Can they ever live together in Britain?

Readers are probably aware that immigration has been a hot potato in British politics since the Romans arrived uninvited on our shores some 2000 years ago.  Since Enoch Powell made his infamous ‘rivers of blood’ speech in 1968 it has been a touchstone topic for both major parties.  Relax controls on immigration and you risk being accused of endangering the ‘British’ way of life and sacrificing ‘British’ employment opportunities, be too strict and you risk being accused of racism.

Any conservative government walks a tightrope between appeasing its right wing back benchers and being accused by the left of being racist.  In June Ed Milliband made a bit to capture some of the centre ground from the conservatives by admitting that Labour had been wrong to be quite so soft on immigration from eastern Europe when it was in power a decade ago.  But he’s trying to catch up with a government that’s already made moves to crack down further on immigration, moves which will inadvertently prejudice Christian workers abroad.

Under proposals announced by the government last month there will be a tougher test for new immigrants to prove they can speak English and understand British culture and history, but the most troubling change for those overseas mission workers who have non-British partners is that those partners will have severe restrictions placed on their ability to immigrate.  There will be rigorous investigations to determine whether their marriage is genuine, and the test will not merely be the number of years that a couple have been together.  Additionally, the British partner must earn a minimum of £18,600 pa, or £22,400 for a couple with one child, with a further £2,400 for each additional child.  So a family with four children will need to prove the authenticity of their marriage (!) and earn at least £29,200 before they can settle in Britain.

Families who do successfully immigrate will not be able to access the welfare system for at least two years, giving them further financial challenges.  If they want to bring an elderly parent with them, that parent will be banned from accessing social security benefits for at least five years and the family will need to demonstrate that they can pay for any care and medical treatment the parent might need.  These new rules will be in place from today (9th July).  The do not apply to families seeking to immigrate to Britain from within the European Economic Area (the EU plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway).

The government’s intention is to reduce net migration to Britain, and at the same time to prevent immigrants claiming Britain’s generous social benefit payments.  This will be seen as a positive move in many quarters, but many British volunteer workers who marry nationals of the country they work in will not be able to pass the financial restrictions, so will be condemned to a life abroad.  Home Secretary Theresa May commented, “British citizens can enter into a relationship with whomever they choose but if they want to establish their family life here, they must do so in a way which works in the best interests of our society.”

One creative way around this problem is to immigrate not to Britain but another EU country, work there for three months and then come to the UK under EU migration rules – click here for an article on it.

The warning to British overseas workers is clear: be careful whom you marry, as you might not be able to bring your family back home with you.

For full details read the Home Office press release or visit the website of UK Visas & Immigration.