A recent report has revealed that the number of foreigners including Indians granted leave to remain in the UK has plummeted by 73% since 2006. Analysis of immigration statistics published by The Independent, reveals that the number of children, partners and dependant relatives able to live permanently in the UK through a “grant of settlement” has been declined, including entry clearances, creating more and more 'skype families'. Campaigners and politicians have told the media, that the ongoing clampdown on immigration by the Conservatives through rule changes, have discouraged people to join their British families.
Speaking to Asian Voice, a woman said how her husband has not been able to move to the UK for over a year, ever since they have been married in India. Ratna Srivastava from Liverpool told Asian Voice, “I married my husband a year back. For him to move to the UK, I need to earn around £18,600 per annum as well as have a fixed bank balance for a continuous period, and I don't earn so much. So he is still away from me, and we talk every day over facetime. It's painful. This is not how I thought my marriage will turn out to be.”
A rule change in 2012, which saw the period one had to live in the UK before applying for a permanent residency increase from two years to five years, will also have contributed to the steep decline in grants of settlement, which has plummeted by 77% since the change took place. Visas granted for partners of British nationals have fallen by 45% since 2006, with success artes down from 86% to 76%.
Entry clearance visas granted to “other” family members, which refers to those who have dependent relatives in the UK who require their support, has decreased even more dramatically, by 57%, indicating that far less foreigners are now able to move to the UK as carers for vulnerable family members. Brit Cits a campaigning group were fighting for the rights of settlement for elderly parents of naturalised British Indians in the UK, but even after trying for a considerable time, they were not successful.
The report revealed by The Independent said that family members being granted entry clearance visas, which they must obtain in order to move to Britain to apply for settlement, have also dropped from 70,119 in 2006 to just 38,119 last year, marking an decrease of 46%.
Chai Patel, legal and policy director at the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants (JCWI), told the Independent: “It is a shame that fewer spouses and children are given permission to join their partners and parents in the UK and we are a poorer nation as a result. This is also just the tip of the iceberg.
“This Government is hellbent on making the UK hostile to immigrants and have created one of the harshest family migration systems amongst developed countries. For integration and communities to succeed, parents should not be separated from children, nor should partners who are in love be forced to live in different countries. We need an immigration system that respects family life.”
Responding to the figures, Diane Abbott, the Shadow Home secretary said, “As a constituency MP I have heard these heartbreaking stories first-hand. Splitting families apart and unlawfully disregarding children’s welfare, as the Supreme court ruled earlier this year, this is a direct result of the Tory Government’s failed immigration policy,” she toldThe Independent.
“Their target of reducing net migration to below 100,000 has never been met but they are willing to resort to desperate, damaging and quite frankly cruel policies to achieve it.”
Seema Malhotra, speaking to Asian Voice at an interview during 2017 election said, "Theresa May's immigration plans have torn families apart." Malhotra has been approached by several of her constituents, complaining about this issue.
A Home Office spokesperson reportedly said: “The British public have been clear that they want to see a reduction in net migration and that is what this Government is delivering. We continue to welcome the foreign partners and children of those settled in the UK but it’s important that they can stand on their own feet financially.
“The Supreme Court has endorsed our approach in setting an income threshold for family migration that prevents burdens being placed on taxpayers and ensures migrant families can integrate into our communities.”
Increasing visa fees
Following outrage earlier this year when the Home Office revealed plans to charge visa applicants to contact their support service, there has been fresh criticism directed at their increasing application fees. A leading UK newspaper has reported that the Home Office is allegedly making profits of up to 800% on some visa applications, and the margins are so lucrative that there is an alleged incentive to reject applications to prompt repeat applications.
An indefinite leave to remain for a dependant could cost upto £3000 or more, but it reportedly costs home office only £423 to process the application. This means that the application costs 688% more to apply that it costs to process. The majority of the visas listed in the Home Office’s figures cost much more to apply for that they cost to process.
When asked for a comment on the inflated visa fees, the home office reportedly commented that the high fees were “only right”. The Home Office has reportedly argued that the inflated fees are in order to ease the burden on the taxpayer to control the border. They also cite the cost of operating the citizenship and immigration application system in areas that are not backed by any funding.
A 28 year old young entrepreneur who has invested upto £500,000 in a London restaurant and recruited more than 20 staff, complained that inspite of investing so much the entrepreneur visa that went for a renewal was at the home office for over seven months, stopping her from travelling to India, to see her ailing family.
Anokhi Mehra, speaking to Asian Voice said, “It's just not about the money. Then there are cases of wrong spellings. After waiting for 9 months my biometric card came but it had my name wrong. We are already paying a bomb for our visa renewal, yet the service is often appalling. I have heard there are even 2 years delay in some cases.”
If any company wants to recruit anybody from outside EU, the company now needs to pay more than £1000 per applicant, as a sponsorship fee. This obviously deters companies to recruit non British.
