PLEASE HELP TO KEEP OUR FAMILY TOGETHER BY SIGNING OUR PETITION

Hi all

When I read all of the cases on this webiste, I am confused. I'm not sure whether I should laugh at how ridiculous it all is or feel sad and frustrated by it all. Of course, realising the serious consequences of this nonsense, I generally opt for the latter option, especially as my family is also caught up in this insanity.

We are told that the world is becoming increasingly globalised. Technology and improved communications make the world seem smaller and man-made borders are becoming increasingly less important barriers to trade. However, in this world of increased highly inter-dependent countries and cultures, where people, unlike say 100 years ago, are willing and able to travel, broaden their mindsets and truly gain an appreciation of the diversity of human life in other parts of our small planet, we are still ruled (in the UK) by a government who think along almost tribal lines. In a truly globalised world, we should expect people to meet and fall in love with others who may not have been born in close proximty to where they, themselves were born. This is natural; not a freak experience. We need policies in the UK which acknowledge this reality and at the very least, we need policies which will allow the children of such couples to grow up with both of their parents present and active in their lives. To provide immigration policies which do not ensure this, is tantamount to small-minded, bigoted, racist and tribal thinking and not what decent, law-abiding people should expect of their law makers. Come on Theresa May and Co - the world has not been stopped at 1950. Take a look in your busy high streets and you'll see people of all colours, ethnicities, religions and cultures; the very thing that puts the 'Great' into Great Britiain. How about you adjust your thinking and your immigration policies accordingly.

The weblink at the bottom of this email contains a great deal of information about our own case (including links to newspaper articles, a TV interview of our family, and a motion passed recently in the Scottish Parliament in support of our family). Please click on it and sign our petition (it'll only take one minute of your time, I promise). If you are happy to do so, then please ask friends, colleagues, family members, fellow students, etc. to consider signing it too.

In short, I am a British citizen married for the last nine years to an Australian citizen. Our two children (aged 15 years and 3 years) are both Australian citizens too. Our eldest and my wife were both issued with ILR visas when we last lived in the UK (in 2006). After living overseas (my wife and I taught in a number of developing countries) for the last 5 years, these visas expired (apparantly, the word, 'indefinite' has other meanings to the UKBA!). We are all living in the UK now and are waiting to hear whether or not the UKBA will allow my family to stay with me or require them to travel to Australia to wait there for up to 6 months. If they insist on them travelling to Australia, we will be forced to either break up as a family or all return to Australia (to a situation of unemployment and homelessness). I'm sure that it won't come to that though as our government has stated how pro-family they are (haha).

To summarise, we are all without any police records, all in excellent health, completely self-reliant, we contribute to the British economy (taxes and National Insurance contributions) and I have a position of responsibility in our community, supporting those young people and their families who are among those most at-risk (I am a Depute Head Teacher in the area of Pupil Support).

To date, our petition has been signed by over 1250 people including more than 60 parliamentarians. Please read, sign and spread the word about our petition by clicking on the weblink below.

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/keep-the-boyd-family-together

Thanks for your time and please feel free to email me (garyteaches@hotmail.com)................Gary Boyd

What is really appalling is that as a British citizen I am not allowed to have my australian parents stay with me even though I can show they can be here without recourse to public funds..but someone who is say African and married to an Italian can live in the UK with their African parents, grandparents, children, grandchildren, brothers, sisters and cousins..

So a British citizen can't have their parents here with them, despite committing to no recourse to public funds, but a foreigner can be here with their entire extended family, WITH recourse to public funds. What.?!


Please please please, sign this petition and get as many people as you can to sign it and let's hold the govt accountable for how they have come up with here bizarre rules!

http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/36798

The whole situation is desperate and completely ridiculous. I have signed your petitions. I hope you have both signed the spouse rules petiton as well. I feel totally ashamed of my country. Most of my adult years were under Labour and though they were far from perfect, I had forgotten the despicable nature of Tory policies. I wish there was more to be done. I have already spammed all my friends to death with the government petitions and the numbers are still low. I feel like nothing is going to change.

Thanks Ros

I feel like a spammer too...can feel myself getting desperate!

Hi all

I am also completely outraged by these absolutely ludicrous new spouse visa rules. I am a British Citizen married to an Australian with a 2 year old daughter. We have lived in Sydney for 6 years and wanted to return to the UK next year to be close to my family, that is until we found out that the UK had turned its back on any British person who had left and said tough, you can't come back in. What I find amazing is that I could bring my Husband over on a different visa, namely a family permit, if I were an EU Citizen however a British Citizen is not allowed and must have 62.5k/100k (dollars) in savings or I as the sponsor must have earned 18.6K and have a job offer for the same. They wont even look at my Husbands current salary. It will be nearly impossible for me to get a job from the other side of the World as assessment days are required for interview. Not only that but I have been on Maternity leave and for the last year, only working part time to look after my toddler so it is very difficult for me to have met the financial requirement. It is totally unfair and I just pray that someone decides to take these rules on.

I have been in touch with two law firms. Both are looking for a test case to take on the Govt. Of course, if I have the money to pay for a lawyer, I'd probably meet the requirement. Let's hope someone decided to take them on.

I also wrote to the Home Office and received a lengthy response. All they had to say was that they were doing it to stop people claiming benefits. At the end of the day though, visa holders are not entitled to benefits so they are doing all this to try and stop the British spouse from claiming benefits for their partners, bit extreme. Why don't they just look at our benefits history where we have lived, both our salaries and make a call?

It is interesting to see how everyone's circumstances are so different, but how this has affected us all. I am outraged that they are trying to separate your family Gary and will sign your petition. Both your Children should be British by decent as mine is though is that right?

I wonder if we would ever reach 100,000 on the e-petition? http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/34835

hi, please send your story to Britcits@gmail.com - We need to form a campaign with all our stories together. It SUCKS.
For those of us trying to use the EU loophole, looks like May is about to close that route too. I am in the same position as you - living abroad and wanting to bring my family home. Can't do it at the moment.
How dare they tell us we can't GO HOME!?

Hi,

The ability to bring your partner with you to another EU country is not a loophole. It is one of the fundamental pillars of the EU. Free movement. Theresa May for all her rhetoric will have a hard time getting that through in my opinion.

Hi Alan,
you are right it is a fundamental pillar of the EEA. No offence intended. It *feels* like a loophole in the context - one teeny tiny way out.

Hi Ros,

No need for an apology. It's an important point to remind others that the EEA family member route is cast in stone and the Surinder Singh case was in 1992. It's been upheld in the courts ever since. This cynical Government is gambling that those people barred from bringing partners from outside the EU either aren't aware of that route, or if they are, it's too costly for them to do it.

Of course, under the pre 9th July rules when most people could show subjectively on their application that they weren't flat broke, there was no need to use Surinder Singh case law except in unusual circumstances. We are now being made to invoke it and Theresa May could start to wave a big metaphorical stick about blocking it, but I think she will have a very rough ride for other reasons I won't go into here.

Good luck and don't give up.