Blog
Damian Green tells Newsnight that new language tests will reduce migration
It's tough at the top, as we all know, and even a minister in HM Government serves a bit of slack when it comes to a grilling by Newsnight's dreaded Paxman. But so anxious was the immigration minister, Damian Green to give some sort of hope to his interrogator that there is, just possibly, more than a snowball in hell's chance that he will be able to keep his manifesto promise to push net immigration down to the 'tens of thousands' mark by the end of this Parliament, he strayed into some very dangerous ground.
'Tremendous obstacles to achieving this reduction' opined Paxman. Most people who figure in the statistics for net immigration are exempt from controls - Brits, EU citizens and the like, and you can't stop people bringing in their family members, he put to the amiable Mr Green. The minister clearly disagreed on this last point.
"Well we can", he said. "For instances, later this month we are introducing a new policy which means that you can't come here to get married unless you can speak English at the basic level."
So is this an admission that the coalition government is expecting to reap a reward from this policy which does come in the form of lower numbers for family migrants? To date it has justified its policy to the public by talking about the role it will play in promoting integrating migrants - which it no doubt hopes will furnish it with some sort of defence when dragged before the courts on human rights charges by our good friends at JCWI and Liberty in due course.
Mr Green and his colleagues know very well that, as important as the flannel about integration is to the case they will plead when in the dock, there are really very few votes to be got from it. On the other hand, when you are desperately striving to reduce net immigration from its current level of around 200,000 people a year to 'the tens of thousands', any contribution that can be extracted from hapless families with spouses who haven't been able to learn the lingo in classroom settings far, far away, will be very gratefully received.
The Paxman-Green interview will be available on the BBC website for a few more days at least, so click HERE if you want to check that out for yourself.
Twitter
Facebook
RSS Feed
Youtube
Flickr
Comments
The new English language test requirement for spouses was debated in the House of Lords on 20th October - Lord Avebury also pointed out that this has been presented as part of a package of measures specifically designed in order to reduce immigration to the UK, and noted the lack of wider consultation on the new requirement. Read that debate here:
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld201011/ldhansrd/text/101025-0...
My story began in 2009. I can clearly remember the date 07/02/2009. I was going through a very
difficult divorce and had already posted a profile on a dating site, minus my photo. I was curious.
I came home from work one day to find a very polite and frank email in my mailbox.
looking at the email I could see it was from China and my first reaction was it was just someone playing
games or wanting to meet a Western spouse to obtain a British passport in due course, these things do happen
I replied to the email and the next day I got another, then another. I thought it would just fizzle out
after a few weeks. then I started to receive photos, so I had a face to the person on the other end.
her name was Hui Hebi and we soon became friends, though I was still a bit nervous.
Hui it turned out was 46 years of age and very beautiful, she had a Son in his twenties who was now
independent and had just graduated from University .
Hui was living alone with her little pet dog and like most Chinese people led a very simple life.
our correspondence continued to grow and over the months we got to know much more about each other.
it soon became apparent that this lovely woman was much different from what I had first thought.
I started to try and help her with English and we had many happy moments on the computer web camera when
Hui was trying to pronounce English words. even when I was away working in Spain and France for a short
time, I would come home to find many of her emails and also there were the phone texts. we would grow very
close over the next nine months.
I wish to point out that I knew nothing of the new English test, not until I came home from China.
as time progressed we sent each other little gifts. a new digital camera was the first I think I sent her.
her eyes welled up with tears when I saw her holding the camera on the web cam. she was so full of
gratitude for what I had did. Hui is no gold digger, if people knew only a little of what I have seen and
heard during the time I have known my wife, they would cry.
after nine months I was free to marry and decided to go to China. I told Hui my plans and she was very
happy. the date was set, October 18 and we talked of our happiness, we were both nervous because we had
still not met face to face. the big day came and I went to London Heathrow airport and flew out to
China with many thoughts going through my mind.
once I had landed at Chongqing airport I took out my camera ready and was wondering if everything would be
ok.
as I walked though the terminal with my bags I heard my name called, there were many people there and it was
obvious most were looking at me. my name was called again and then I saw her for the first time, this
beautiful little woman who had the most lovely eyes waving to me with this huge bouquet of red roses, for me.
as we walked towards each other I took a photo of her. I immediately picked her up and gave her a long hug
with all these smiling Chinese people and airport staff looking on.
yes, my meeting with Hui for the first time far exceeded my expectations and I had a nice feeling inside.
we were taken by her friends just outside the city centre of Chongqing. my first thought was, God this is a
huge place. on arriving at her home we took the lift to the her apartment and I began to unpack and we
talked with the help of her little electronic translator.
Hui had decided to rent this apartment because I was to learn later that she did not want me to see what
her real home was like, it was much different to the one where we would stay for the next few short months.
I gave her money for the rent because I already knew she was poor and had had a very hard life.
she would say to me many times while we were together and also apart. Gian, money is not everything. I
need your love and warmth. she never got that from her first husband. he left her when her Son was about
nine years of age, Hui said to me, many times I would eat noodles so my Son could eat meat.
over the years Hui worked hard to make sure her Son had a normal life as she could give him. it was a
struggle for her to put him through University but she done it. he is now an interior designer in the City.
I was treated like royalty while I was there, each time I went to pay for food or drinks, everyone would
stop me. if you were taken out then it was not right that you a Westerner should pay.
October 23 it was the date that I wanted us to marry and I did not want that to change and we had already
talked of a future together and Hui said if I needed time to think it over more then she was happy with
that, but I had already knew enough and had fallen in love with her. if someone had asked me one year
earlier, if it was possible to fall in love from afar. I would have said no.
now, here I was in another far away Country and we had decided to marry for rich or poor. in sickness and
health. Hui wanted to make sure that I was ready for this big step. it was already clear that she was in
love with me too.
we went to the Marriage office in another part of the City and relaxed after having taken care of all the
final steps in our documents. I knew what was coming. friends of mine in the same age group told me.
they too had taken the same steps when they had married their Chinese partner.
the big moment came and we exchanged our vows before the Lord God. we were given our little red Marriage
books and exchanged wedding rings, photos were taken and we were so very happy.
we could never have known that our paths would cross in this life and bring us together in such a strange
way.
towards the end of our first nine months living together I was to receive news that my mothers health was
not good. Hui was concerned and we agreed that I should return to the UK.
My flight was booked for the 6 of July and as the days got closer we talked of many things.
our huge albums of many very happy moments captured on photo and films. I even made photo movies that many
people love and have even voted for on one of my Internet photo sites. we have received many wonderful
comments from near and far.
the month before I left, my wife took me to the mountains just outside the city to visit the last resting
place of her parents. it was to be a very emotional time, one of many that shall remain with me forever.
there on one of the slopes was one of many graves, this one had a photo of her parents on it.
I was so moved by the experience that I had tears.
there is so much more to this story that I find it very hard to continue right now.
we said our goodbyes at the airport and everyone was sad. the flight back was a daze for me.
once back in the UK I saw my Mother and was horrified. she looked very bad and I felt she would die within
days. but with some help from one of the nurses I started to make soft foods that she like and it has
helped her. I got in touch with the right people and this also helped to give her a better quality of
life. a wheel chair allowed me or my daughter to take her out.
I now have a new job through an agency and hope the company will take me on full time.
the first few weeks apart were so sad. Hui would often break down on the phone or during one of our many
conversations on our Internet chat programme. even to this day it is very painful for us.
everyone should have the right to live together with their spouse. people should never be discriminated
against just because they fall in love and want to live together,no matter what Country they come from.
my wife and I continue to email each other and phone every day. we shall never give up and hope that one
day justice will do the right thing and put an end to the suffering of us and others and disapprove of this law.
most people really do want to stay married and enjoy life and there will always
be a percentage who will try and violate the Immigration laws here in the UK. but please Theresa may, give
those of us who are genuine. a chance to live together and our loved ones a chance to learn good English
where they will be with those who love them and can also help guide them on the road to a better
understanding of the English language.
Thank you.
Some latest development on the spousal visa and language requirements.... Migrants Rights Network will blog about this soon with our views on the issue, but in the mean time here is the latest news for your information
---------------------------
The Government's new policy of insisting that spouses and civil partners of foreign nationals must be able to speak English suffered a major setback after a ruling by the High Court on 1st March 2011.
Mr Justice Beatson sitting at the Birmingham Administrative Court on 1st March 2011 granted permission to apply for Judicial Review to three Claimants. They had each sought to have their spouses join them in this country. They are nationals of Pakistan, Yemen and India. They do not speak, read or write English. They had contended that a new amendment to the Immigration Rules which was brought in very recently was discriminatory as the change of rules applied only to certain countries and not for example to Canada or Australia or the European Union. The Claimants had also asserted that the Government's Rule meant that their Article 8 family life and other human rights were breached contrary to the European Convention on Human Rights.
In a landmark judgement, Mr Justice Beatson has granted permission to apply for Judicial Review to each of the Claimants after a contested hearing today. The case if some significance. The Government had contended that the English language requirement was for good reasons stating that, "The new rules will help promote the economic well-being of the UK, for example by encouraging integration and protecting public services. It will also assist in removing cultural barriers, broaden opportunities for migrants and help to ensure that they are equipped to play a full part in British life" The statistics presented to the Court showed that this would affect many thousands of potential immigrants to the United Kingdom. Many believe that this was an attempt to reduce the numbers seeking entry from outside the EU and from outside of the USA, Canada and Australia. If that was the Government's attempts then it leaves its policy in disarray and will mean yet another question mark over the Government's commitment to seeing a reduction in the numbers of immigrants that will be granted entry to the United Kingdom.
The Court has listed the cases for a substantive Judicial Review hearing over two days on 18th and 19th July 2011.
The Claimants are represented by Mr Ramby De Mello and Mr Abid Mahmood of No5 Chambers and Mr Tony Muman of 43 Temple Row Chambers, Birmingham. The instructing solicitors are Mr Sanjeev Sharma of JM Wilson & Co LLP Solicitors and Ms Robina Shah of The Immigration Advisory Service, Birmingham Office.
Post new comment