding the energy to stay strong.
“I miss my wife so much and feel so heartbroken for her having to explain to friends, family,
neighbours and colleagues, why she cannot be with her loving husband and sweet little boys. She’s so
brave, so patient and trusting that someday we’ll be reunited. I’m so very proud of her.”
Who with a modicum of decency could break up this family? British MPs could and therefore do.
Andy’s family: wife Molly, and their sons, Dylan and Devon, the night before Molly left the UK.
With the 8 hour time difference the boys only get to Skype their mummy at weekends. A clearly
demoralised Andy says: “Devon (3) now calls us ‘Computer Mummy and Daddy’”.
Skype Mummy : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhHpaq4KBxY
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