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Author Archives: Thais Portilho

I’ve experienced the hostile environment – that’s why I’m determined to end it

By Thais Portilho | Fri 24th August 2018 - 8:15 am

I arrived in the UK just over eleven years ago from Brazil, eager and ready to build my career and life many thousands of miles away from home.

Fast forward to 2018 and I have just received in the post my first British passport. Hooray? Yes, hooray now, but even though I was lucky enough to first “enter” the UK immigration system in pre-“hostile environment” times, the journey from being a Brazilian citizen to a British one hasn’t been easy.

There were the exorbitant fees – for a spousal visa, indefinite leave to remain, and finally citizenship – the intrusive document …

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Posted in Op-eds and Party policy and internal matters | Tagged migration policy paper | 24 Comments

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