Help us stop the government from splitting our family up

We have to go before a judge on the 14th July to fight to keep our family together due to cruel immigration rules that threaten to split our family up. We have to submit lots of paperwork to support our case and justify why we should be allowed to remain together as a family here in the UK. As part of that submission we would dearly love to show them how many people do NOT support this treatment of genuine, loving families and indeed, who cannot understand the logic of splitting up a family.

A 16mth old baby's future and birthright at stake..

On the 28th June, a few days after Brexit, the sanctity of my family was seriously put under threat when we received notice from the Home Office that Carlos, my husband who is an Ecuadorian born citizen, was refused the right to remain in the UK with me, his British wife and our British son, Thomas, who was only 6 months old.

The ripple effect of this inhumane decision has been profound – the mental, emotional, physical and financial impact on us has been something that no family should be put through. When we should have been enjoying these first precious moments as a new family, we have been living a life of uncertainty and despair - and going deeper and deeper into debt. What is tragic about this is that we are not the only ones – there are thousands like us living the same nightmare every day.

Forced to go to court to fight to keep our family together

A year on and we have only just received a court date to go before a judge to fight the right to keep my family together here in the UK and we would love your support in asking the Rt Hon Rudd to see reason in this madness and overturn this decision and save taxpayers money on a costly court hearing.

With Carlos unable to work - because immigration rules forbid Carlos to work, study or even volunteer - he is now Thomas’s main carer and their bond is very strong – and it would be extraordinarily cruel to tear them apart. Our 16-month old Thomas needs his daddy more than ever. I have gone back to work but on a basic salary, that barely covers basic/ essential living costs, we have spent all the savings and credit available that we had just to get through the last 16 months. Thomas and I are British and we want to be allowed to live here with all the freedom of choice a normal family has. As parents, Carlos and I would like to provide for our son as any normal family would be able to.

A genuine family who wanted to raise Thomas in a country where he had access to basic human rights such as healthcare and a decent education, we had the rug pulled out from under us that day. They had decided that Carlos could go back to Ecuador, I could go back to full time work and my parents could look after Thomas – with no regard for our child’s welfare and what that really meant for Thomas and us in reality.

In the real world, it meant a 6-month old baby would lose his daddy,a father would lose his son and a family would be forced to spend a MINIMUM of a year apart - as we tried to fulfil the minimum requirements with no guarantee at the end that it would be successful. Ecuador is a developing country where healthcare and education costs are at a premium and if we were forced to move there Thomas would lose his right to a good education and a better future.

If we don't protect the sanctity of our family what else do we have?

“It is estimated that at least 15,000 children have been affected by changes to the financial requirements of the Immigration Rules implemented in 2012. Children, most of whom are British citizens, are suffering distress and anxiety as a result of separation from a parent. This is compounded by the overall stress, anxiety and practical difficulties faced by the family unit.
The Children's Commissioner Report, Family Friendly 2015

This February, a Supreme Court hearing has ruled that the government's lack of due consideration for the welfare of any children in family migration cases has been unlawful and have now been told to review this aspect of the application process. Although it maintained the minimum financial requirement of £18,600 was lawful, how this figure was achieved for the application (that the whole amount had to be earned by the UK partner) was unlawful and also needed reviewing.

In our case, a person in an office was deciding the future of my son who they had never met. It seemed to us that instead of safeguarding the family unit, our Government seems to be using families like ours to bring down net migration figures and this is morally reprehensible. Ministers talk of protecting taxpayers and the benefits system in a bid to justify their actions yet all my husband has wanted to do is work – doing anything – to pay into the economy and provide for his family which is a basic human right and a basic human need.

United Colours of Great Britain

Great Britain has a long history of travelling overseas – and colonising many countries all over the world - enjoying the benefits of that presence in foreign lands and it seems somewhat ironic that our government is imposing highly restrictive immigration rules on families born out of this freedom of movement. In a nation that celebrates multiculturalism and talks about the important role of the family unit on the well-being of our children – the future generation - we are now faced with our son having his father callously torn away from him in the name of keeping net migration figures down.

Please sign our petition and help us secure our family's future

We are also crowdfunding to raise the funds to pay for our legal fees as due to our situation we can no longer afford them. If you wish to donate please go to: https://www.generosity.com/fundraising/help-keep-our-family-together--5/x/8785818