For those who haven't heard, Theresa May (the Home Secretary) would like to limit immigration to satisfy the xenophobic leaning of many on the right of her party and to try and stop Tory voters from drifting to UKIP*. The majority of UK immigration comes from the EU, but obviously the Home Secretary cannot do anything about that. So her latest plan, as detailed by the Guardian on Friday is to prevent UK citizens from bringing their foreign born wife to the UK if the UK citizen earns below £25700 (with no children) and up to £46000 or more if they have children.
While Dom and I are obviously not impoverished, if these rules were enacted then they would prevent us from coming back to the UK in a few years if we happen to pop a sprog or two while we're over here. So, as you can imagine, I believe this proposal to be somewhat stupid, given how much the UK taxpayer has invested in training Dom and I. As much as I'm enjoying living in the US at the moment, I'd rather not have the Tories turn me from a legal nonresident alien into a nomadic alien, exiled to the frozen wastelands of Canada for all time. Or at least, I'd like to choose to head to the frozen wastelands of Canada instead of being driven there by badly thought-out immigration laws.
One thing that the US does very well is that it welcomes (for a few years anyway) those of a foreign persuasion who want to work here, as long as they know they are expected to leave eventually. Which is fair enough - I'm grateful that US taxpayers are paying me to do my hobby, although I suppose they get a good deal out of it as well.
Anyway, when someone from my country gets pissed off, we don't riot in the streets like the French, or aggressively have a cup of tea like the English. In Scotland, we either hit the person who annoyed us, get outrageously drunk, or write an angry letter. I chose the latter option so below is a letter I wrote to Theresa May explaining why I think her immigration plans are a bit daft.
As an aside, I would like to say that, were Scotland independent, we would head down a different path and welcome immigrants with open arms. But Alex Salmond is being rather coy in explaining what independence would actually mean and my sources on the ground say that the natives are starting to get rather restless. So come on Alex, man-up and spell it out, we might say even say yes... (well, not me personally as Theresa May won't let me bring my wife back home!)
* To my non-UK readers, UKIP is a right-wing party in the UK who want, along with the usual conservative agenda, to remove the UK from the EU. UKIP is basically a home for the rabid right of the Tory party who consider themselves too respectable / not racist enough to support the BNP.
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Dear Ms May,
I have been reading in the media about plans that you have to limit immigration such that UK nationals who marry non-EU partners will need to demonstrate a substantial income (more than £27,000 with no children) if they would like to bring their partner back to the UK. I am writing to let you know that I believe this plan to be deeply short-sighted and detrimental to the UK as a whole.
I am a neuroscientist, having finished my doctorate at the University of Oxford last year. Whilst studying at Oxford, I met and married the woman who is now my wife, a Canadian microbiologist who also completed her masters & doctorate at Oxford. We are currently working in the US, where we have both obtained postdoctoral fellowships at fairly prestigious institutions. I'm not sure if you are aware, but early-career academic researchers earn a relatively low salary, especially compared to other professionals such as lawyers, medical doctors and Members of Parliament.
The general career path for a researcher (in the life sciences, at least) is to spend at least 5 or 6 years in junior research positions at different institutions before trying to obtain an academic position such as a lectureship. Given the reproductive window of our species, our early research careers also come at a time when we would be starting a family, so it is not unlikely that we will have 1 or 2 children within the next few years. As well as starting a family, we will also need to decide which country to settle in, which would either be Canada, where my wife is from, or the UK.
If you proceed with your seriously ill-conceived plans to limit immigration, it is likely that the rules would prevent me being able to return to the UK with my wife. As well as grossly abusing my rights to family as a UK and EU citizen (my wife and I have both paid not insignificant sums to the exchequer whilst living in the UK), you would also be ensuring that the investment made by the UK taxpayer in educating both myself and my wife would be well and truly wasted. Although that cost may be insignificant compared to, say, mothballing an aircraft carrier before it enters service, it is still squandering taxpayers' money, which I suspect is not why we elected you.
Kind regards,
Dr Michael T. Craig
I have been reading in the media about plans that you have to limit immigration such that UK nationals who marry non-EU partners will need to demonstrate a substantial income (more than £27,000 with no children) if they would like to bring their partner back to the UK. I am writing to let you know that I believe this plan to be deeply short-sighted and detrimental to the UK as a whole.
I am a neuroscientist, having finished my doctorate at the University of Oxford last year. Whilst studying at Oxford, I met and married the woman who is now my wife, a Canadian microbiologist who also completed her masters & doctorate at Oxford. We are currently working in the US, where we have both obtained postdoctoral fellowships at fairly prestigious institutions. I'm not sure if you are aware, but early-career academic researchers earn a relatively low salary, especially compared to other professionals such as lawyers, medical doctors and Members of Parliament.
The general career path for a researcher (in the life sciences, at least) is to spend at least 5 or 6 years in junior research positions at different institutions before trying to obtain an academic position such as a lectureship. Given the reproductive window of our species, our early research careers also come at a time when we would be starting a family, so it is not unlikely that we will have 1 or 2 children within the next few years. As well as starting a family, we will also need to decide which country to settle in, which would either be Canada, where my wife is from, or the UK.
If you proceed with your seriously ill-conceived plans to limit immigration, it is likely that the rules would prevent me being able to return to the UK with my wife. As well as grossly abusing my rights to family as a UK and EU citizen (my wife and I have both paid not insignificant sums to the exchequer whilst living in the UK), you would also be ensuring that the investment made by the UK taxpayer in educating both myself and my wife would be well and truly wasted. Although that cost may be insignificant compared to, say, mothballing an aircraft carrier before it enters service, it is still squandering taxpayers' money, which I suspect is not why we elected you.
Kind regards,
Dr Michael T. Craig
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