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Is the UK really so bad to live in?

eeileithyia - 2008-05-26 04:30:10 - Immigration

I moved from the UK 10 years ago and shortly after met my husband (non-EU) here in the Netherlands and we have lived here ever since With two young kids now and my parents getting older (they live in the Uk) we have been discussing moving "back"to the UK, but a visa alone for my husband will cost €750 and will take god knows how long in which case the family will be split as I will have to get income in the Uk as part of the visa conditions. We both work (he has a good job with the United Nations here) and would plan to work in the UK (so not interested in sponging for benefits) However two questions - why is a visa for someone with a British wife and 2 British kids so expensive when it seems the world and his granny can get into the UK for nothing? Secondly - I was reading a lot of answers here and very negative answers about living in the UK (impact of immigrants especially knive crime) - Is it really so bad to live in the UK now?

Best Answer:

I would come at it from the other side and have your husband apply for Dutch nationality, this would then render him an Eu national, thus negating the need to run the gamut of British bureaucracy. An obvious fly in the ointment would be if your husband wanted to retain his own nationality. The state of immigration policy within the UK does show how far the country is regressing under the current regime though. The current government has spent millions on introducing an Australian points system that they say filters immigration and ensures thanly the creme de la creme are allowed in. This in itself would be a good idea except when you take into consideration the fact that the horse has already well and truly bolted from that stable in that they opened the European doors to absolutely any Eu national irrespective of points, status, criminal record or qualifications . Your point about life in the UK, it does seem to be getting a little more laryier than in the past, but I don't know if it is awareness and reportage that is doing that. We're up in Northumberland which is beautiful and relatively untainted, but the cities can be a little intimidating. I hope it works out for you.

Answers:

Working and living visa's are expensive for everyone who needs one to work or live here. The only people who can get in for nothing are EU citizens, whose countries have recipricol agreements - we get in free to their countries. There's crime in the UK just as there's crime everywhere else. Although there's been a lot of recent focus on knife crime in the UK (and particularly in London) actual statistics show that knife crime and violent crime as a whole is no higher than it was a decade ago, and has actually fallen in some areas. On the whole, the UK has very similar rates of violent crime as the rest of Europe. I've lived in London for almost nine years and have never been the victim of a violent crime, nor do I know anybody who has. I would say however that it's reported in the media far more nowadays, which ultimately gives the impression that there's more of it. The impact of immigration simply depends on your view of immigration. Immigration doesn't bother me at all, and I find co-exisiting alongside people who weren't born here no problem. If you happen to be somebody who always believes that immigrants are dirty scroungers who either steal all the jobs or just want welfare, you'll no doubt be very bitter in the UK. It's all about viewpoint and perspective.

I would come at it from the other side and have your husband apply for Dutch nationality, this would then render him an Eu national, thus negating the need to run the gamut of British bureaucracy. An obvious fly in the ointment would be if your husband wanted to retain his own nationality. The state of immigration policy within the UK does show how far the country is regressing under the current regime though. The current government has spent millions on introducing an Australian points system that they say filters immigration and ensures thanly the creme de la creme are allowed in. This in itself would be a good idea except when you take into consideration the fact that the horse has already well and truly bolted from that stable in that they opened the European doors to absolutely any Eu national irrespective of points, status, criminal record or qualifications . Your point about life in the UK, it does seem to be getting a little more laryier than in the past, but I don't know if it is awareness and reportage that is doing that. We're up in Northumberland which is beautiful and relatively untainted, but the cities can be a little intimidating. I hope it works out for you.

Imported violence is ruining the UK, there have been 3 deaths over the last 36 hours. The er"government" has an obsession with the "rights" of minorities (all very well until they override the rights of real British). You will find clinical denial in politicians and first and second generation immigrants. The multicultural mistake is a disaster and the mood here is a mixture of despair , disbelief and denial