Paul and Cate

If you haven't read it yet, their story is a must read :
http://britcits.blogspot.co.uk/2014/05/petition-my-name-is-paul-my-fiancees.html

Please support their petition :
http://www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/to-the-rt-hon-david-cameron-please-amend-immigration-policy-in-line-with-international-human-rights-requirements-to-provide-equality-for-families-affected-by-disability-or-on-a-lower-income

Petition: My name is Paul, my fiancee's name is Cate, this is our story

Please sign and share. As Paul asked at the end of the petition, the story is reproduced in full below.

 “In my house amidst the ruins, missing roof, no forks or spoons…”

http://www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/to-the-rt-hon-david-cameron-please-amend-immigration-policy-in-line-with-international-human-rights-requirements-to-provide-equality-for-families-affected-by-disability-or-on-a-lower-income

'I am known on Facebook as Editorial Spark, formerly a successful Alternative DJ, also an established author, conservation entrepreneur, humanitarian and I suffer from severe Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

'My faith in people’s ability ‘to do the right thing’ has taken quite a battering in recent years. In trying to fight back from a crippling, debilitating and very personal illness I have decided not to hide but instead share my story and, when my mind allows, post on Facebook the events as life unfolds in the hope others will do likewise in the hope that one day all discrimination might be a thing of the past.

'No one is perfect, far from it, we are all different and that is the uniqueness that shapes us and inspires us to become our dreams and aspirations. There are so many people in this world who have their creativity, or uniqueness, or genuine belief, or open-hearted trust, or hard work, or determination to make a difference simply crushed by those who would take advantage and twist it like a sharp blade until you bleed inside.

Paul & Connie

“No one should be punished for something as harmless as loving someone from outside their borders.”

Paul is a British citizen living in Nottingham. He met his wife, Connie from California, USA when he was pursuing postgraduate studies in response to the economic crash when jobs were scarce. She was also here to build her own skills set in the UK education system.

Now this couple is 6000 miles apart only because of UK’s immigration rules. With the monetary bar raised with the Coalition’s immigration reform, their separation feels much stronger.

Paul is still in education – and neither he nor Connie come from rich families. They feel the £18,600 is an arbitrary barrier serving to punish the poor. Paul is firm in his belief that this threshold has been erected under false pretences; the notion that immigration is somehow responsible for the myriad economic and social woes besetting the people of the UK is actually a xenophobic smokescreen to confuse the public.

The couple has strived and struggled for the last three years, stuck apart, only seeing each other for a scant few weeks but they know their story is far from the worst. Families have been thrown asunder, punished for loving each other across petty political borders we uphold.

Paul and his wife have both suffered from depression, each of them undergoing therapy, just trying to survive apart without any certainty of when they will be able to be together.

Recently though they received some good news. Connie has been successful in obtaining a well-paid job despite the current economic conditions. So Paul is considering relocating to USA, although this means being away from his family and friends.

No one should be punished for something as harmless as loving someone from outside their borders.

More stories like this :
http://britcits.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/stories

Lyndsey and Paul

“When you marry somebody you love for richer or poorer, it should mean just that...I shouldn’t have to choose between being a mum and granddaughter, and being in love.”

Lyndsey is 29 years old and a British citizen by birth.

She is in the horrendous situation of having to choose between being with her children and looking after her elderly grandparents, or being with her partner.

Lyndsey’s situation is as follows:
- Two children from a previous relationship; the children's father does not contribute financially.
- She is the carer for her grandparents – one is recovering from bowel cancer, the other with a heart condition.
As neither is entitled to an attendance allowance she doesn’t receive a carer’s allowance. However this does not mean she shirks her responsibilities or leaves the State to look after them!
- Lyndsey and her partner, Paul (American), have known each other since 1999; they have been romantically involved since 2009.
- Her children consider Paul to be their dad and refer to him as such. He considers them to be his own children.
- Paul has made a greater contribution to their well-being – physical, emotional and financial – than their real (British) father.
- The kids’ actual father doesn’t make his CSA (child support allowance) payments! He has a family of his own, a loving partner, children from that relationship ... a right that is denied to Lyndsey by this government!
- Lyndsey is not allowed to move her children overseas due to UK family law; the only option open to the family is for Paul to move to the UK.
- However, Lyndsey doesn’t earn £18,600 and may never do so. She does not have the time to take on a full-time job, earn enough to pay for childcare, and also look after her elderly grandparents.
- So, according to this government, Lyndsey can’t fulfil her responsibilities to those she loves, if she also wants to be with the man she wants to spend her life with! What country are we in again?

Paul’s situation is as follows:
- owns his own home
- Would work full-time, allowing Lyndsey to work part time, which would ensure they share and fulfil their responsibilities, like a normal British family.

Lyndsey’s request is as follows:
i/ Make the rules fair so that honest, decent hardworking Brits aren’t kept apart from their loved ones.
ii/ Sort out the disgrace of the system called CSA and make absent fathers just as responsible for their children as the mothers. If Lyndsey didn’t have to support her kids fully as well, she could be able to work more hours, therefore earning a higher income, and thus able to have Paul by her side.

Paul

“My life now is just about work, work, work ... and when I have time off, I am too fatigued to do anything but sleep... .”

Paul, a British citizen, married his partner in May 2012, in the Philippines.

She is Filipino and the decision to marry was based on the assumption that having met the visa requirements they would be able to make a life together in the UK.

Suddenly, though, the rules changed, leaving Paul and his wife devastated.

The massive increase in the amount Paul had to earn before he could sponsor his wife has made it impossible for them to be together.

He works full time in retail and doesn’t claim a single penny in benefits. Recently, he changed the branch of the store he worked in to reduce travelling costs, and he is taking on as much overtime as possible, including working night shifts. Despite this, however, he cannot meet the income criteria.

His life now is just about work, work, work ... and when he has time off, he is too fatigued to do anything but sleep and cope with the relapse of the depression he has suffered from, on and off, for many years.

Paul is not asking for handouts. He just wants to be able to live with his wife in the UK.

Paul’s wife is not entitled to any benefits, so the message being put across in the media by Theresa May that the presence of non-EU spouses would be a drain on the benefits system is intended blatantly to mislead the British public, as their rights are chipped away.

Paul does not have a fancy accountant. He has paid his taxes diligently for years. It is Paul and others like him who have contributed to the system, and yet he is being told he cannot be with his wife as they are a threat to the system.

As Paul sees it, MPs get a huge salary; they can claim all manner of household expenses ranging from food and their TV licence, to interest on their mortgage and rent payments (blatant abuse of expense policies); and yet they have the nerve to put restrictions on the lives of ordinary British citizens, and accuse British citizens - and their partners - of being a threat to the British economy?