A Blackwood family which faced the prospect of being torn apart by immigration officials are celebrating after a Home Office u-turn.
US Army veteran Jonathan Brown, 33, and his Welsh wife, Della, have been married since December 2004, but were counting down the days before Jonathan faced deportation after his application to extend his six-month citizen visa was denied in June.
The Home Office have since reconsidered the application and overturned the decision in the best interests of the couple’s children, granting Jonathan an initial 30-month leave period.
Della and the three children, Rhyse, ten, Ethan, nine, and Lily-Rae, three, had spent time living between America and Wales while Jonathan was serving as a soldier in Iraq for the US Army between 2005 and 2011.
After failing to settle in Texas, Della and the children moved back to Wales in November 2012, while Jonathan stayed as a contractor for the US Government in order to support the family.
He applied for a six-month UK citizen visa last year after he was made redundant, and made the move in October 2015.
However, Jonathan’s application for a permanent visa, which would have allowed him to work in the UK, was rejected by the Home Office in June.
Jonathan was ineligible for a spousal visa, as his wife earned less than the required £18,000 salary in her role as a medical laboratory assistant.
Della struggled to balance work life with looking after her young children.
She explained: “At the time, little did we know that requirements for a spousal visa had just changed. In July 2012, then Home Secretary Theresa May changed the financial requirements of a spousal visa for a non-EU spouse of a British citizen.
“Before the change it was done in a way that if you did not earn the financial requirement, then you could have family members prove their incomes and become a sponsor for the spouse. Not every geographical location can achieve the £18,000 income threshold. I certainly couldn’t. I needed Jon over here so that I could work.”
Despite applying for the discretionary leave to remain through Article 8 of the Human Rights Act – the right to a family life – Jonathan’s application was rejected with the suggestion that his relationship with the rest of the family could be maintained through modern technology, and the couple were preparing an appeal.
However, reconsideration was given to the application after eldest child Rhyse’s medical condition improved during his father’s six-month stay, and Islwyn MP, Chris Evans, raised concerns with the Home Office’s original decision.
Della thanked those who have supported her family’s cause: “It’s been fantastic. There were so many times when I almost gave up on our battle, I was exhausted mentally and physically, but the support we’ve had from family, friends, and strangers has been overwhelming.”
The Brown family have taken a trip to Tenby to celebrate.
Mr Evans added: “I am sure Mr and Mrs Brown will be pleased with the outcome and will be able to enjoy family life together.”
Served his country-check
Attained valuable skills as an overseas contractors-check
Has an established family in South Wales-check
Family is Welsh-check
Prepared to leave the richest state in the richest nation on earth to fulfil his duties as a father-check
He’s clearly a wrong un and will be a burden on the state, what we need is people who claim to be doctors and engineers from some third world country. Then we can virtue signal to the chattering classes in London.
Topsy turvy politics.
The virtue signalling of our chattering classes is worse than that – if Jonathan Brown was an unemployed Spanish cleaner, or French shop assistant who had been convicted for having his hands in the till, or anyone else at all from the EU then he would not be given the run around by the Home office.
Thankfully we will soon be out of the EU and those who want to settle here will have to prove they are an asset to Britain, rather than just being born somewhere that is run from the clique in Brussels. From the information given in the article it seems that Mr. Brown, his wife and children do indeed ‘tick the boxes’ and I wish them well in their campaign to stay together here as a family.
He is married to a British Citizen and is working “Full Time” and as long as he passes his criminal background check and medical check he should be allowed to stay in the country. He is not living off the state both he and his wife are working.
Not everyone earns 346.00 per week to total 18,000.00 per year.
But no one has stated this total amount of income has to keep coming in for a total of 5 years before you get permanent residence, loose your job get another that does not make up 346.00 per week within the 5 years then back home you go !
Applications Required:
346.00 per week to Apply for Entry into the country !
346.00 per week to Apply for Further leave to Remain 2.5 years later !
346.00 per week to Apply for Indefinite Leave to remain 5 years later !
There should be no “Financial Requirements” in place one law for the Rich and one for the Poor, which is what we have at present:
1: If your wealthy you can come into Britain !
2; If your have little your not wanted !
This is not Fair to the “British Citizen” as they have to suffer as well !
The Financial requirements of entry into the country should be !
As long as the person is “Free” to marry or has married a British citizen, clears all their criminal background checks and holds down a “FULL TIME” Job they should qualify !
I tend to agree, the problem is the EU – if you are a citizen of the EU you can come and live here, at our expense, anytime you want even if you are broke and have no intention of working. Mr. Brown’s only problem is that he is not from the EU. I think that all applications to reside in Britain should be judged on merit, not the biggoted system we are forced to use by our masters in Brussels.
Hopefuly when we are out of the EU we will be able to function like a normal country, Canada, USA, India, etc and decide who we want and who deserves residency.
I totally agree that once the UK leaves the EU they should revise the regulations not only to stop immigrants from the EU coming in who has no ties with the country and not two pennies to rub together, but also to
“Support the British Citizen” in which to allow them to bring in a family member like son or daughter who may want to return home or married partner,
I had to go through this last year since Theresa May changed rules and regulations I was forced to change plans as my Fiancée planned to move from U.S to Wales in which to marry me by the time we were ready to apply for a visa for my fiancée Financial requirements went up through the roof and extended from 2 – 5 years before you become a permanent resident.
I was forced to change plans and give up everything and move to the U.S so we could get married and be guaranteed to be together as financial requirements were less in the USA compared to the UK and only have to wait for 2 years, it was both our decision to be married and living in Wales, UK not in the U.S.A.
But was afraid my Fiancée now my wife gave up her home, her job, came over to Wales and got married but could not Guarantee I could meet the Financial requirements for the full 5 years, then she would be deported back to USA with no home, job or financial income.
I plan to return home in the future and hopefully The Government will not be so tough on the British citizen compared to the EU with no ties.
But I believe it is going to become harder even for the British Citizens
I hope you will be able to return here with your wife, should you wish to. The whole immigration policy foisted on us by the EU, which is absolute freedom to come here from any EU country is a disaster in terms of the economy and crime.
This misguided policy should be ending soon and each case judged on merit. Being married to a British national should count far more, in future, than merely being born in France or Poland. My best wishes, whatever choice you and your wife make on whether you want to live in the USA or the UK.
Hi Richard,
My plans are to return to Wales !
It maybe a few years time but surely hope the immigration clamp down does not affect the British citizen too much. I love Wales and so do my wife USA is such an “Expensive” place to live and retirement will be hard to survive over here.
If I could bring my wife home tomorrow I would !
The immigration policy in future – I hope- will be a sensible one and will not discriminate against the spouse of a British person. Just the insanity of ‘free movement of people’ peddled by the EU will be ended.
I hope what you say is True as the problem in the UK has been people entering the UK from the EU . . .
But immigrants arriving from outside the EU with ties to British Citizens is only a small percentage of what arrives from the EU.
The Government are targeting the wrong group of people, they should target the EU immigrants, and they could have still allowed so many into the country if they met the Financial requirements of 18,000 or 62,500 savings.
EU immigrants should have been the ones to meet the financial requirements which they currently do not have to do.
We know this is going to change once the UK officially leave the EU.
So why “Punish” those outside the EU who are doing very little harm like Jonathon Brown ?
The country should not tar every immigrant with the same brush as those entering the UK from EU with nothing to their name, no ties to a British Citizen, no home to live, no intentions of working, no criminal background check.