Shittest news ever!

We had the most amazing months with our Girl. The best job ever! So overwhelmed with love. We said we would enjoy a couple of months then get applying for a Family Visa as Paul’s Visitor Visa would end on the 4th February. I still haven’t heard from Maternity Pay. I’d applied and knew I wouldn’t get pay from work as I hadn’t been there long enough so I was relying on Statutory Maternity. Milla was 7weeks old and I got a letter to say I wasn’t entitled to maternity. The reason being I had been out of the country 12 months and hadn't paid into the system. Hadn't paid into the system!! I've been paying into the system since I was 16 year old! One year out the country and I'm punished like this. I called the help line and a guy told me (very smugly) if I'd started 4 weeks prior to the date I actually started I'd have been entitled. Smart. I was broke. We were broke. If it wasn’t for my Mam and Dad putting us up I don’t know what we'd have done. Our money was quickly disappearing. Paul wasn’t allowed to work on a Visitor Visa and the only option was for me to go back to work. Come January I was back working Wednesday’s and Fridays. 16hours per week. I couldn’t bare to do anymore as my baby girl was so so tiny and this just wasn’t fair. Luckily I had Paul and he had her while I went to make a living. We were advised to apply for Universal Credits. But were told Paul wouldn’t be able to claim anything as he wasn’t a citizen. This was understandable.  We had two separate interviews at the job centre. Citizenship interviews. Ohhhhh really! There is my BRITISH passport. Ridiculous. Never mind. Rules are rules. Days later I’d been approved. I AM a British Citizen. Hallelujah! I started getting this at the very end of November. It just covered my bills but I was just so grateful to get at least something. Work was very very hard. Well it wasn’t, I love my job but it was very hard leaving my girl. I felt like I’d been robbed. My time off with her was cut very short. I just had to get on with it. My Universal Credits weren’t affected as I was only working 16 hours.
We started to make an online application for a Spouse Visa. Very long winded. Lots of evidence to get together. Marriage certificate, proof of address, how long we’d been together, Milla’s Birth Certificate, photos, proof, proof and more proof. The list goes on. As we went to submit it at the end of November something told me not to do it. My sister in-law had a Filipino friend. She spoke to her as she and her partner had applied for the same visa. We went round to their home and they made us dinner. It was delish. We had a good crack and they had used an Immigration agent based in London who was also a Filipino. They called her and put her on loud speaker. She spoke to me and I told her Paul was on a Visitor Visa. Right away she said “Ohh he’ll have to go back.” “What do you mean, he’ll have to go back?” I replied with watery eyes. “Yes he’ll have to either go back home or at least leave the country. The rules are rules” Tears we’re streaming down my face. I felt like someone had stabbed me in the stomach. Paul couldn’t speak. My sister in-law had watery eyes and I just kept looking at Paul whilst he was holding our tiny baby girl while she was sleeping. She explained that when on a visitor visa you can't apply to extend because you are just here on a Visit, like a holiday. I understood but it didn't make sense, especially with our circumstances. (and for the gossipers that said he's been deported, you couldn't be more wrong). This is why I'm writing this blog. Rules needs to change for each individual case.
My heart was broken. We left and went home to my Mam and Dad and explained. We just had to get on with it. We all decided that we would enjoy Christmas. Our first as parents and Paul's first in England. He'd never had a cold Christmas. He was really looking forward to it. And then we would look at flights.