Plan B Forum

A man faces deportation from the UK after a judge said his British wife's salary was not high enough.



Michael Engel, from South Africa, said the "bizarre" immigration system rules were "attacking British citizens".

Mr Engel, a 31-year-old yacht engineer living in Cornwall, said he and wife Natalie plan to go back to South Africa with 18-month-old daughter Nyana.

A Home Office spokesman said the rules were designed to stop foreign spouses becoming reliant on UK taxpayers.

The couple were told of the immigration tribunal's ruling after they had appealed on human rights grounds in a bid to protect their family life.

But under rules introduced in 2012, British citizens who want to bring a foreign spouse to the UK must earn £18,600 a year and a further £3,800 - a total of £22,400 - if the couple have a child.

Mrs Engel's craft-making business made £19,786 in 2014 which was deemed not enough by the tribunal panel, which met on 3 December.

She said the decision made her feel like her family was being "kicked out" of the country.

She said: "I'm gobsmacked, lost for words, angry and deflated. I'm not so proud to be British right now."

A man who faced being deported because his British wife's salary was too low has been given a visa to stay.


Michael Engel, from South Africa, lives in Cornwall with his wife Natalie and young daughter Nyana.

The 31-year-old yacht engineer had been told he could not stay in the UK as his wife did not meet the minimum £18,600 a year salary threshold.

The new visa, issued by the Home Office, will allow him to stay in the UK for 30 months.

Mr Engel said they had given up but started working with a new legal team who advised them to start again, with a fresh application.

He said: "It is a massive massive relief, you wouldn't believe it. We cancelled the appeal and made a fresh new application.

"We were doing the wrong things before but this time it was quick, we waited six weeks or so and got the result. We are all so happy."

The letter giving him permission to stay said after 10 years he would be able to apply for residence.

The couple were told by an immigration tribunal in 2013 that the earnings from Mrs Engel's craft-making business did not meet the financial threshold.

They appealed on human rights grounds in a bid to protect their family life but that was rejected in December.

The couple met in 2009 working on a cruise ship and lived in South Africa for four years.

They moved to the UK in January 2013 with Mr Engel on a visitor's visa, living first in Yorkshire and then in Cornwall.