Braintree: "My husband is banned from the UK" (From Braintree and Witham Times)
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Braintree: "My husband is banned from the UK"
9:00am Friday 11th January 2013 in News
Braintree: "My husband is banned from the UK"
A young mum claims ‘it is one rule for the rich’ after being told she must earn £18,600 before her husband can move to England.
Jade el Jaghaoui, 21, of River View, Braintree fell in love with 24-year-old Merouane, who is from Morroco, in 2007 when they were both living in Spain.
She returned home in October 2010 hoping he could join her soon and became even more desperate after finding out she was pregnant a few weeks later.
In July 2012 immigration rules changed meaning a partner must earn £18,600 to bring a non-europaean spouse to join them.
See this week's Times for the full story.
Comments(45)
sKorch
says...
2:10pm Fri 11 Jan 13
Or would you like all the Doctors/Dentist, who have come to this country from somewhere else ,all go home??.
The Yellow Peril
says...
3:15pm Fri 11 Jan 13
I do feel for the girl being without her husband and I think merely being married to someone and earning less than twenty grand isn't nearly enough.
sKorch
says...
4:06pm Fri 11 Jan 13
On one hand we have the young mum of the story saying " ‘it is one rule for the rich’ ", whilst on the other hand we have Yellow Peril saying "all it takes is to earn a reasonably low salary ".
I am not being judgemental on either people's views. I just think that if somebody is earning £18,600 then they are putting enough into the Countries coffers via Tax that their spouses will probably not become a drain on the country, and may even get a job them-selves.
I can't see anybody who earns £18,600 give that all up to go on the dole just because their spouse has joined them.
The Yellow Peril
says...
4:26pm Fri 11 Jan 13
sKorch
says...
4:45pm Fri 11 Jan 13
£18600 per annum is broken down to:-
£2099 on Income Tax at 20%
£1650 Nat Insurance
Leaving £14851 .......
compare your own to that!! :-)
Bit_Bytr
says...
6:02pm Fri 11 Jan 13
I speak as one who emigrated to another country whose immigration laws are very tough but still allow spouses (and children) to accompany their working partners, regardless (and in spite of) their ability or inability to (legally) work. This young lady is absolutely right when she says there is one law for the wealthy and another for the rest: the colour of justice is indeed green.
Nonetheless, this IS the Brainless and Witless and the report is probably utterly off-kilter and missing salient information and so our judgment would therefore be equally off! :-)
Bit_Bytr
says...
6:03pm Fri 11 Jan 13
Anonymous4786
says...
9:09pm Fri 11 Jan 13
Bit_Bytr
says...
9:47pm Fri 11 Jan 13
(I know, by the way, as I have been to them.)
rule of law
says...
10:42pm Fri 11 Jan 13
We have prepared an information pack which we are using to lobby different groups with stories of those affected by these rules.
Please email us at britcits@gmail.com , follow us at https://twitter.com/
britcits . For a summary of why we are opposed to the rules - http://www.britcits.
com. You may also wish to submit your story to the Family Immigration Alliance http://familyimmigra
tionalliance.wordpre
ss.com/
Solidarity!
flower_fairy
says...
11:18pm Fri 11 Jan 13
Bit_Bytr wrote:Hey Bit... brainless as this paper may be, it's not off-kilter. There are many many families suffering from new law changes. Many Brits (like myself) who happen to fall in love with someone from outside the EU are finding themselves cornered. Either we meet ridiculous restrictions, or we leave the UK. I happen to have a first class degree and ample experience / post grad qualifications to soar above the £18,600 rule and get a good job and pay enough taxes for both me and my partner to live comfortably in the UK whether or not he is working. If only it were that simple. I am fed up with trying to keep up with rules that are constantly changing (9 retrospectively effective amendments in 6 months to a constitution that was brought in through the back door of parliament in between the Jubilee and the Olympics), and a racist and restrictive immigration system, so I have moved to Italy to exercise my rights as an EU citizen (apparently they are not valid in the UK for UK citizens...) Italy has gained me, UK lost me - for now at least, until Theresa May wakes up and sees that what she is doing is illegal.
Good grief. Firstly, unless I misread sommat, you are saying that regardless of income, a family should be split unless there are strenuous reasons to allow a non-working partner into the country? That is senseless in that it fosters all sorts of societal issues! The percentage of immigrants that are parental spouses (or even simple 'partners') has to be incredibly small. In addition, the non-working spouse can spend more time being a parent. Something that a lot of kids lack. Surely the onus should be on those potential immigrants to prove their viability as an upright member of society rather than a leech and regardless of a specific income level.
I speak as one who emigrated to another country whose immigration laws are very tough but still allow spouses (and children) to accompany their working partners, regardless (and in spite of) their ability or inability to (legally) work. This young lady is absolutely right when she says there is one law for the wealthy and another for the rest: the colour of justice is indeed green.
Nonetheless, this IS the Brainless and Witless and the report is probably utterly off-kilter and missing salient information and so our judgment would therefore be equally off! :-)
Wytzia
says...
12:43pm Sat 12 Jan 13
Wytzia
says...
12:45pm Sat 12 Jan 13
gazash
says...
6:08pm Sat 12 Jan 13
Bit_Bytr
says...
9:33pm Sat 12 Jan 13
Rose77
says...
8:15am Sun 13 Jan 13
simon178933
says...
8:46am Sun 13 Jan 13
gazash
says...
1:37pm Sun 13 Jan 13
flower_fairy
says...
10:01pm Sun 13 Jan 13
Rose77 wrote:Yes, Rose77, it does not speak volumes. It speaks volumes about YOUR perception of society! May I ask where you come from and what your education background is? If you are from around central London and you have a degree then perhaps... perhaps you can earn this much. Perhaps more. If you live in Wales, Scotland, or even somewhere that is not a Home County, then you can expect around £16,000 for a skilled / trained / management position. Unskilled jobs vary but would probably never conceivably reach the target. So basically, yes, you are saying that only rich people can marry non-EU members. MINIMUM WAGE that is, what the GOVERNMENT TELL YOU you can survive on , is around the £12.500 mark. Check out the job search engines if you still need convincing... Plus. Do note the comment above that tells you that non-EU spouses cannot claim public funds until they have been in the country for 5 years (and probably fed rather a lot into the system as a result). You also find that the percentage of immigrants who 'sponge' off of taxpayers is incredibly low. Most come from a culture where hard work and supporting a family is a given. I would do your research before posting comments that give away your ignorance of the subject. 'Dealing with the consequences of her actions' is a pretty harsh thing to say as well, I would check your words when posting about sensitive issues such as taking a father away from his child and leaving a woman as a single mum. And if this girl should 'deal with the consequences of her actions' then surely too so should the man who met Chinese lady whilst in China, and was happily married and settled in England with two kids (5 and 3) before the government sent her away, back to communist China. Surely the dreadful action of falling in love with a foreigner should indeed have harsh consequences? I have heard it IS a pretty bad crime, akin to murder and rape ans well worth extradition. Sorry to rant on but your naive and horrid comment compelled me to attack you. Actually, I am not sorry to rant on. You deserve it.
I think earning a specified wage before allowing a non-EU spouse to enter the UK is entirely reasonable. I only wish this rule was brought in years ago!! The very fact that this woman believes £18,600 is a rich person's wage speaks volumes, does it suggest she doesn't work at all? Is it fair that those who do work, often long hours at the detriment of their own families, should support those who don't? This support comes in the form of benefits, housing and health provision. We all have choices in life the question is whether people are prepared to deal with the consequences of their choices without being a burden on others.
myvoice2
says...
10:40pm Sun 13 Jan 13
Please do not assume the only criteria is meeting the minimum salary, there are a long list of requirements, My husband has passed 2 english exams and just to clarify we have met all the other requirements. Before reading through these comments, I was expecting a mixture of opinions.
I am grateful for those of you who have been supportive and nice to read comments from other people who genuinely understand the full extent of the immigration regulations as you have experienced it yourself.
To those of you who have made a quick opinion please consider my son is in the middle, he has to grow up to realize 'daddy' missed out because of the colour of his skin or the colour of his passport, or who much mummy earns?. I dont wish to leave the UK and i dont feel i should have to. I am a british citizen who should have a choice to remain in the UK and Is it a crime for wanting my family to be together?. we are all human, who decided it was ok to punish people for where they were born or how much they earn. I wish my son to be brought up within the UK education system, we want what is best for our son.
I wanted to comment for you all to understand part of the rules are my husband would not even be allowed to claim benefits so how he would be a 'drain on the state' is beyond me.
My husband is an honest, reliable hard working good person who wants to support his family so I can come off benefits, if he has difficulty in finding work he shall look after our son and I will work, If the both of us are together we can work round it. I dont wish anyone the heartache of being a single parent.
I wish my story was printed in more detail because to find out people have clearly assumed he is coming to the UK for our 'system' hurts me.
Maybe one day many of you may fall in love with someone out side the UK, maybe then more people with understand.
I wish you all knew the immigration laws in more depth like i do and wish you all knew the whole story regarding my situation then maybe some of you would not be so quick to judge.
Did any of you see you news recently 26,000 illegal migrants allowed to stay to clear backlog? As far as I understand these people were a small minority of the thousands of illegal visa overstayers given permission to stay, But my husband stood by every single rule within the law now he is being punished. CONSIDER THIS FAIR?
We have been punished.... WHY? for falling in love and choosing a country we want to live together.
The Yellow Peril
says...
9:05am Mon 14 Jan 13
As I see it, you are a British Citizen with every right to the stay in the UK. Whilst abroad you met someone who is not a European Citizen and presumably you were aware of the difficulty this might present in the future. Still, you went ahead and got pregnant, knowing there would inevitably be hurdles to overcome.
I'm sure it doesn't feel at all fair that there are so many illegals in the country and unless you're in your particular situation, then quite possibly you might be against any more coming in. The country quite simply cannot sustain the increase in population. That's my stance I'm afraid. As I said, I feel sorry for you but there are other options.
venturoboy
says...
9:40am Mon 14 Jan 13
Being married to a non-eu I can tell you it cost me thousands in Visa's and many interviews with the home office to let my wife stay here... in doing so I saw the preferential treatment Asian immigrants get - tick the 'muslim' checkbox and you get treated like royalty. Maybe this girl should check her form again she obviously missed this!
Its a shame these stringent rules are not applied to everyone - including EU migrants.
venturoboy
says...
9:46am Mon 14 Jan 13
The Yellow Peril
says...
10:06am Mon 14 Jan 13
gazash
says...
11:34am Mon 14 Jan 13
gazash
says...
11:38am Mon 14 Jan 13
Wytzia
says...
11:42am Mon 14 Jan 13
gazash
says...
11:46am Mon 14 Jan 13
venturoboy
says...
12:09pm Mon 14 Jan 13
Maybe you could help jade and her boyfriend setup in the netherlands eh Wytzia?
gazash
says...
12:14pm Mon 14 Jan 13
myvoice2
says...
1:52pm Mon 14 Jan 13
Wytzia i take on board your comments and appreciate any free advice, I do have a lawyer who are specialists with immigration our case in progress is under the law you are suggesting. I pay for my advice I have not expected anything for free, I went to the local paper for another way of voicing my situation not for pitty. I am trying every avenue, I have nothing to lose. Thanks for you comments
I realise my situation would cause a mix in opinion but i have not gone public for an argument with racist people. I am doing many things in fighting my case.
As for Venturoboy, The yellow peril and Gazash as you are so quick to judge my life may i ask you something.... If you all have so much spare time on a Monday morning to sit and write numerous racist comments on this page does it suggest none of you work, if so i suggest you do more work, after all your boss is paying you to work, there are genuine people seeking work that would respect the job if they were given the chance.
I have nothing further to say, None of you know the whole story and I have better more important things to do rather than retaliating to you all.
venturoboy
says...
2:32pm Mon 14 Jan 13
myvoice2
says...
2:40pm Mon 14 Jan 13
gazash
says...
2:48pm Mon 14 Jan 13
myvoice2
says...
3:08pm Mon 14 Jan 13
Wytzia
says...
3:31pm Mon 14 Jan 13
As for Venturoboy and Gazash: when you give someone legal advice it does not mean that you like the law as it is. But the law is there for us all. To change a law the only option is to vote in elections or be an active party member. Our Dutch system is very strict with income requirements and obligated language lessons and exams. Hoping that by doing that new people will not be a burden to society. And I am all for that. But if there are legal possibilities it is only fair to point them out to someone. As the law is equal for us all. And sometimes people are in peril because they do not know the legal options they have. And you never know when we ourselves would end up in situations like that.
gazash
says...
3:37pm Mon 14 Jan 13
The Yellow Peril
says...
4:03pm Mon 14 Jan 13
venturoboy
says...
5:49pm Mon 14 Jan 13
AnnetteCa
says...
11:27pm Mon 14 Jan 13
BtreeDoorMen
says...
8:25am Tue 15 Jan 13
It does make me laugh this problem was all created when BAD OLD BLIGHTEY forced you to live aprt when you 'returned home' ...
This is the law, so it's not even worthy of a news story and you should've looked into it more before arriving here and complaining... the fact that you're willing to keep a child away from it's parent it worse.
Just_a_ thought
says...
3:08pm Tue 15 Jan 13
The Yellow Peril
says...
5:05pm Tue 15 Jan 13
Rose77
says...
8:53pm Tue 15 Jan 13
flower_fairy wrote:Oh dear, I think I may have hit a nerve!! National minimum wage currently stands at £6.19 for a person aged 21 and above, assuming £18,600 is based on a 40 hour week then that equates to £8.94 per hour and I can assure you (given that I live and work in mid Essex) that this wage and higher is received by many of the staff I employ and no, before you ask, they are not all managers! As for this child being taken away from their father, this is an emotive comment and somewhat ridiculous as from what I have read, the mother chose to return to the UK. I stand by my original comment that we all have choices to make in life. Decisions should be carefully considered, all facts determined and the short and long term consequences carefully considered. As much as love is powerful,I do believe this young woman has been incredibly naive and should not expect the UK government to accommodate her desire to live with her husband if they do not meet the current criteria. I must say your assumptions of me have put a smile on my face - I have never been called naive before! I am glad you retracted your apology, you are after all entitled to your opinion, may I suggest you allow others to have theirs?
Rose77 wrote:Yes, Rose77, it does not speak volumes. It speaks volumes about YOUR perception of society! May I ask where you come from and what your education background is? If you are from around central London and you have a degree then perhaps... perhaps you can earn this much. Perhaps more. If you live in Wales, Scotland, or even somewhere that is not a Home County, then you can expect around £16,000 for a skilled / trained / management position. Unskilled jobs vary but would probably never conceivably reach the target. So basically, yes, you are saying that only rich people can marry non-EU members. MINIMUM WAGE that is, what the GOVERNMENT TELL YOU you can survive on , is around the £12.500 mark. Check out the job search engines if you still need convincing... Plus. Do note the comment above that tells you that non-EU spouses cannot claim public funds until they have been in the country for 5 years (and probably fed rather a lot into the system as a result). You also find that the percentage of immigrants who 'sponge' off of taxpayers is incredibly low. Most come from a culture where hard work and supporting a family is a given. I would do your research before posting comments that give away your ignorance of the subject. 'Dealing with the consequences of her actions' is a pretty harsh thing to say as well, I would check your words when posting about sensitive issues such as taking a father away from his child and leaving a woman as a single mum. And if this girl should 'deal with the consequences of her actions' then surely too so should the man who met Chinese lady whilst in China, and was happily married and settled in England with two kids (5 and 3) before the government sent her away, back to communist China. Surely the dreadful action of falling in love with a foreigner should indeed have harsh consequences? I have heard it IS a pretty bad crime, akin to murder and rape ans well worth extradition. Sorry to rant on but your naive and horrid comment compelled me to attack you. Actually, I am not sorry to rant on. You deserve it.
I think earning a specified wage before allowing a non-EU spouse to enter the UK is entirely reasonable. I only wish this rule was brought in years ago!! The very fact that this woman believes £18,600 is a rich person's wage speaks volumes, does it suggest she doesn't work at all? Is it fair that those who do work, often long hours at the detriment of their own families, should support those who don't? This support comes in the form of benefits, housing and health provision. We all have choices in life the question is whether people are prepared to deal with the consequences of their choices without being a burden on others.
The Yellow Peril says...
9:40am Fri 11 Jan 13