New youtube video, your thoughts?

Let me know what you think?



If you have any ideas for a future video, please let me know

I will continue to fight until these rules are relaxed and we are "united" with our loved ones - our pain motivates me to campaign against these rules, there are no limits to what I can and will do, I will take all necessary action.

This video made me cry.

Very well done.

Do you think Chris Bryant would be interested in hearing from me, even though I am the foreign partner rather than the UK citizen?

Thank you for making this video.

2 points...

Is it possible to roll the text a bit slower - not on this one since you've done it already - but I found it difficult to read in time - especially the point about the cat being used as evidence they were in a relationship. This was a point I was unaware of. Maybe presenting fixed text as a slide-show would allow for easier reading.

Unfortunately this is a democracy and if you took a poll the majority WOULD say immigration should be cut or stopped. That's because most politicians feed the public with nonsense.
We are concerned with FM and I don't think the public has a clue about it. They don't think about it. All they hear is about getting immigration down and they nod their head in agreement.
FM must be put forward as a special case. Anyone who hears the stories we know of says it's wrong. If the public en masse believed it to be wrong it would go. Democracy does work.

Sadly it's impossible to find the vast sum of money to bring it to the population at large. We have to present the 'special case' approach to people like Nicholas Soames who spoke in support of the e-petition motion. On an argument of humanity backed by the economic facts showing that a couple that includes a non-EU partner is NOT a burden on the state should win him and others like him onto our side. It's FM that needs to be thrown out, not the broader immigration rules that affect essentially economic migrants be they workers or students.

I am Canadian and I emailed Chris Bryant as Chris advised on a couple of websites.

I have probably sent my family's story off to at least 30 different MP's, news agencies, political lawyers, political web sites, the Human Rights Commission of Europe and Human Rights Commission of United Kingdom .....

no replies except from web sites like Migrants Rights Network and the Family Immigration Alliance. The FIA actually will post your story, here is our family story: http://familyimmigrationalliance.wordpress.com/2012/08/17/tonis-story/

But I am a big believer that the more we all speak out loud and make our stories and voices heard May, Greene, Cameron and now Harper will not be able to shut us up and sweep us under their rug

Good luck to you and your family

Also wanted to say thank you Chris for your hard work.

I have already shown the video to my 12 year old son and 16 year old daughter, they are mass sending the link out to everyone they know, on their facebook accounts and where ever you can send it.

We will get our voices heard and maybe when the House votes on these rules the vote will be NO

does anyone know when they vote on the rule changes?

@Snowbird - absolutely, just mention who you are, where you're from and where your partner is from. Chris Bryant is very special as he is very open about his sexuality, he will understand your situation and I can guarantee you'll get a response. He responded to my e-mail during parliamenrary recess, he's in my top 5. I have sent 2 e-mails to my own MP, still no response after 6wks, I intend to meet him face to face.

@Alandamper - I see what you mean about the text, you are not the first to bring that to my attention, I plan to release the video again with an improved look, once this one has served it's purpose. Maybe you can help me Alan.

@TLCM - Hi Toni, hope you are well? Thank you for your support, I see you have 2 helpers, fantastic!!! The joys of children, hehehe. I'm going to take a tougher approach towards the government, this is going glabal. I'm working on my next video. I wonder if we could interview our kids, regarding these rules, it should have a good affect, as well as kids drawing pictures of there families apart.

Chris that is a wonderful idea. If you have a "list of questions" you think would be good for your video let us know. I can tape my kids response to your questions and you could use the footage.

I have been raising my kids on my own until I met my husband. As well, I have been on my own since the age of 15 so I have no family here in Canada. My kids think of Craig as their dad and the ONLY family they have besides me.

They are so hurt and sad right now, our family was so happy and so excited just a few months ago thinking our long wait was finally over, this coming Christmas was going to be the first in 2 years we were going to be together as a family. We are all heart broken.

I have also sent the YouTube video link to the local immigration organizations here, tomorrow I will send to the major University's and College's that also deal with immigration issues as well. I will also send to local media and let you know what responses I get.

I was quiet for the last week or so because sometimes this lonliness and sadness becomes all too much, but I am rev'd up and ready for the next round in the punching match with May, Cameron and now Harper knowing I have all of the other people on these sites beside me to fight. We will win in our fight for love, fight for our families, fight for our human rights

Christopher, you truly deserve a pat on your back. The video highlighted the points loud and clear.
For someone to actually thought of quantifying other people's relationship with their earnings is grossly insane. One wonders, if they have a family at all.

This is my first ever video that I have created from beginning to end, I am eager to make more and I consider myself to be a true "activist", I consider you are all the same as I am, we are fighting for our families, we will never give up, we will never surrender. I am going to make an "oath" that I will take any mean necessary to bring justice to those who wish to tear our families apart, my heart goes out tho those who have to cope alone, bringing up children, although I cannot ease the pressure on your daily lives, I will continue to fight for you, for me and for everyone else.

I realise that in order to get the attention of the media, we have to strengthen our campaign and do something that we would never have imagined doing. What have we got to lose, our families? How can things get worse than they are, regarding our situation.

How about if you include a comparison of other countries' family immigration rules in order to illustrate how unfair the current UK ones are?

Take the US for example. I know a lot of people from Europe especially comment on how unfair and elitist our country is, with a widening gap between the rich and the poor, unfair employment practices, the tens of thousands who have to go without healthcare, etc.

BUTTT!

If you want to sponsor a spouse, you simply need to be making 125% of the federal poverty line for a family of your size, or 100% of the poverty line if you are in the military. If you can't meet the requirement, you can designate another sponsor, such as a parent. You can also of course, use savings and stocks/bonds.

This means that if it's just you and your foreign spouse, you need to be making 11817.36 GPB per year. This requires an hourly rate of less than 2 USD above the US's federal minimum wage.

If you have one child, you need 14910.33 GBP per year.

if you make the USD equivalent of 18.6K pounds per year in the United States, you can sponsor your spouse and two children, and have money to spare.

The cost of living in the US is comparable to UK, and in some cases, like NYC or Boston, is much higher.

Hi there,

If I wanted to sponsor my husband to come to Canada all I have to do is be working. There is no minimum requirement for income purposes.

I did sponsor my husband to come to Canada and there was no problems or issues from the Canadian government at all. Canada is a part of the Commonwealth and give anyone from the UK preferential treatment, yet I am being classed as a criminal trying to screw over the British welfare system. I am a single mother that has raised my 2 kids alone, no family support, no child support from my ex, no help from welfare. I put myself through University to give myself and my husband and kids a better future. To May this means nothing, I am just a criminal immigrant.

If we could we would just stay in Canada but as I have mentioned previously I have no family other than my husband, his family in the UK and my 2 kids. My husband is very close with his aging parents, he is close with his brothers and my husband also has 2 kids from a previous relationship that he is obviously close with. We have to be in the UK.

Non EEU spouses account for only 3.33% of the total immigration numbers. That is nothing, they need to amend the rules that people showing they have real relationships do not have to follow the new income threshold. The immigration numbers coming from the 3.33% of non EEU partners will not make or break the tory's run for power, they will lose their power due to their own dictator ways. The people of Britian are not stupid and will not follow May & Cameron like little sheep to the slaughter. That is what they are trying to do, they want to break our spirits so we lose faith and give up the will to fight. I will NEVER lose the will to fight for my family, fight for my husband, fight for my very life and future. May and Cameron CANNOT have my future or my life.... what about everyone there in the UK???

I think the best example is UK itself, I came here as a partner of EU, I am non EU obviously, all they asked is my ex husband had a job and where to live. The best part, visa was free comparing to what they charge British citizens if they want to bring they non EU families.

Another example, any EU can bring here all his family without any question, English test, and income threshold. I work with many EU, especially from Poland; most of them come here, without good knowledge or 0 knowledge of English. It is true, they work hard, but they do not try to integrate too much with British society, they accumulate money, send them home and when they can afford to buy a house there, they just go home.

vmeste......

Thank you. It's exactly our point. British citizens/residents are EEA citizens/residents - except under the immigration rules. This is plain discrimination. Surely there are EU laws that prevent this - and if not there should be.


TLCLM......

Another change we should push for is that the person now known as the 'sponsor' should be the applicant. As a British citizen I should apply to bring my non-EU spouse/partner here. It should not be an application from a person stuck in another country. If refused I should be able to appeal as a British citizen/resident without delay under a departmental 'charter' as operated in other government processes - time limits, service levels and under 3 minutes to answer the phone if I call UKBA to clarify how exactly this rule or that guidance should be interpreted to make a valid application. Not the brick wall we get now.

May has tried to make the Article 8 human rights issues go away with her speech saying the rules already incorporate Article 8 considerations, but that's nonsense. In your case you have the human rights of your children not growing up with their grandparents and British citizen grandparents having their right to a family life affected. It's NOT just the non-EU partner's rights that are affected by these rules and therefore all immediate family members should be included under Article 8 consideration. What a load of unnecessary processing that would be though instead of accepting that all of us have a right to be with a genuine partner whatever our income and put British citizens/resident on the same level as EU citizens moving here with their non-EU partner.

UK immigration law allows eligible European Economic Area (EEA) nationals, and Swiss nationals, to bring their non-EEA family members to the UK for the purposes of settlement. Qualifying family members will be entitled to live and work in the UK as long as the sponsoring EEA national maintains his or her permanent residence status in the UK. An eligible EEA national can sponsor to bring the following family members to the UK:

•Husband, wife or de facto partner

•Fiancee and proposed civil partner (under the settlement category only)

•Child(ren) or the child(ren) of husband, wife or de facto spouse (civil partner), including adopted child(ren)

•Parents and grandparents or the parents and grandparents of husband, wife or de facto spouse (civil partner)


The British immigration authorities may also consider applications for other non-immediate relatives, such as brothers, sisters and cousins, to join a qualifying EEA national sponsor in the UK. These types of applications, however, may be very difficult to get through unless the sponsored family members fully depend on the sponsor financially, and have lived together with the sponsor in the EEA member country immediately prior to sponsorship.

Although the United Kingdom is also a member of the European Economic Area, British citizens and lawful permanent residents of the UK, who are not nationals of other EEA member states, do not typically qualify to use the EEA family permit scheme to bring their fiancees, wives, husbands and de-facto partners to the UK. Instead, they should apply for fiancee, spouse or partner visas under the settlement visa rules.

Nationals of the following countries are eligible to use the EEA family permit scheme to bring their non-EEA family members to the UK:

Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria*, Cyprus, Czech Republic**, Denmark, Estonia**, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary**, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia**, Liechtenstein, Lithuania**, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland**, Portugal, Romania*, Slovakia**, Slovenia**, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland

* Bulgarian and Romanian nationals looking to obtain gainful employment in the UK are obliged to obtain permission to work before starting any job.

** Nationals of these countries are subject to the Worker Registration Scheme (WRS).

May I add that there is no english requirement, no minimum income and no visa fees if you are an EU citizen.

I'm sure the answer will be 'no' but surely EEA citizens should enjoy equal rights EXCEPT that being a citizen/permanent resident of a particular EEA member state gives a BENEFIT over people who are not citizens/permanent residents of that state. It is fundamentally wrong for the reverse to be true. It's that sort of argument that will sway opinion in our favour.

Unfortunately, the immigration rules are not primary or secondary legislation so, as I understand it they are not subject to Judicial Review. As far as the 'rules' are concerned you have Queen Theresa who can make a declaration as in times gone by under powers given to her by the Immigration Act 1971 that you can do this or not that, and only if a member of either House of Parliament objects will those rules need to be examined. Otherwise it falls to the victim of the rules to pay money which most haven't got to get a barrister to attend an appeal at which the judge can over-rule the immigration rules on ECHR grounds.

alandamper wrote:
As far as the 'rules' are concerned you have Queen Theresa who can make a declaration as in times gone by under powers given to her by the Immigration Act 1971 that you can do this or not that

Speaking of Queens, I wonder if HM is aware of the new rules...from what I gather, she is a very family-oriented person and holds deep religious convictions in that regard. Surely if she was aware that her government is now putting a price tag on family togetherness, she'd be horrified?

Has anyone tried writing to her, or to anyone else in the royal family?

Hi there,

When I wrote up our family story and started sending it off to every MP, new paper, radio and anywhere else that Chris had listed I did think of sending it to Kate and William. I figured as newly weds they of all people could understand the feeling of being away from your loved ones, of having yor family life held hostage by May, Cameron and these new immigration rules.

Is there a way to actually contact the royal familyor does everything get "filtered"

Thanks