The cruel UK rule which forced a mum to return to Thailand without her daughter

[theguyfromanotherforum]

2 minutes ago, Dene16 said:

My answer states  8/9  at best but that is not the norm. Also a week in the majority of companies is 37.5 hours per week. His wage was the minimum wage that a company has to provide (£7.62 an hour i think). A wage that many companies only provide and only employ younger workers so that the minimum wage is even less 

Therefore your calculations are irrelevant

 

 

 

 

So, he can get an extra job on weekends or.....

 

I am sure if he went to unemployment center, explained his situation someone would offer him a decent job.....

 

or.....

 

Amazon is hiring. It's not a great job, but he could tough it out for a year.

 

https://www.amazon.jobs/en/landing_pages/warehouse-operative

[Dene16]

4 minutes ago, theguyfromanotherforum said:

So, he can get an extra job on weekends or....

Hence i also stated that he should of made allowances for these ( meaning financial requirements)

He has made his own problems but does not mean i don't sympathise with his position

 

Edited October 20, 2017 by Dene16
addition

[Dumbastheycome]

Plan  or  contrive  your  own  situation!   No  Govt.  gives  a  damn  if  you   don't  fit  the  master  plan.

[thaiguzzi]

2 hours ago, Baerboxer said:

 

There may be be more to this story as indeed all cases will involve some unique context. 

 

But the issue is the unfairness of applying any law that penalizes or benefits based on financial wealth criteria.

 

It's as wrong as allowing billionaires to buy citizenship just because they're rich and can afford to. 

 

All of this smacks of the right wing Tory idea that wealth brings privilege and also helps there claim to be better policing immigration when in fact it does nothing to prevent illegals. 

 

By all means continue the no recourse to public funds, no benefits etc until a spouse has gone through the necessary steps in the immigration settlement procedure. But there is something morally, ethically indecent about saying one person can bring a spouse and one can't because of their personal financial circumstances. 

 

The UK government should hang their head in shame but it won't because May introduced this; and Rudd is her lapdog.

 

The difference is you advocate he should treat the symptoms i.e. navigate through the rules; whereas I want to treat the cause and remove this cancerous piece of politically inspired legislation.

 

Jesus H. Christ!

 Baerboxer has just written 2 posts that I completely agree with. Well written too.

Now lets get back to the Red Shirts and have some arguments....

[dogpatch55]

7 hours ago, GOLDBUGGY said:

sWell maybe I am the only one here to say this, but I feel sorry for them and I think the government there should let her stay at least another year, and on a visa type which she is then allowed to work. Between the 2 of them they should be able to make a go of it.

 

"Get a Job You Bum?"" He had a job which paid him only 15,000 GBP a year. So now he is forced to quit that job to look after his daughter, which will surely put them on the Welfare Pay Role now. So the very thing this government tried to avoid they ended up forcing him into doing this.

 

So why not keep his job and still try to make a go of it? If his daughter needs Day Care and maybe not in school yet full time, I can understand that. Do you guys have any idea what Day Care Costs in GB? I have a female friend who is a single parent and has one kid in Day Care as she works full time, and she has to pay them over 1,000 GBP a month, or 12,000 GBP a year. When you only make 18,000 GBP a year for a salary, there isn't much let over to pay the family bills with. So he might as well stay at home and look after his daughter and let the government foot the bill.

 

So why not work on weekends to? Who looks after the kid on weekends then? Don't say family and friends as a lot of people, like myself, don't have family left back home they could count on for this. I doubt he could find a Day Care who would watch his daughter on weekends, even if he wanted to do this.

 

Why not find a better job? To say this just tells me you have no idea how difficult it can be to find a job when you are past 50 years old. Especially if he has been living in Thailand the last 8 years and has no work record for this time. I have a few friends in the Oil & Gas Industry who are well educated, but forced to accept low paying jobs just to make ends meet.

 

Yes we can all criticize and say he should have got a better education, where probably half the people in GB don't have. He is not an immigrant. He was born and raised in GB by he sounds of it. His daughter is now a GB Subject to. At least when his wife was there, and if she was allowed to work, that had a chance to make a go of it. Now I don't see them having any chance at all. Forced on the Welfare Role by the same government who claims they were trying to prevent that. 

 

What good is your citizenship if a man is not even allowed to bring his wife of many years with him to come and live with him there? Or having to have 62,000 GBP in a saving account. How many people in GB have this amount in the bank right now? If they are like Canada most of the people owe this or more in debts let alone have it saved in a bank.           

Yeah well said.. Too many on this site look down on  anyone without loads of money! It is wrong that those on a low wage or pensioners are not allowed to have their wife with them in the UK..   There is no  compassion in this tory  government

[nontabury]

18 minutes ago, theguyfromanotherforum said:

 

So, he can get an extra job on weekends or.....

 

I am sure if he went to unemployment center, explained his situation someone would offer him a decent job.....

 

or.....

 

Amazon is hiring. It's not a great job, but he could tough it out for a year.

 

https://www.amazon.jobs/en/landing_pages/warehouse-operative

O,k I realise he’s living in the south, but if he was working in certain areas of the North, he would probably find there are not the 2nd jobs available.

 

[wakeupplease]

16 minutes ago, thaiguzzi said:

Jesus H. Christ!

 Baerboxer has just written 2 posts that I completely agree with. Well written too.

Now lets get back to the Red Shirts and have some arguments....

And not even a mention of the Shins either well done that man.

 

Sad story and it hurts I know. laws where put there for a good reason Britain is the No 1 place people all over the world want to live in (Google It) Can't do anything about the eastern europeans arriving in the millions but can about the others so did, not fair but hey its life. Brexit will stop a lot of the EU crap and maybe change the law again in 2020. Until then he just needs to work at it even if its two jobs to get her back.

 

PS apply for new visa for visits in the mean time as long as she went back on her own free will, could stay up to 6 months at a time.

Edited October 20, 2017 by wakeupplease

[nontabury]

11 minutes ago, dogpatch55 said:

Yeah well said.. Too many on this site look down on  anyone without loads of money! It is wrong that those on a low wage or pensioners are not allowed to have their wife with them in the UK..   There is no  compassion in this tory  government

Correct, however you could have also added the Labour Party and the “I’m alright Jack on this thread”.

[teatree]

12 hours ago, Briggsy said:

You are only shocked because you are taking the story at face value. The source is the husband who has painted an inaccurate picture.

 

It is important to remember Ms. I'anson applied for a visitor visa for 6 months, received it and then tried to renege on the conditions of the visa. The family is trying to circumvent the rules. A settlement visa is perfectly possible if Mr I'anson can be bothered to fulfil the requirements which are very attainable.

 

I ask again, what has Mr I'anson lived on for the last 8 years in Thailand?

 

There is much injustice in the world and in the UK. This is not remotely an example of it.

If going purely by the book then yes, in this case according to the rules she has no right of settlement.

 

The problem is that some rules are immoral and this is one of them.

 

For the last 20+ years anyone from the EU has had the right to work and settle in the UK , whoever they are and whether they have any connection with UK or even speak any English.  Yet a mother can't come and live to be with her child? 

 

The rules, as they stand, are simply unjust.

Edited October 20, 2017 by teatree

[billd766]

7 hours ago, MaeJoMTB said:

But I have.

 

Sorry to hear that.

[billd766]

3 hours ago, sawadee1947 said:

Your comment is not quite right and is a bit nonsense. The story is about a Thai Lady, not you and me. Got it? And Thais are used to spend only what they earn: morning breakfast for not more than 20-40 Baht, lunch maybe a bit more, let's say 50-80 Baht and dinner same. That is in total , and I hope you would agree, max. 200 Baht. Our maid needs only 100 Baht for the whole day e.g.though she is paid 500 Baht/day.

 

The post I replied to.

 

Posted 11 hours ago

  12 hours ago, seeyoujimmy said:

do you ever look at most of the people in Thailand with very little money they are not all unhappy not everyone can be rich

that is not quite right: even with only 300 Baht/daily you will get all what you need. Life here is cheap and by far cheaper than in UK with 1500 Pounds/month.

 

My reply to you

 

You claim that your maid only needs100 baht a day.

 

Is she a live in or live out maid?

 

If she lives out how does she get to your place? Her own transport or do you collect and deliver her?

 

Does she have a family of her own? If she does and she has children who pays for their school clothes, books, transport etc?

 

Does she rent or own her own place? Water and electricity are not free.

 

We have Thai friends who work with us sometimes and they have 3 children and both the Dad and Mum work to make ends meet, to keep a roof over their head, clothes plus school clothes, school transport and all the stuff that goes with that, so despite what you say Thailand is NOT that cheap a place to live even if you are a Thai.

 

For a farang it IS cheaper than the UK and a damn sight nicer, IF you have money.

3 hours ago, sawadee1947 said:

 

 

[billd766]

3 hours ago, sawadee1947 said:

That is not quite right. You picked ONE example only. If you go to the market e.g morning, you'll get your rice with veggies and chicken or pork for around 30-50 Baht. By 3 it's in total 90-150 Baht.

 

But you in turn are only talking about food, and that is for one person only without considering rent, electricity, water, transport just get to the market and back or another person or a child, ALL of which comes from that 300 baht a day, IF the Thais actually get that much.

[billd766]

1 hour ago, theguyfromanotherforum said:

 

So, he can get an extra job on weekends or.....

 

I am sure if he went to unemployment center, explained his situation someone would offer him a decent job.....

 

or.....

 

Amazon is hiring. It's not a great job, but he could tough it out for a year.

 

https://www.amazon.jobs/en/landing_pages/warehouse-operative

 

And who would look after his daughter whilst he is working all these extra hours at night and the weekend?

 

Those jobs sound OK IF you live in a location that requires the staff. And if he doesn't live near one, what is he supposed to do?

[01322521959]

14 hours ago, Thian said:

somtam make flom papaya or mango sir.....

Please try to understand British humour. Usually rather sarcastic, as here ..sir.

[seeyoujimmy]

there has been a lot about this topic and the decisions the op has made I think the main point should be if his wife was from one of the eu member countries and he was earning  £15000 his wife would be with him but as she is Thai she is not, the law was never about having to have an income of £18600 in his case it would be more as he has a child, it was just because the government were not reaching immigration targets and they wanted to show they were doing something, so they hit the poor people who do not have much of a voice, to try and make themselves look good they are ruining the lives of a small number of people.

as I stated before he cannot claim any kind of benefit for his wife so there is no cost to the tax payer, now they have made him a single parent he has to look after his daughter and now it is costing the tax payer it is a stupid law made by a**h****  

[icare999]

I assume child has uk citerzenship so surely it must be against some human rights not to let a mother be with her UK citizan child. Also i tinhk i read if you have 65,000 then thats ok insteade of income. We have 2 children who both have uk citizanship and my thai wife actaulyl has more than that as income in her own right in UK from property rentals and much more income than me. I wonder if wife has income thats allowed or if it has to be husbands income. In any case given all immigrants who are allowed in surely even if thye needed some state help a uk citizan should be allowed to have his spouse with him in UK.

[cyberfarang]

While in Britain what type of accommodation did this man provide for himself and his family?

 

£62500 savings required. That`s only 2700000 baht at today`s exchange rates. So does this man have any savings at all? The UK government are concerned that this family are benefit claimants waiting to happen. The same applies to westerners living in Thailand, married or not, cannot meet the financial requirements, then sorry goodbye. Couldn`t continue in Thailand and now struggling in Britain. It`s the child I feel pity for, having a father like that.

 

[janclaes47]

18 hours ago, LannaGuy said:

 

edit: BTW  before any bleeding hearts start.. 18,600 is a PITTANCE in the UK and when I left 10 years ago I was on 5 times that

 

Times must be excellent in the UK. 5 times 18.600 would at today's exchange rates translate to 333.000 Baht a month, and 10 years ago probably more like half a million a month.

 

Does everyone in the UK drive a Rolls these days?

[wakeupplease]

5 hours ago, dogpatch55 said:

Yeah well said.. Too many on this site look down on  anyone without loads of money! It is wrong that those on a low wage or pensioners are not allowed to have their wife with them in the UK..   There is no  compassion in this tory  government

Hello Jeremy we do not need Labour politics on TV.

[Kadilo]

15 hours ago, LannaGuy said:

IRA?  you are decades out of touch

Says  the person boasting about how much he earned when last in the U.K. 10 years ago. 

[observer90210]

And tomorrow the queues at Thai Airport immigration Arrivals will double as all the IO's who have read the story, may indulge to their individual revenge vendetta's towards incomming farangs !!

[Thechook]

18 hours ago, HauptmannUK said:

Whilst in this case the husband is guilty of poor planning I think TVF members from the UK need to be aware that there is growing hostility in the UK toward returning expats. Probably partly fuelled by fears that, post Brexit, there could be sizeable numbers of older expats returning to the UK from Europe.

I am a member of the Conservative Party and at a recent constituency meeting that I attended we had a government minister as a guest speaker. The topic was immigration and Brexit. There were a lot of comments about returning expats and some discussion about stopping pensions to expats after one year overseas. We were told that NZ and Aus do something similar and its being looked at by DWP.

Certainly there are big shifts in public opinion going on right now.

Australia cuts you off 100% if you leave for any period of time.

[cyberfarang]

19 hours ago, HauptmannUK said:

Whilst in this case the husband is guilty of poor planning I think TVF members from the UK need to be aware that there is growing hostility in the UK toward returning expats. Probably partly fuelled by fears that, post Brexit, there could be sizeable numbers of older expats returning to the UK from Europe.

I am a member of the Conservative Party and at a recent constituency meeting that I attended we had a government minister as a guest speaker. The topic was immigration and Brexit. There were a lot of comments about returning expats and some discussion about stopping pensions to expats after one year overseas. We were told that NZ and Aus do something similar and its being looked at by DWP.

Certainly there are big shifts in public opinion going on right now.

Who was this alleged government minister discussing about stopping pensions to expats after one year overseas?

[berybert]

22 hours ago, petesc55 said:

She was on a 6 month 'visitors visa', but had a job?  (she could return to if they let her back in)

 

 

from the news article

Illegal to work on a tourist visa. If it had happened in Thailand to a foreign woman she would have been put in jail.

[brewsterbudgen]

Hello Jeremy we do not need Labour politics on TV.

I don't see why not... but we could certainly do with them in the UK.

Sent from my SM-G930F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[Airbagwill]

With brexit this sort if thing will only get worse

[MaeJoMTB]

6 hours ago, cyberfarang said:

The same applies to westerners living in Thailand, married or not, cannot meet the financial requirements, then sorry goodbye.

There are no financial requirements for a foreign married man living in Thailand with his Thai wife, apart from the 5,000bht VISA fee.

Edited October 21, 2017 by MaeJoMTB

[GOLDBUGGY]

13 hours ago, Briggsy said:

Thank you for your sensible and measured post.

 

I am very confident that Mr I'anson will meet the financial requirements if he tries. I think it is necessary to remind everyone that his wife applied for and received a visitor visa stating unequivocally that she would return to Thailand after 6 months. It is then ridiculous for Mr I'anson to turn around after the 6 months is up and cry to the press that she was being forced out. The epitome of cheek.

 

It is also necessary to point out that nowhere in Mr I'anson's one-sided account does he indicate that he made any serious effort to fulfil the requirements. Reading between the lines, it looked like he got weighed in (inheritance, redundancy perhaps), lived in Thailand for 8 years, by that time had a wife and young daughter, ran out of cash, went back to the UK, was unwilling to work the hours necessary to meet the salary requirements and then blamed everybody but himself.

 

This is a non-story. The situation is very easily rectifiable if he is prepared to make some short-term sacrifices. e.g. daughter goes back to Thailand for 6 months or relatives help Mr I'anson with child care.

 

In terms of the bigger picture, I have some sympathy with those who find the rule unfair. Particularly so, where the marriage is clearly established. However, common sense dictates that applicants for settlement need to show how they will survive financially, more so for those from impoverished countries.

I think I, and I am sure several other here, need to remind you that the only reason his wife applied for a Tourist Visa, as this was the only one she could get to even get into the UK with here UK Child. Or are you naïve enough to think that there plan was for her to get a Tourist Visa, then for her to leave her husband and child after 6 months, to go home to live alone?

 

The plan was obviously to get her into the UK, and then make plans for her to stay. If I was under the same situation as he was in a foreign country, and a lack of funds, I probably would have done the same thing. Then find any job and try to support my family. So who would think ahead of time and know that the government would throw her out after 6 months? So the ridiculous part of this whole story is he even having to get a Tourist Visa to get his wife of 8 years, and child, to be able to come and live with him in the UK.

 

Under your way of thinking married couples of 50 years and who both paid taxes in the UK all of there lives, who managed to send all there kids through University, but who are now living on just the government pension system, should not be allowed to live together as they can't afford to anymore.

 

Don't you think it is high time that governments stop wasting the Tax Payers Money on stupid things, like hiring these Government Employees who keep coming up with more stupid rules, and start helping there citizens again? After all, it is there vote that gets them there in the first place.  

 

Many people in the UK live under this money threshold. Including Old People. If they just gave them a chance and she was able to get a proper visa so she could work also, I am sure they could make a go of it. Even if they need a bit of help for the first couple of years.   

[Watchful]

3 hours ago, cyberfarang said:

Who was this alleged government minister discussing about stopping pensions to expats after one year overseas?

This is the type of policy any smart politician would raise. Think about it, you have the following:

 

1. More money for those in the UK

2. Less pressure on the GBP as you stem the flow outside the UK

3. No resistance from voters as who is going to stand up for Expats?

 

The pressure on the GBP from Brexit could make a change like this happen sooner rather than later.

 

The wise would plan accordingly.

[GOLDBUGGY]

13 hours ago, Dene16 said:

What a sad person you have shown yourself to be

A person with no qualifications or skills will only, at best, command a wage of £8/9 per hour which will not provide the relevant sum of money required (he worked in a warehouse that paid the minimum wage/even less)

A person over 60 regardless of some skills or qualifications will still only be able to get a job/position that provides this same hourly rate

£18,600 may be a pittance to some people with high opinions of themselves but to others it is not.

I agree he should of thought about the circumstances beforehand and allowed for these

I actually agree with the rules but it is a somewhat sad scenario. 

 

I am sure he thought long and hard about this before he moved. But now I am really interested in finding out what you would do under the same circumstances since you claim he should allow for these.

 

So put yourself in Thailand for 8 years where you were not allowed to work. Or if you did at a low wage. You stayed because after your divorce in the UK you really had no reason to go back there to live. You also met the woman of your dreams and had a child with her. You never got a higher education as you felt you needed to work as you were good with your hands and not cut out for school. You are now in your 50's and you are running out of funds to support your family.

 

So okay, tell us how you would handle this differently? Stay in he UK in your nowhere job and work until you are 65 years old so you can get a government pension that you can't even live on? Leave you wife and daughter in Thailand, and try to visit them once a year for a couple of weeks? Leave you wife in Thailand and separate her from the child so that now you have to raise your child by yourself and can't go back to work to improve you financial situation?

 

Yes! I am really interested in seeing how you would handle this so much better. Keep in mind not everyone has parents who can send them through University, nor is everyone born with the same intellect, and could do well there and pass there grades.