An Indian woman who came to live in England on a Malawian passport is fighting the British government’s refusal to allow her husband and children the right to come and live with her here.

One of the very few restrictions the ConDems have put on immigration is that immigrants from outside the EU must have a basic command of the English language before they’re allowed to move here (immigrants from EU countries can continue to refuse to learn English, hampering integration with society and putting an unnecessary burden on the state).

Vali Chapti refuses to learn to speak English but still wants to come and live in England with his wife.  He says that because he’ll be living in Leicester, he doesn’t need to speak English because there are enough people there who speak Gujurati.  He and his wife claim that refusing to allow him to move here is a breach of their human rights to marriage and family and said that if they don’t win their appeal they will take the case to “a higher court – the European Court of Human Rights”. Rashida Chapti is being helped by Leicester Labour Councillor, Mian Mayat, who is her “interpretor and advisor”.

I won’t get sidetracked on a rant about how the EU courts have primacy over our own but there is no doubt that the EU Court of Human Rights will rule against the British government.  Vali and Rashida Chapti do have a right to live together as a married couple and as a family with their seven children but they don’t have a right to do that in England.  Rashida Chapti can leave England and live with her husband and children in India any time she likes, the British government is not preventing her from being with her family.

Immigration is out of control and damaging society and the economy.  We don’t have enough jobs and houses to go around the people already living here, let alone the people who want to move here.  We don’t have enough money to provide translation services or benefits for people who are unemployable because they don’t speak English.  Racial and religious segregation – the result of multiculturalism – is damaging to society, causing social and economic problems and stirring up racial tensions.  We need a freeze on economic immigration and then a points-based system applied to all prospective immigrants (including from the EU) to ensure that people moving here have skills that we need, have a home to move into, have the means to support themselves and speak English.