PHIL BENNION, MEP 1) 6 Jan 2013: BritCits to Phil Bennion MEP Dear MEP BritCits is a group representing British

citizens across the UK - including ones in your constituency. We appreciate you are MEPs, however, being MEPs, you represent Europe, and as British citizens, we are also European citizens. Additionally, we hope that being politicians, you are especially concerned with the rights of British citizens in Britain, and European citizens in Europe. Indeed, human rights which this government is doing its utmost to obliterate. Please find attached a letter from, and some case studies compiled by, BritCits showing the devastating impact these new rules are having on innocent British lives, demonstrating the lack of thought put into rules which only serve to stop people being with their loved ones WITHOUT RECOURSE TO PUBLIC FUNDS!. The measures in place demonstrate a genuine lack of understanding on behalf of the politicians who have allowed these rules in. They show how out of touch with reality some MPs are, that the rules will not benefit the economy and will not even serve to achieve a random net immigration target of tens of thousands, despite forcibly exiling hard working British people from their own country. Our letter shows how someone who is British can't have their, say, Australian parents join them at all even if are a higher rate tax payer and can provide financial guarantees, or have their Japanese spouse live with them unless they can maintain a prescribed salary for five years, yet someone from the EU has no such restrictions and can indeed, bring in not only their spouse without any income requirement, but both, their and their spouse's parents, grandparents, children, siblings and even aunts, uncles and cousins. This pack will bring you across families whose personal lives are being torn apart - families who are turning into the Skype generation, whereby meals, bedtime stories and birthday celebrations are all via a computer screen and hugs and kisses are all virtual...that too, only if global time differences allow it. We plead with you to please have these rules thrown out and get involved in the APPG. They have not been brought in legally. Insufficient research has been carried out to justify them. And indeed, having criteria that no one can meet has got to be illegal (e.g. the route to dependant parents has been completely closed off in all but name). Kind regards BritCits britcits@gmail.com 2) 11 Jan 2013: From Office of Phil Bennion To Whom It May Concern, Thank you for your email. I am aware of changes made last year to immigration rules concerning family migration for individuals entering the UK and having experienced similar difficulties in my own family I appreciate your concerns. However, as you mention in your email this is essentially a national issue and I am a Member of the European Parliament. I know that an Early Day Motion was tabled in the UK Parliament last year concerning family migration rules and that some Liberal Democrat MPs signed it. If you have not done so already it is more advisable for you to contact your local Member of Parliament regarding your concerns. Your local MP can be contact via the Write To Them website and a link to the site can found here: http://www.writetothem.com/

You may also wish to write to the Rt Hon Theresa May MP, Secretary of State for the Home Department to bring your concerns to her attention. The Secretary of State can be contacted at the address: House of Commons London SW1A 0AA. Thank you again for your correspondence. Yours faithfully, Phil Bennion MEP 3) 11 Jan 2013: From BritCits to Phil Bennion Hi Phil Thank you for your response. We have all contacted our local MPs, who often tend to pass on our concerns to Mark Harper and Theresa May (with all due respect, there is nothing honourable about her), but we get no substantive response or even acknowledgement that our issues are something they understand. Given MPs have just indicated they deserve a 32% pay rise, when across the board it's austerity, shows how out of touch these MPs are. As someone representing British citizens from your constituency in Europe, it would be great if you could understand and promote the fact that British citizens have lost all rights in the UK, even where we are not dependent on the state, whereas the route is left wide open to EU citizens. This isn't to say remove the rights from EU citizens..it's to say don't let us have less rights, especially so significantly, than foreigners, be they from the EU, or foreigners, be they just married to someone from the EU. If you are interested I would be happy to send you comparisons contributors to BritCits have put together showing the shocking reality of what this government has done to the people it's supposed to represent. I look forward to hearing from you. Regards BritCits 4) 16 Jan 2013: From Office of Phil Bennion Dear BritCits, Thank you for your further correspondence. If you can provide me with a succinct one or two page letter outlining your concerns then I would be happy to send this to the Home Secretary and ask her to comment on the matter. Yours sincerely, Phil Bennion MEP

5) 17 Jan 2013: From BritCits to Phil Bennion Covering email: Hi Phil Thank you for your response and I appreciate your taking this up further with the Home Secretary. Please see the two attachments - one a letter from us covering the issues, and the other a letter from Lord Taylor to Lord Avebury. If you would like more information or just want to discuss, we'd be very happy to do so with you, or indeed, anyone else in parliament. Regards Sonel (BritCits) Attachments: Lord Taylor letter and as below: Dear Phil Bennion, MEP Further to our email correspondence, please find here, as requested, a two page letter setting out our concerns with current immigration rules and impact on British citizens the very same people British politicians are supposed to represent. Family immigration rules are unfair, ill-thought through and damaging to our lives, values, economy and culture, particularly in their application to British citizens. We are not advocating open-door immigration - but we should have a fair immigration policy; we should have hurdles that with can be jumped over - without having to pole vault or have doors slammed shut on you. It's about ensuring British citizens are allowed to live with respect with our family, in our own country - without interference from the government, particularly where this is without recourse to public funds! Non-EU spouses On spouses, the income threshold does not take into account varying average incomes and costs of living, in different regions of the UK. No allowance is made for the non-EU spouse's income or wealth. No allowance is made for the British citizen being a home owner, as the asset test involves cash savings, as high as 62,500! No value is placed on the British citizen or foreign spouse's skills, knowledge and education, be they qualified in an area where we are seeking overseas talent! (So the government is prepared to force into exile a skilled British citizen, just to replace them with a foreigner?!) Indeed, as a non-EU postgraduate student, you are allowed to have your spouse join you in the UK, without an income requirement (given the person coming in is a student). As a British postgraduate student, you still need a minimum income of 18,600. How is this even fair? Non-EU adult dependants (especially parents) As a British citizen, the route to having your foreign (say Australian) parents this can be extended to other adult dependants such as siblings, but its most poignant for parents - join you in the UK is completely closed - whether the British citizen or their parents have money or not; whether the parents are healthy or not; whether the parents take out private healthcare cover to reduce the reliance on the NHS or not; whether the British citizen is prepared to provide an undertaking or bond as guarantee or not.

This is regardless of the British citizen being a higher rate tax payer and never having claimed benefits. The govt is telling those who have invested their life here to now abandon our parents or bugger off, despite up until 9th July, our being told we could sponsor our parents once they reached age 65 (with discretion applicable for parents younger than that). However, a basic grasp of English makes it clear on reading of the rules that they are designed to not let anyone in. The attached letter shows that under the new rules, since 9th July, only ONE adult dependant visa has been issued worldwide. I am suspicious of the circumstances of even this one issue. If youre able to obtain any information around the circumstances of this and indeed, whether the person in receipt of this visa is actually physically in a position whereby they can travel to the UK. that would be appreciated. Indeed, to date, we have not been able to obtain even one, let alone the three requested, examples of situations where an adult dependant would satisfy the criteria (without it being this person will satisfy the criteria if they also satisfy this other element of the criteria!). EU citizens Whatever your view on UK's position or role in the EU is, at the moment we are part of the EU. Many British citizens have used the EU Freedom of Movement treaty rights to make, what for them, is a better life elsewhere in the EU. It is however to say we shouldn't have less rights in our country than others. Under EU rules, an EU citizen who is not British can move to the UK with their spouse and children, without the 18,600+ income threshold which this government has imposed on our own citizens. There are no language requirements as imposed on the spouses of our own citizens, with the application being free. Under EU rules, an EU citizen can have join them in the UK, not only their spouse and children, but stepchildren, parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, brothers, sisters and even cousins. No income criteria,no language tests, nothing. And the application fee is nil. What makes it even more bizarre is that under EU rules, even the non-EU spouse of an EU citizen can have join them in the UK, their parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, brothers, sisters and even cousins. No income criteria, no language tests, nothing. And the application fee is nil. To set it out with examples for ease of understanding: a) A British citizen earning 18,500 can't have their Australian spouse and children join them in the UK. However, an Italian earning 12,000 can have their spouse, children, entire family and extended family, and their spouses extended family (wherever in the world they are from) join them in the UK. b) A British citizen earning 100,000 can't have their Australian parents join them in the UK, while being willing to provide guarantees, a bond etc. However, an Australian who is married to (say) an Italian earning 12,000, can have their entire immediate and extended family join them in the UK, even without the guarantees the above British citizen is willing to provide. Substitute Indian, Russian, American, Indonesian for Australian. Substitute Irish, French, Greek, Polish for Italian. Same result. (see: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-20207357 ) Does this seem fair to you? This is not to say let's leave the EU. We appreciate that's something that may be decided via a referendum (but then let's also be prepared for eviction of Brits from other EU countries along with ramifications on our economy and trade). It's to say, please, let's

not give our citizens less rights than foreigners, be they from the EU, or simply married to an EU citizen, especially on this scale. On [sic] a recent BBC broadcast, Mark Harper made some erroneous statements. We counter those with the following and would be grateful for a response you may be able to obtain on our behalf: Mark Harper: People are welcome if sponsor pays for their family without expecting taxpayers to pay BritCits comment: Why is the immediate family of those willing to provide guarantee/bond/private insurance cover denied this right? The MAC report the govt uses to justify the 18,600 threshold also specified an income threshold for dependants (such as parents) which the govt has ignored. WHY? Mark Harper: Changes to family route are to clamp down on benefit abuse, not to reach immigration target of tens of thousands. British people welcome those coming here to contribute, not claim benefits BritCits comments: a) Non-EU migrants cant claim benefits for over 5 years clamp down on those abusing the system, not law-abiding citizens b) Why is spouses/ parents income/wealth not allowed for? Mark Harper: ..18,600 is broadly what you need to not claim income related benefits. BritCits comments: a) Why is an income threshold not applied to parents of British citizens? b) Sneaky use of 'broadly'. Our understanding is those with earnings of c12k or savings of c16k cant claim benefits - why then is the threshold for spouses an income of 18,600 or savings of 62,500 in cash!! Various MPs claim the brightest and best are welcome; our family members are welcome as long as they are not a burden on taxpayers. This doesnt correspond with the governments policies, as they ignore the value of the skills, income and wealth of our non-EU spouses and parents. The government is prepared to even see British professionals whose occupations are on the Skills Shortage List forcibly exiled (often replaced by skilled workers from other countries and their families!) by putting in place rules which mean wed otherwise be apart from our family in some cases, regardless of how high our income is, and the financial bond and undertakings we are prepared to provide. Very happy to discuss. BritCits