splagg ..talk about bad behaviour

I am a British citizen living in Morocco with my wife, who is a Moroccan national. I thought it would be a nice idea to show my wife my home country, and to meet some of my friends and family members who had not or could not come to Morocco. It was an idea all the better to be able to coincide with a very special family event, a reunion to celebrate an array of birthday and wedding anniversaries, and now even our own marriage, which took place abroad. Family members from the Americas, and the European and African continents would convene in England for a unique celebration. The fact that some visiting members travelling from afar were already in their eighties, and that we live in Africa, made it a fair consideration that this would be a unique and possibly very unrepeatable chance for my extended family to meet my new wife. I could not foresee us visiting the Americas, nor would it be very likely that they would make it here to Morocco - though good travellers they are!

In brief, the Entry Clearance Officer at the British Embassy in Rabat, Morocco, refused a short-stay tourist visa for my wife to accompany me to England. The refusal was on the basis that they were not satisfied my wife would leave the country. Don't get me wrong, I understand the need for strong border control and I realise that many people seeking a tourist visa do so with no intention of leaving once they have entered that country. The spouse of a citizen, however, is a very different matter, moreso when one knows that there is a perfectly legitimate route for entry into their spouse's home country, and if the intention is to enter, live and work. That route, a "settlement visa" for the UK, allows the spouse to enter with the right to work and reside and, after a probationary two years, to obtain permanent residency. A year later he/she may apply for citizenship. Why then would someone try to subvert these rules by entering as a tourist and remain illegally in the country with no right to work or to obtain residency down the line?

At the time I must confess to have been in a mixed state of shock and surprise. How this could happen and how is it that Moroccan staff working at my embassy can make disparaging remarks to my wife? "You pay, you lose" was the comment from a Moroccan women checking the application form and collecting the fee. What right or qualification did she have to assess the application at a glance? Unfortunately, they only let the applicant enter, otherwise they would have had me to answer to. As it is, it is closed doors. Soon afterwards, I made a telephone call to the Entry Clearance Manager who shrugged off any possibility of improper conduct. He also ruled out any re-assessment of the case both on the day of refusal and at a later date - one day prior to departing for what was to be the first of two planned trips to the UK, together - a trip I was to eventually take alone. Needless to say, I lodged an appeal. Disappointingly, an appeal takes many months to be heard. In our case, even if successful, it would have been too late to for the family reunion (even though that was almost six months later!).

Exactly one week after I returned from this first trip to the UK, my wife received a telephone call asking her to attend the British Embassy in Rabat, with her passport. This was not comprehensible dialogue - why cannot they speak in normal terms - but I knew what this meant. Having spent a great deal of time visiting immigration related forums on the internet, I knew that this was their unique way of saying the Visa section had changed their mind and had decided to issue my wife with her tourist visa. It was one week too late for the first trip, but thankfully it did allow us the freedom to join my extended family in England. I'm not sure what changed the equation - was it the submission of my appeal, or was it another influence? I had written to many people for ideas on how to proceed.

I don't really need to know how the change of heart came around but I do need to question why we cannot make allowances for clearly deserving cases which, in my case, affected not only myself as the applicant's British spouse, but also caused distress for many other British family members.

For once I learned how Europe has got it right where the UK has it so horribly wrong. It stems from European Parliament and Council Directive 2004/38/EC of 29 April 2004 and it is about the right of citizens of the Union and their family members to move and reside freely within the territory of the Member States (see http://eumovement.wordpress.com/directive-200438ec/). Alas it does not apply to my wife travelling to the UK because the UK is not a part of the Schengen Zone. Even if the UK does not wish to be a part of the Schengen Zone, it should adopt some of the principles.

From what I have read in internet forums, I am led to believe that almost always any first-time application for the spouse of a non-resident UK national wishing to visit the UK is refused - it is fairly normal - and why people mostly visit elsewhere in Europe because of the freedom offered by the above-mentioned directive and the rights afforded to family members of EU nationals.

To visit the UK:
My wife has entered and left so they'd be a "bit more open door" but we must still:
Compile a dossier to include invitations and confirmation of lodging by a British person/family member together with a copy of their passport, we must show that there are sufficient funds for the trip (3-6 months bank statements, employment documents, salary slips), we must travel 7-9 hours each way to Rabat and stay there (attend by 10am, same day processing not available), a fee of £70 for 6-month visa (or £210 for 1 year, if given).
So - lots of paperwork (including inconveniencing at least one family member), money money and more proof of money, lengthy travel - at least 2 (realistically 3) lost weekdays, and always some risk of refusal.
Why? Because to them it has NOTHING to do with ME being a British Citizen.

To visit France, or just about anywhere else in "Europe":
Technically we do not even need a visa but it is worthwhile document to obtain because airline check-in staff do not always know the rules. Border workers are required to permit entry without visa - just the simple proof of direct family ties.
Book an appointment (many consulates around the country, attend with our passports and proof of marriage, same day processing, no fee, no proof required (job, money, hotels, accommodation, etc.)
So - no paperwork, no inconvenience to family members, same day issue, no fee, minimal travel, 0.000001% risk of refusal (and they better have a bloody good reason!)
Why? Because it has EVERYTHING to do with MY rights as a EU national.

So, after much grief, we did make it to our family reunion and celebration and we had a wonderful time and my family was delighted to meet my wife and vice-versa. It should never have been in doubt, we should never have been distressed, and she should never have been mistreated and inconvenienced.

A bitter-sweet conclusion to this account came three months after our trip. Our appeal was finally heard and the embassy's original decision was quashed, overwhelmingly. In fact it must have been quite embarrassing but for the fact the people who gave the refusal are still working there anonymously and playing god with peoples' lives.

This is an ongoing issue that will continue to affect people and for that reason I am unlikely to change the status of this story until such time as there is a policy change concerning the rights and freedom of a British Citizen to allow his or her spouse to accompany them on short-stay trips to the UK.