English rules tightened for immigrant partners

Society Pakistan & World Affairs
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BBC News article today:

**Ministers are bringing forward to the autumn measures requiring many immigrants marrying UK citizens to prove they have a command of English. **
**The measures, which Labour had planned to introduce in July 2011, will apply to partners coming to the UK from areas outside the EU, such as South Asia. **

Under the new rules, anyone from outside the EU applying for a visa to join their spouse or partner will have to prove they have a basic command of English, to help them get by in daily life, before their application is approved.

I for one think this is a good idea, we have a lot of community already here, I am sure people if they look hard enough would find respective partners.

I am not saying I am against people from Pakistan etc coming in. (taking our jobs, men haa haa) is a bad thing.

BUT we do have a lot of community here already. And there should be some restriction. At the same time this should apply to Europe too. (Europeans)

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Re: English rules tightened for immigrant partners

I would also like to emphasise that it would only affect the Pakistani and maybe the Bangladeshi communities - even the beggers in India can speak english.

(From what I have seen from documentaries)

It emphasises further the need for education in Pakistan.

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Re: English rules tightened for immigrant partners

and what if the guy in UK doesnt know English either (not educated) ? how someone who knows english (educated) will marry him?

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Unless he lived in a basement all his life.

I doubt he would not have a command of english. It is preliminary in the UK to go to school until the age of 16.

Say he/she did not than perhaps they would have no command of english (aka basement scenerio) but the chances of that happening are rare (to none).

In addition its talking of speaking english - not reciting Shakespeare.

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This is a good step. :k:

We Pakis in the UK have such a bad rep because a lot of Pakis are so uneducated, jaahil, unrefined, inarticulate, uncultured and paindu.

It would help our community integrate more and that can only be a good thing, for us and our image and for everyone else.

I love Paki culture but sometimes we are too paindu with it and we overdo it. It’s also important to know, learn and respect the local culture, traditions, customs, values etc.

If you want to live in this country you’ll have to make an effort and compromise and change otherwise stay where you are, we (Brit Pakis) don’t want our image fcuking up any further than it already is.

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That aint gonna happen baby, UK is part of the European Union.

Brits don't have to learn Spanish to settle in Spain or France, so they're not going to introduce any such laws here.

East Euro immigrants are more uncivilised than our rural Paki lot though, they excrete feces in the streets and use public toilets as hotels and when they work they don't pay taxes...

...At least Pakis feed the natives in their takeaways and take them to their pubs in their cabs.

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But if you think about it, only a few Euro's contribute the rest as you put it do not, therefore although english individuals do move to the costa del sol.

Others should not suffer as a consequence from non-tax paying individuals.

I do understand what you are saying.

But if you make it difficult for one set, the same should apply for all non-uk born individuals.

I think this country is over crowded enough. Just getting on a train in commute time will tell you that.

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Re: English rules tightened for immigrant partners

Hmmm i suppose there is nothing wrong with this simple requirment so long as they dont set the benchmark so high that even a native couldn’t pass it a bit like the citizenship test proposals that once had questions such as list English Monarchs etc :hehe:

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They said they are tightening it further - this is just the start.

I mean if you think about it there is alot of asain community here. And although a lot of individuals do favour marrying their kids in the family this will cause some issues and concernsb (for them).

However at the same time if you don't like it.... move! (its true)

I mean how many people can you bring over? There are complete villages I know in pakistan that have no men of work age!

Its rather sad that everyone has to leave. Instead making work there. In this reterospect all comments of why don't you go back and make it work comments - theres no call for my type of work. Medical writing. So NAAAH!

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Re: English rules tightened for immigrant partners

good about time....too many times Pakis in UK sponsor their relatives who just end up living in public housing and collecting welfare checks....this would atleast guarantee that they can speak english

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Re: English rules tightened for immigrant partners

If the applicants can 'cheat' their way through a language test here in the UK I don't think they'll have a problem with finding a way around the system in Pakistan.

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Re: English rules tightened for immigrant partners

I don't think this will be just in Pakistan. But you never know!

Again this is the first of many rules to be passed. It would be amusing to see what else they pull out of the bag!

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Re: English rules tightened for immigrant partners

I dont' have a problem with this. Everyone in my family who moves from Pakistan (or India) to the UK on a spouse visa spoke English already.

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I absoloutley agree with you but it's not going to happen because European Union is one confederation..

...English requirement for Euros will be like telling a Punjabi he will have to learn Pashto to settle in Pashtunkhwa.

Ideally there should be a complete ban on immigration in about a year or twos time and the foreigners already here should integrate/assimilate better. That way rightwing paranoid facists will probably calm down too.

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Don't mindlessly parrot everything the racist facists say.

Pakistanis might be messed up but don't scapegoat us for every ill in this country.

Live in public housing? That is BS rightwing facist/racist propoganda.

It might be true for Iraqi, Afghan, Polish etc. and the trash class amongst the natives...

But Pakis are actually the least likeliest to live on council estates. No matter how poor Pakis are actually the most likely to own the properties they reside in...

...because we Pakis don't waste our money on booze every weekend, we save our earnings however meagre for a house of our own, even if it be a humble terrace house.

In many ways our Paki community is better than other communities...

Welfare cheques? BS aswell, nobody can survive on jobseekers allowance.

Immigrant Pakis usually have family here with their own bussinesses (take-aways, resteraunts, grocery shops, taxi bases etc.) who give them a job straight away.

As for other benefits like family credit, Pakis only take what they are entitled to, just like anyone else.

If anything it is the native trash class (those who scapegoat Pakis) themselves who are the likeliest to never work, live on council estates, vandalise councils property, lol...

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Re: English rules tightened for immigrant partners

I heard a different version of the rules
I heard the visa restriction would apply if the person concerned wanted to obtain a visa to join their future partner to get married in the UK..
However if they were already married (i.e in Pakistan) then it would be ok... Maybe I had heard it wrong...
Anyway it's a good thing.

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All the beggars I came across in Dhaka could speak basic English but then again most immigrants from Bangladesh to the UK don't come from the capital..

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Apparently it’s going to be quite a basic test..

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Re: English rules tightened for immigrant partners

I think they should also investigate if this marriage is a scheme to sponsor relatives from the homeland, or its an arranged marriage against the will of the guy or girl.

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Some statistics to set you straight

*British Pakistani Pupils:

  • Pakistani Pupils are the largest ethnic minority group in primary and secondary schools.

  • 60% of British Pakistani Pupils live in the 20% most deprived areas of the UK.

  • 15% of the families of Pakistani pupils are ‘Hard Pressed’, 50.5% fall into the ‘Moderate Means’ category, 17% are ‘Comfortably Off’, 12.1% ‘Urban Prosperity’ and 4.9% are ‘Wealthy Achievers’.

  • 98.8% of Pakistani Pupils are Muslim, 0.6% are Sikh, 0.3% are Christian and 0.3% have no religion.

  • Apart from Bangladeshi parents , Pakistani parents are most likely to not have a qualification of any sort.

  • 15.3% of Pakistan youngsters live in a lone parent household, which is the highest for any Asian group.

  • As of 2005 48% of Pakistani pupils passed 5 or more GCSE’s (similar to O Levels) compared to the national average of 55%. 33% of Pakistani pupils achieved 5 or more GCSE’s including English and Maths compared to the national average of 43%. This is only higher than the pass rate of Black Carribean pupils.

  • 40.4% of Mipuri Pakistani passed 5 or more GCSE’s at grade A* to C.

  • 44.1% of Kashmiri Pakistani passed 5 or more GCSE’s at grade A* to C.

  • 49.4% of Other Pakistani passed 5 or more GCSE’s at grade A* to C.
    Compared to the Pakistani average of 48.4% and the national average of 54.9% as of 2005.

  • 54.1% of Pakistani girls achieved 5 or more GCSE’s at Grade A* to C, compared to only 43.2% of Pakistani Boys!

http://publications.teachernet.gov.u…-0208-2006.pdf*