Urgent Citizenship Appeal

Hey!

My name is Cilla Casey and this is a campaign for a close friend Tim who is in need of a UK citizenship.

Before you roll your eyes and think of programmes like border patrol please take some time to read what I have to say.

I was born in the UK, I'm a British citizen and I have a British passport; this is something I haven't given much thought to. I believed I was well aware of issues surrounding migration but I was mistaken. It wasn't until a close friend opened up to me about their situation that I realised I knew very little. I won't mention his name because to be quite frank he is not very optimistic about this but I am sure there are people out there who will have enough heart to read this and donate.

My friend came to the UK at the age of 11. He attended secondary school here as well as college and university and planned on applying for his stay once he reached the age of 21 (you have to live in the UK for at least 10 years to apply). Unfortunately at the age of 16 he travelled back to his home country for 6 months to sort out some family issues and because of this he was told his 10yr term had to start again.

To keep a long story short, he has given the opportunity to appeal and has to do so as soon as possible in order to meet the window of January 2018. If this date is not met he could be threatened with deportation. He has raised 1,200 to date and is continuously making the effort to raise funds. Lawyer fees, coupled with application fees exceed the amount I am trying to raise but every little helps (see bottom breakdown).

‘But doesn’t he work?’ To work in the UK under a work permit you must be working for an employer who is sponsored. Unfortunately many employers are eager to hire talented, intelligent individuals and often do not complete the correct paperwork for those on work visas. Unfortunately my friend was a victim of this and this is why his situation is so urgent. The company he worked for lost their sponsorship due to negligence and my friend was left unemployed and desperately trying to find another employer with the correct sponsorship. This process can take a while, time that he simple does not have.

Let me just try and emphasize how dire this situation is:

Imagine having to leave everything you have ever known, your friends, the culture and norms you have adapted to, your general way of life... Some may think ‘But it’s the 21st century, you can deal with it’ – I can assure you that this thought is no doubt speckled with ignorance. It sounds so trivial but there is so much that comes into play when you grow up somewhere; there are mannerisms, the language – things that take years to learn and adopt. Mannerism for one is so important; you become one with your culture and identify with it. Now imagine being told you have one month to learn a completely language and mannerisms, you have approximately one month till you are ripped away from the life that you built for yourself. Imagine years of keeping your head down, years of working hard at secondary school and college and then ontop of that, completing a whole degree and being so focused that you immediately became employed. Imagine creating deep connections with people, having a deep love for your local community and then being told that you have to say goodbye to it all in such a short space of time.

This situation touched me deeply because I know how resourceful the UK is. The healthcare, opportunities and education that can be found in this country are incomparable. My friend has never committed a crime in his life; he has been dedicated to building a better life for himself, a better future that he hopes to inspire others with. He deserves to enjoy this beautiful country just as much as I am able to.

I hope you can find the spare change to help make a difference to the life of a man who has inspired me so much and is yet to inspire so many others.

Breakdown of total costs:

£2887.00 - Citizenship application