I need your advise (AGAIN) what wold I do without you??

[Sam Edwards]

Hey Guys and Girls,
Right most of you are aware of my visa situation and that I cant work ect while the home office decide my fate, If not look up a old tread of mine called "I will be offline for a while" it is explained in brief in there.

Anyway I have not been able to work since September when the immigration lawyer got my papers, The home office got my papers in the end of November and I am still no closer to knowing when this is going to end and when I will be able to get back to work. I have been very very very lucky to have amazing friends and family without who I dont know how I would be surviving. The last update that I got from the home office was in Feb I got a letter saying that they were handing my case over to a diffrent worker for further investigation. The rest of the letter and all other letters I have had from them go on and on and on about dont call us, e-mail us, make enquierys at public offices ect. I went to citizens advice last month to ask them if there was anything they could suggest that I do to get things moving they basicaly said sit on your hands and shut the hell up coz if you p*ss the home office off its not a good move and any enquirys will p*ss them off.

I met a Zim lawyer at a braai recently who told me I was been too polite British and I need to start acting like I am a darker hue and start screaming shouting and making one hell of a nuicence out of myself. The home office will want to shut me up so they will do my papers choppers..fast, to shut me up and get me out the way. I am completely TERRIFIED:smiley5: of doing this as I am petrified that the way they will shut me up and get me out the way is to put me on a plane heading for Zim. :smiley3: He said I then need to start saying is it coz I is white and foreign?? He said the race card works both ways and if I bring it up they will have a massive amount of paperwork to do to prove they have delt with the case fairly. He said that is why the black Zimbos do so well in this country it is coz they dont think twice about making a rukass.

Then the second problem is that my brother who came here after me is due to apply for his Brit Passport and to do that he needs Birthcertificates ect for Mom and Dad, they are currently with the home office with my application so he is very keen for me to start shouting and jumping up and down.

So if anyone has been through this and knows of the best course of action please let me know. If not just let me know what you would do??

Thanks guys and girls XXXX:smiley5:

[dallas]

shame hun!!! I havent a clue but maybe you should throw in the race card....just drop it ion conversation with them quietly...and see what effect it has!!

[Cez]

AWWW sweetie!! such a hard decision... i have no idea what i would do :( wish i could help

[gertrude]

Have you tried contacting your local member of parliament? They quite often like getting involved in things like this.

[licorice]

Sam, I agree contact your local MP and drop in the race card, seems its 1 rule for some and another for others. The race card cant hurt honey, start ruffling feathers, enough is enough with the waiting. Just my opinion.

[zimajays]

Yeh Sam I am with Lic and Gert on this - yell girl yell! Get on to your local MP, put EVERYTHING INTO WRITING, It will work in you favour if you local MP is a tory like mine is - they just love steering the shit. If you can bear t get hold of your local press man, and ask him if doing a feature on you would be something he would like to do. I would also phone the home office and say you need you papers back as your brother wants them. They can not hold on to your papers for too long. You need to start yell about human rights as well, and I would deffinatly pull the race card...

[Sam Edwards]

thank you guys, I will take a deep breath and start yelling, fingers crossed that it works but to be honest if they sent me back to Zim it would not be the end of the world at least I could start working again, LOL. Who would have thought you could miss work so much. LOL.

Thanks again for the advise. I will keep you updated.

[Chick]

Could you contact your Solicitor and ask her advice. I wouldnt contact the press, foreigners don't get sympathy especially these days. The Home Office would not take kindly to press inquiries.

[jiggs]

esih Sam dont envy you but I am sure we are all rooting for you - good luck

[joemac]

See if you can contact Rhodesians Worldwide (http://www.rhodesia.com/uk_indx.html), There was someone on here who has had some help from them. They can point you in the right direction if they can't help.

[Tricky Nicky]

I went through this with my stepdaughter - we shouted from the rafters - got the local MP involved and the local newspaper - in fact we even made the Nationals as well. You have to persevere with this and don't give up or allow yourself to get fobbed off.

Our MP was fabulous but that was because he was a Conservative - the Labour guy was bloody hopeless and told us that my step-daughter should try and apply to go to Australia! The Immigration Minister at the time - Tony McNulty was also a spineless, toothless bastid who did nothing to help at all.

It was a very trying and stressful time but in the end with perserverence we succeeded.

If you need any further assistance just shout!

Good luck - hope that it all works out for you.

[Sam Edwards]

I went through this with my stepdaughter - we shouted from the rafters - got the local MP involved and the local newspaper - in fact we even made the Nationals as well. You have to persevere with this and don't give up or allow yourself to get fobbed off.

Our MP was fabulous but that was because he was a Conservative - the Labour guy was bloody hopeless and told us that my step-daughter should try and apply to go to Australia! The Immigration Minister at the time - Tony McNulty was also a spineless, toothless bastid who did nothing to help at all.

It was a very trying and stressful time but in the end with perserverence we succeeded.

Good luck - hope that it all works out for you.
Thanks for that Nicky
Its good to hear from someone who has been there done that and got the t-shirt. I will go back to my MP and start jumping up and down with force. I may get back to you for advice from time to time if that is ok.

Thank you all above for advice given, you all my heros

[Tricky Nicky]

Any time - just yell and I will do my best to answer any queries you may have!

[zimboykie]

I don't know where you live or if you have to use your own MP but Martin Salter, the Labour MP for Reading West (in Berkshire) is quite a *hit-stirrer for the hard-done-by individual. Get in touch with him & even if he can't fight your cause for you l'd like to think that he can help. Good luck!

[Sam Edwards]

I don't know where you live or if you have to use your own MP but Martin Salter, the Labour MP for Reading West (in Berkshire) is quite a *hit-stirrer for the hard-done-by individual. Get in touch with him & even if he can't fight your cause for you l'd like to think that he can help. Good luck!
Im not far from Reading I am in Kintbury, which is in West Berkshire so thanks for that.

[zimboykie]

Im not far from Reading I am in Kintbury, which is in West Berkshire so thanks for that.

A nice,sleepy, little hamlet that. Did you go to the fair/open-air festival l think last year introducing people to Africa with a bit of Egypt & Great Zimbabwe on display? Boerie rolls were also on the go l seem to recall?

[pennymac]

Shame Sam, its a tough situation you're in!
Keep us updated with how you go.

[Sam Edwards]

A nice,sleepy, little hamlet that. Did you go to the fair/open-air festival l think last year introducing people to Africa with a bit of Egypt & Great Zimbabwe on display? Boerie rolls were also on the go l seem to recall?
No I missed that I must have been working or something???

[sarahe]

I would definitely get your MP involved too. We started off doing everything nicey nicey, and believe me it doesn't work. They are a company at the end of the day with figures to meet and have to send a certain number of people home, but they don't like bad PR, so if you start to make a nuisance of yourself sometimes they give you what you want just to keep you quiet. Horrible but true. Unfortunately we found this out too late and it made our case drag on for years.... The only thing that worked for us was the MP.

[Doro]

Any update on this Sam? I've been through the process but to cut a very very long story short, I had to become an asylum seeker which pissed me off to hell and back as had to resign from my job etc (in year 2000) and my application took 2 years to get to court. Failed court case and reappealed and won my case. Have finally got my British passport at the begining of this year.

The immigration people basically like to take their time with the process in the hope people will just give up and go back. Will see you at July braai? But find me before I get smashed and will explain my story to you!!!

[Sam Edwards]

Any update on this Sam? I've been through the process but to cut a very very long story short, I had to become an asylum seeker which pissed me off to hell and back as had to resign from my job etc (in year 2000) and my application took 2 years to get to court. Failed court case and reappealed and won my case. Have finally got my British passport at the begining of this year.

The immigration people basically like to take their time with the process in the hope people will just give up and go back. Will see you at July braai? But find me before I get smashed and will explain my story to you!!!
No I have no news to update unfortunatly, I have got my MP involved but they dont seem in any hurry to answer his enquirys either
I will find you at July Braai

[Tricky Nicky]

I will be there too - so if you need any help just yell - it took us 4 years to get my stepdaughters applications sorted, but we got there in the end. You have to persist and keep bugging them to get it sorted out.