Please allow me first to explain the situation in some detail. We, the WP and HSMP visa holders, made our decision to come to live and work in the UK based on the immigration rules laid out by the government at the time of our application. The main terms included working in the UK, paying full residents’ taxes, paying full residents’ National Insurance, making no recourse to public funds, and a four-year time frame to qualify for indefinite leave to remain in the UK. We were accepted as legal immigrants; invited to integrate into the British economy and society; made life-changing arrangements; and came to legally live and work in the UK according to these immigration rules.
Since we arrived in the UK, we have been abiding by these rules, we have been working and contributing to the UK economy, we have been paying full residents’ taxes, we have been paying full residents’ National Insurance, and we have not made any recourse to public funds. In other terms, we have been paying full residents’ contribution to the economy, society, and country we live in, without being allowed recourse to full residents’ benefits and rights. We chose to accept this arrangement because it was bound to last for four years, after which we were supposed to qualify for indefinite leave to remain in the UK.
Now, the government has decided to change its immigration rules and extend the current four-year time frame to qualify for indefinite leave to remain in the UK, into five years. We are not contesting the government’s right to change its immigration rules. However, we are objecting to the retrospective application of these new rules on current WP and HSMP visa holders because it is not fair and because it will create unanticipated hardships for many law-abiding, hard-working, highly-skilled immigrants, who made life changing arrangements to live and work in the UK under the original immigration rules.
The stated rationale behind the change is to ensure better integration of economic migrants into UK society. I believe that this change of rules in fact limits our full contribution to society, creates feelings of alienation and non-belonging, and puts us at a significant professional and economic disadvantage.
First, it is almost impossible to get a reasonable mortgage deal if one does not have an indefinite leave to remain. Not owning a home is certainly not conducive to feelings of integration and settlement. It also prevents us from fully participating in and contributing to the UK economy.
Second, until holding an indefinite leave to remain, I and other members of my family do not qualify for UK residents tuition fees in any educational institution. This adds an unaffordable economic burden and significantly restricts our opportunities for learning and development.
Third, it becomes increasingly difficult to be granted entry visas to other countries if our leave to remain in the UK is valid for less than 6 months, which limits our freedom of movement, and put those of us whose jobs require overseas travel, like myself, at a great professional disadvantage. Applying the new immigration rules retrospectively will unduly stretch this disadvantage.
I very much value the democratic system that allows me to express my opinion, and work to change what I believe is wrong. We, the WP and HSMP visa holders, are therefore writing to our MPs, to the Government and to the Opposition to express our objection and to seek help. We have also written two online petitions objecting to the retrospective application of the new rules and have gained the support of several hundred signatories. You can access the petitions using the following hyperlinks:
http://www.petitiononline.com/ILR45/petition.html,
http://www.petitiononline.com/aioaim/petition.html and
http://btcd.turkish-network.org/class/c ... 72515D4352
I hope I managed to make clear our case against the retrospective application of the newly introduced immigration rules on current WP and HSMP visa holders. I would very much appreciate your assistance in voicing our grievance and objection to the Government and in the House of Commons. I would also appreciate your advice regarding the best course of action we should follow to try and reverse the retrospective application of these rules.
Thank you for your help,
Sincerely,