My name is Praewa Bulthaweenan / Bink and I am a Thai artist currently living in Manchester on an ‘Indefinite Leave to Enter the UK’ visa which is sponsored by my mother, also Thai, who currently lives in Birmingham with my 13 year old half sister who was born here. However, my family’s immigration status has come under threat as my mother’s ex-husband (and my sister’s father) is no longer sponsoring her visa. Unfortunately, this also renders mine invalid. We are currently facing deportation and homelessness unless we successfully attain British citizenship as soon as possible. My mother is being called to court next week.

Both myself and my mother satisfy all the eligibility criteria for attaining citizenship so the only obstacle for us is financial as it will cost exactly £2,660 for both of us to apply (£1,330 per person). We have been here over 5 years (I’ve been here for 12 and my mother has been here for 15), we both speak good English (she is currently employed as chef in a school and I have a BA in Interactive Arts after being educated within the British schooling system since arriving here), we have no criminal records and stand a very good chance at passing the ‘Life in the UK’ test on the grounds that we are both immersed in British culture and have already begun studying for it.

My mother is a single parent who has had money troubles for a long time, so I’ve been having to support her and my younger sister with money from student loans and from my own wages from working as a chef, which I’ve been doing since graduation. She has health complications which limits her working capacities (although she currently is employed), however, she does not qualify for disability support due to the nature of her condition. We do manage between us to support the whole family and provide for my younger sister but we are not able to fund these costs entirely on our own in such a short time-frame. This is why I’m asking for help.

Growing up in the UK for the past 12 years has made me grow in ways I never could’ve imagined as a child. Attending college and then art school, I’ve developed myself an inter-disciplinary artist with the help of funding from the UK government that is simply not available to many people in Thailand. I recently won an award for ‘Best Foreign Film’ at last year’s TENT Academy Awards in Rotterdam after I was scouted at my university degree show. After winning this award, I was invited for 6-week residency in Rotterdam this October, however, if I fail to attain British citizenship this puts this residency in jeopardy. As a member of the TV Babies art collective, we recently became a resident of the Islington Mill art community in Salford. It would be a great shame for myself and my fellow TV Babies to leave this thriving creative space as they would not be able to afford the rent without me.

Since moving to Manchester I’ve become immersed in the LGBT+ community. The wonderful people I’ve met have taught me so much about myself, others and the world around me, and I cannot imagine having to leave this support network behind. In Thailand attitudes are not so progressive and I fear returning to a place without such an open, accepting and colourful creative scene.

Even though my sister was born here, living with her British father is no longer an option so if we were to get deported then she would have no choice but to come with us. She identifies as British and has grown up all her life in this society. She would have to leave all she’s known to come back with us. I’ve benefitted hugely from the British schooling system and if she were not able to complete her GCSE’s this would massively limit her future job opportunities. She would also be incredibly behind in the Thai schooling system as she has only ever been in British schools so her academic development would be massively impacted if we failed to attain citizenship status.

Any amount will be helpful, I’m eternally grateful.

Bink :-)