[Sticks]

For those who missed this one

Mary Martin was born in the US in 1947 to a British Mother married to an American. After that marriage broke up in 1949 Mary was brought to the UK where she lived ever since.

Mary has 4 children and 10 Grand children

When Mary's mother died she discovered she had not been registered and when she tried to get a UK passport, Home office officials ordered her deportation as an illegal immigrant.

Last night withthe help of her MP John Selwyn Gummer the Immigration Minister Beverley Hughs reviewed the case and granted her indefinite leave to stay in the UK, claiming that the case had been badly handled.

Should Mary have been kicked out or should she be allowed to stay

[Romantic Old Bird]

I think this is just one of those daft cases. Obviously she is entitled to stay. The law is famously blind of course, and it does need someone to present the facts clearly.

OH had to be imported by me, pre common market, through immigration, despite being the offspring of a Brit war bride who married a Dutchman, and having already(wisely) married me. He still has his alien's passport, and is most proud of it.

My son's were born here, and are British, but are also Dutch because of OH and could theoretically have either passport.

I could also have a NL passport if I wanted one.

So, there you go.

It's all this mingling that's to blame. Not to mention stuff.
Shouldn't be allowed!

[Mairi]

Originally posted by Romantic Old Bird
Not to mention stuff.
Shouldn't be allowed!

No stuff, ROB???

:shoc ked:

[Romantic Old Bird]

Well, 'stuff' can be very nice of course, given the right circumstances and the right person with whom to do 'stuff'!

In these cases, stuff can apparently be 'breath-taking'!

I wouldn't know of course.

[blinkinlovely]

When I heard about this case, I felt ill. My mum has been here since 1948 too and apart from US links her details are quite similar.
I'm glad that sense has prevailed ..... there must be so many people in a sim situation living the UK in 2003

[Sticks]

I have been going through some old posts, especially as I raided this case study last night with someone in conversation.

(I found the archive news report of the resolution of this case. see this link )

They were of the opinion
She broke the rules
She should have left.

Heart wrenching though this was made out to be at the time, we never were told what precisely the mistake was the official had made.

That minister is no longer around, because it turned out they were rubber stamping visas of people from Eastern Europe - or something like that.

Sometimes the suspicion is, although the rules are clear an unambiguous, a minister may overide protocols for political expediency.

Is that right ?

Should they play by the rules, no matter how unpopular it may seem.

Which gets back to my original question after a fashion.

[Sticks]

Another case

Maybe this time they will actually enforce the law

Rules are Rules

[HuggyBird]

In the original case, the woman was considered an illegal immigrant just because her mother didn't fill in a form. Sadly, we live in a nation of paperwork and people are treated like criminals because their signature didn't fit on the line on some form or another.

[Z]

Well I think if you can vote if you've lived abroad for less than 20 years, you should be classed as just as British as someone born here after the time she'd been in the UK!

[Sticks]

The latest

Still not definite she can stay.

There are rules, and they should be applied equally. If we are shipping back assylum seekers back to eastern Europe, Iraq and Afghanistan because they have no legal right to be here, then if this lady is in violation, she should be shipped out forthwith. The time she has spent here is irrelevant.

The Law is the Law.

[SMC]

Originally posted by Sticks
The latest

Still not definite she can stay.

There are rules, and they should be applied equally. If we are shipping back assylum seekers back to eastern Europe, Iraq and Afghanistan because they have no legal right to be here, then if this lady is in violation, she should be shipped out forthwith. The time she has spent here is irrelevant.

The Law is the Law.

Spot on, i agree with ya there buddy

[Fangz]

Can we get SMC deported to the US, or would that be unfair on America?