Dividing families, disrupting integration
The government has recently announced significant rule changes on family migration to the UK from outside the EU (see below for details). People seeking to bring their spouse or partner, children and other close dependants to join them to the UK will face new barriers to family life here.
The Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants and Migrants’ Rights Network have published briefings on the changes and launched a campaign to oppose them.
Find out how you can get involved - by lobbying your MP, joining a demonstration at the Home Office, and taking part in a parliamentary meeting
“Keeping families apart”
Join the national campaign to oppose these changes!
Migrants’ Rights Network briefing
Summary: MRN is concerned that the new rules will prevent many thousands of people from exercising their right to a family life in the UK. They will introduce additional hurdles and costs for people, particularly lower earners, who are either British or who are settled here and wish close family members to join them in the UK. As a result, the rules are likely to further undermine the integration of some migrant communities, and to be viewed more widely as unfair as their impacts on both migrants and British people are realised. Download the MRN briefing (pdf)
JCWI Campaign: United by love - divided by Theresa May
Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants (JCWI) has launched a campaign to oppose the new rules. They have been covering the issues for sometime on their blog, check out the details: Letter to the Times and Why pushing up maintenance requirements would be a bad idea and Worrying times ahead for family members.
They have also issued a response to the Government’s initial consultation on this issue, and produced a dossier of case-studies which demonstrates how people will be adversely affected by these new Rule changes.
What you can do
From JCWI: The Government has not yet introduced Rules reflecting the above, but it’s likely to. We’d usually ask you to write to your MP at this point. A handful of you would, and a smattering of MPs would receive a letter, a couple may get two, they’d reply and nothing else would happen. So we’d like you instead, to contact Chris Bryant, Labour’s shadow immigration minister. We want him to oppose these policy proposals and any corresponding Rule changes. We want him to stand up and say publicly that immigration for the rich only is not on. He is in a position to give these Rule changes some serious opposition. Go on, drop him a line, you can contact him at [email protected]. He’d love to hear from you.
Demonstration and Parliament meeting
9th July 2012
MRN and JCWI will be holding a meeting entitled ‘The new family migration rules: dividing families, disrupting integration’ in the Houses of Parliament at 6.30pm on 9th July 2012.
“…this is no ordinary meeting, it’s a chance to effect change. We want you to come along to Parliament early, arrange to see your MP, tell them your story or your concerns, invite them to the meeting. This is your chance to show your representatives where they are going wrong.”
The meeting will be preceded by a public demonstration outside the Home Office, which will begin at 4.30pm.
Tentative running order of things for the day is:
4.30pm - 5pm Demo at Home Office, (2 Marsham Street, SW1P 4DF)
5.30pm - 6.15pm Chance for individuals to arrange a one-to-one meeting with their MPs in the The Central Lobby of Parliament
6.30pm Main Meeting in Committee Room 1 (House of Lords)