Man with British wife told to move to Turkey despite facing imprisonment
‘Our life is on hold, it’s like being in an open prison’
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A Turkish man and his British wife have been told they cannot settle together in the UK, prompting claims that the Home Office is “exiling” its own citizens if they happen to fall in love with somebody from a different country.
Galip Bozkurt, 26, and Amber Bozkurt, 33, said they felt “mentally and physically drained” after being informed by the Home Office they should move to Turkey on the basis the disruption this would cause them was “proportionate to the legitimate aim of maintaining effective immigration control”.
Mr Bozkurt faces being imprisoned for at least six months if he returns to his home country because he did not carry out obligatory military service due to being in the UK when he reached the age of 20.
The Turkish national came to the UK on a student visa in 2006 and the pair met a year later while Mr Bozkurt was attending English classes in Norwich.
They married in December 2015 at which point Mr Bozkurt applied for a spouse visa, but the Home Office rejected his application on the grounds that he would be exempt from punishment in Turkey because he had been living abroad.
But the 26-year-old said he was unable to exempt himself from imprisonment because he could not prove he had been employed in Britain for three consecutive years, as his immigration status prevented him from working.
In a letter to Mr Bozkurt, the Home Office wrote that the refusal was also made on the grounds that he had worked without permission after his request for an extension on his student visa was refused.
Mr Bozkurt said: “If I return to Turkey now they will detain me at the airport, and I’ll face six months in prison, and after that I will still have to go and do 12 months of military service. I will be separated from my wife.
“For the last few years we’ve not been able to do anything with our life because we’re so scared. We can’t even travel in England. Our life is on hold, it’s like being in an open prison.
“We are mentally and physically drained. Some nights I can’t sleep because I’m worrying so much.”
In the refusal letter the Home Office acknowledged the “change in culture” may make integrating into society in Turkey difficult for his wife, but that “a significant degree of hardship does not amount to an insurmountable obstacles”.
It continued: “Should your spouse return to Turkey with you it is acknowledged that this would involve degree of disruptions to the family and private life you have formed together in the UK. However, this is considered to be proportionate to the legitimate aim of maintaining effective immigration control.”
On employment prospects, the Home Office said: “Whilst your spouse is in employment in the UK it is considered that she could seek employment in Turkey or alternatively be supported by you.”
The couple said they had spent just shy of £10,000 trying to secure their right to remain together in Britain, including Home Office application costs and solicitor fees.
Ms Bozkurt, a legal assistant for a law firm in Norwich, who has lived in Britain all her life, said she felt she was being forced to choose between her husband and remaining in her job and staying close to her elderly parents.
“They said there’s no reason for us not to live in Turkey. I’ve got a full-time job here, I’ve been working since I was 18, I’m now 33. All my life has been in England, and they’re now saying that I can uproot and go and live there,” she added.
Responding to the situation, Mary Atkinson, the families together campaign officer at the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants (JCWI), said: “The Home Office is effectively asking Amber to choose between her husband and her parents, a choice nobody should have to make.
“We should be appalled that our government is seemingly happy to exile its own citizens if they happen to fall in love with somebody from the ‘wrong’ side of a national border.
“People will always travel, meet each other, fall in love and dream of a future together – the sooner we have a system that acknowledges that, the better.”
The Home Office has been approached for comment.
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