Spouse English tests for migrants racist

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-14298352

Now this is something I agree with and I have not even read all of it yet.

Philippines anyone?

It is one of the official languages after all, ok we all know standards vary but come on, most can make themselves understood pretty well.

I think that good English skills should be one of the requirements for ILR and especially a British citizenship, but I agree with you that for people coming to the UK to join their loved ones it should be reduced to passable... And that could be done with an interview, simple as that.

Maybe I'm old fashioned but everyone can learn, yeah I know lots of folk come here with few skills but most people do learn.

Now yes it is true that some don't learn but lets say a relationship exists where the husband is supporting a wife (or the other way round) they are both old, living in different countries, one is 10 years younger than the other but that person is the working partner and just wants to spend their remaining life with their partner and can provide all the support their partner needs, why are we refusing them the right to be together, if they can support each other and at least one partner is well integrated?

Is not the problem that our methods of assessment of relationships is wrong in the first place?

I see your point there, though I think that description is the exception to the usual immigration scenarios to this country.

Most legislation is ill thought out piffle that MPs pass to get brownie points from whichever media outlet of the day serves them best, and this lurch to the right was a good example where the unintended consequences had not been correctly thought out and debated. Does anyone remember the poor girl from Canada who was forced out of the UK because she was too young to marry a British citizen? And the minister in charge simply shrugged his shoulders as if he could do nothing about it...

Perhaps it would be better to relax the rules on who can come here but instead make the rules tougher on who can claim benefits? But again, unintended consequences...

That would be fairer and probably easier to implement, ok there are no benefits in the Phils but you absolutely have to have a ACR card if you are there for any length of time.

No ACR or equivalent in the UK, no benefits, no excuses.

How many as a percentage actually fail to learn to get by, these discussions always imply that the number is very very large, I am not so sure about that, I think it is the minority.

The point about enclaves in foreign countries is perfectly true, how many of us Brits ever learn much of a foreign language, how many Brits live in ex-pat ghetto's in foreign countries, loads of folk, difference is we have money when we are abroad and luckily most places don't seem to mind us.

We on the other hand appear to mind a lot, but to break apart families because one partner cannot speak English is just wrong, even more so if the two partners share a common language such as the husband and wife that were the case in point here.

That teacher near the end also made very goods points, people coming here really do want to learn they pay good money to learn, they are motivated already and that is without the coercion of our government.

Not too badly balanced news item that Sean made a lot of good points.