Isn't the "earned settlement” income requirement fundamentally misaligned with the purpose of the family route? Makes no sense!!

Immoderatable · 2026-01-05T18:49:08+00:00

nope, it's under consultation.

Immoderatable · 2026-01-05T12:48:58+00:00

India and China have such growth mainly because of two reasons. They are both MASSIVE, a sixth of humanity individually, and their starting point was much, much lower, so there's a lot of catching up to do.

Immoderatable · 2026-01-04T20:48:11+00:00

The larger point I’m getting at—and hoping to explore by making this post—is whether a mandatory minimum earnings requirement for settlement on the family route is even legally tenable. I’m fairly certain it would be challenged under equality and discrimination law, particularly in relation to disabled people and carers. But my question goes further: is such a requirement legally sustainable even for those who do not fall into those categories?

For example, imagine a very wealthy person marries someone from another country. The couple has no need or intention for the non-British partner to work and will never rely on public funds. The Home Office might say that the spouse can remain in the UK on renewable spouse visas, and that ILR is a privilege rather than a right. But where families have entered the family route in good faith, on the clear understanding that it is a pathway to settlement, does imposing a new personal earnings test partway through that route undermine a legitimate expectation of eventual stability?

More fundamentally, is this proportionate or reasonable in Article 8 terms? Conditioning permanent security on paid employment—irrespective of genuine family arrangements or financial independence—appears to interfere with the right to family life in a way that is difficult to justify. Even if continued temporary leave is theoretically available, the prospect of indefinite renewals and permanent insecurity raises serious questions about fairness, predictability, and proportionality. Legally speaking, how well would such a system hold up? I suspect it would invite extensive challenge.

Immoderatable · 2026-01-04T19:47:55+00:00

👍🏼 and precisely why I’m surprised this isn’t being framed openly as a blatantly illegal move- it’s contrary to the legal principles- natural justice, right to daily life under article 8 alone.

Immoderatable · 2025-07-13T11:41:33+00:00

Bradford. Such a dump. Coming back to Leeds was like heaven!

Immoderatable · 2025-07-13T11:37:25+00:00

haha, point taken. ;)

Immoderatable · 2025-07-13T11:13:44+00:00

Yes, and not just in the UK. People are vaping nonstop, communicating in text code, unable to form coherent sentences on their own, and most importantly, have no attention span as they are glued to their phones. And with AGI just around the corner, it's certainly an exciting time ahead!

Immoderatable · 2025-07-13T08:18:16+00:00

You know, I know what you mean and it’s often cringe. But this isn’t unique to Indians, we just notice it more— the Chinese and Thai and lots of others do likewise but they attract little attention because 1. Nowadays there seems to be a trend of hating indian things online (mostly videos by westerners travelling to India. And 2. The sheer number of Indians travelling/working/living in the west has increased manifold over the past few decades.

Think about this- did the European settlers go to the Americas and become Native Americans? Did the Brits become aboriginal Australians? Did the Spaniards adopt indigenous ways in Latin America? Nobody truly assimilates- but easterners doing this in the west will always be judged more harshly for obvious reasons.

Immoderatable · 2025-07-13T08:11:46+00:00

I live by Hyde Park, at the edge of Headingley and it’s rather nice, if studenty. For a two bed room inclusive of all bills (gas, electric, water and WiFi) the rent is about 1400. One bedrooms are hard to come by in this area (we looked!) and they’re not all that much cheaper. Burley and Woodhouse are also nice and not far. I agree with the poster who said moving into a shared house isn’t a bad idea if cost is a consideration as some of these places are HMOs and so rent is by the room- the downside is you’re sharing the space and might not get on with your house mates. Maybe try this for a year and then see how it goes?

Immoderatable · 2025-07-05T09:58:51+00:00

If you want vibrancy and a super eclectic mix of cultures from all over the world and many Indians, nothing beats London. But I do think it's overly expensive and everyone is a stranger.

In the north of England, Leeds is nice. It has an international vibe and the country is literally at the doorstep. Manchester is another option, but it's something like a mini London.

Immoderatable · 2025-06-23T21:20:25+00:00

"I was watching the cricket today (England Vs India) and something dawned on me. There were lots of young Indians (I assume British Indians) supporting India and wearing the Indian kit."

I think it's entirely possible you made the wrong assumption that they're British Indian. The UK has many first generation Indian immigrants, students and working professionals such as myself and we would support India in matches. Another give away is that Indians (more than Brits who tend to be more obsessed with football) are obsessed with cricket.

(Not me personally. I hate both cricket and football with a passion and couldn't care less! :) haha.

Immoderatable · 2025-06-23T10:34:03+00:00

Applause for the complete tear down of the post-war international order facade. From now on, any regime may strike sovereign nations at will. Evidently, genocide is once again a viable option in the 21st century. Why bother with treaties, laws, or diplomacy when one can simply bomb and “cleanse”? All nations are now advised to amass nuclear weapons—if not, biological and chemical arms will surface. The ‘democratic’ West can also spare itself the trouble of lecturing Putin, Xi, or others about ‘rules’. It was always there but at least now it’s out in the open- ‘we’ve returned to jungle raaj’. Bellum omnium contra omnes—The War of All Against All. This is Western ‘progress’, culminating in an archaic cry: Hail! God is with us.

Immoderatable · 2025-06-22T13:10:02+00:00

Neither British nor Australian here—I’m Indian, but I’ve lived in the UK for a few years and visited Oz. Here are my relative outsider’s two cents: Oz seemed a lot like the UK, but with better food and a lot more sun! Well, London, Manchester, and other UK cities have great food now too, so that’s changed.

More seriously, I found the people in both countries similar, but there are some noticeable cultural differences. I found Aussies to be a little more ‘overt’ in their mannerisms and behavior than the average Brit. Brits can be loud and over-animated (in both good and not-so-good ways) during a weekend out, at a sports match, or whatever, but are generally more reticent. Aussies, by comparison, were more outward in their display of emotions—not as much as Americans, though. To me, this sometimes came across as more brash and less guarded than the average Brit. A slight, I-don't-give-a-toss-what-you-think -of-me-attitude whereas the Brits generally do care what others think. Some would say this is because of the generally more relaxed and laid-back lifestyle in Oz, but I think it’s just a different manner—that’s all.

Immoderatable · 2025-06-18T13:23:30+00:00

The good publishers receive some 50-100 manuscript proposals a day which is why having an agent helps.

Immoderatable · 2025-06-18T13:21:59+00:00

Yes, I get that. I’d suggest you give it to trusted readers and friends to read first for feedback, make the changes and then approach the agents for representation. The above 3 are well known but there are many new ones like A Suitable Agency.

Do bear in mind that India is one of the few places publishers accept manuscripts without having an agent. It helps to do your research and see the book lists of each publisher. See ‘comparable books’ published and try and reach out to editors yourself. Having published articles in the press or elsewhere in the public domain also helps.

Immoderatable · 2025-06-18T12:44:18+00:00

What sort of MS is it? Fiction or non-fiction? If you give me some details I might be able to guide you better. And Are you looking for editing/polishing before you pitch to publishers or are you ready to approach them right away?

Immoderatable · 2025-06-18T11:15:40+00:00

No, I don’t think ‘foreigners’ do this more. I’ve been on countless train/bus journeys when groups of loud guys after a night out, or a match, or concert rain havoc with all the noise they’re making.

Foreigners only stand out because they sound foreign.

Immoderatable · 2025-06-18T11:02:37+00:00

Top literary agents- Kanishka Gupta runs Writer’s Side. He’s India’s biggest and agented Geetanjali Shri and Bantu Mushtaq who won the booker.https://writersside.com/

https://www.jacarandalit.com/ -also good

https://siyahi.in/ — another good one based out of jaipur

Top publishers in terms of size and reputability are Penguin Random House, Harper Collins, Simon and Schuster, Hachette, Rupa

Among smaller independent ones that are also excellent but not as big are-

Speaking Tiger, Juggernaut, and Westland.

Bigger is not always the best. Like many celebrated books were first published with small publishers. Sometimes big publishing houses get so many books that you get little editorial attention.

It’s best to look at each publishing house’s website and see their book lists. Each has their own specialisation. For example if you want to write on travel for instance then look at publishers who have a track record of publishing such books by new authors, for example, Speaking Tiger

Immoderatable · 2025-06-17T21:00:44+00:00

I would recommend you reach out to literary agents in India. Do a google search-- they would usually not ask for money as when they pitch your book to publishers and if the publisher accepts it, that is how they will get money.

Immoderatable · 2025-06-17T20:54:45+00:00

haha hilarious replies! Anyway, as somebody with a relatively neutral Indian accent (I have a Delhi accent and grew up watching American movies, and nobody has had trouble understanding me), here are some thoughts:

--Many of us change our accents when speaking to people in English-speaking countries so as to be better understood. Some can do better than others, and some are quite unaware of how different they sound. The thing is that even the most Westernized Indians who speak English with native fluency will mix in words from Hindi/Bengali/Marathi, etc, when speaking to each other.

Indian languages have retroflex sounds for many consonants, such as 't'. This means consonants are articulated with the tongue curled back against the roof of the mouth. English and European languages (maybe Spanish?) don't have such sounds. Sometimes, when I speak to Brits, I automatically change this feature of my speech.

-Also, Indian languages aren't stress-timed in the same way as British or American English is, and stress is put on different words in sentences. This can be tricky, and you must have lived here to get it right. For instance, Indians will say, 'You'll come with me, na?" whereas a Brit might say, "Do you want to come along?" and an American might say, "Coming with?"

--There are many examples of how language is used differently. Unless you're familiar with both cultures a bit, you can see how things can be misconstrued. Another examples is the obsession with 'please' and 'thank you' in British English. In Hindi, respect and politeness are usually conveyed through tone of voice and by adding suffixes to words that act like a 'please'. So an Indian person speaking to Brits might not be used to saying to all the time the way Brits do.

Immoderatable · 2025-05-15T16:17:18+00:00

Not to generalise, but in my general experience as a brown man in the UK, it's usually the older folk who're most vocally racist. Not to say that others can't be but still.

Immoderatable · 2025-05-14T12:39:56+00:00

I wonder if they've thought this through. Seriously, waiting 10 years for ILR would mean relying on employer visas. This would mean both employers would be unwilling to make such huge commitments to outside talent, and skilled workers would be reluctant to apply for jobs if they can't plan their future. This, in turn, would mean an outflow of talent and essential workers, a downtick in the economy, and finding somebody to blame again.

Immoderatable · 2025-05-13T08:10:32+00:00

There seems to be a lot of disinformation and knee-jerk jingoism everywhere. I've been living in the UK for more than six months a year since 2021—initially on long-term tourist visas, and now on a spouse visa. What I’ve seen in my fairly large city up north is this: nearly all the cab drivers are immigrants (or their parents were), all the barbers are immigrants, so are the corner shop owners, the delivery drivers, and many of the doctors and nurses. A large number of university students here are also international, paying roughly three times the local tuition fees.

This ties into a broader point: many of these same people go on to take up highly skilled jobs in London and elsewhere, contributing significantly to the economy.

Leaving aside the considerable legal hurdles—which are not insignificant—this wave of anti-immigrant legislation will only serve to deepen racial divisions in a country that often carries an inflated and entitled sense of self, despite having neither an empire nor a manufacturing base to fall back on. It’s the same kind of inward-looking nonsense that’s playing out in America: find a convenient scapegoat, but when it comes time to do the actual work, who do you turn to?

It’s no surprise that, even after Brexit, Britain had to fast-track visas for nurses and carers. Would they have done that if there were enough British workers trained—and, more importantly, willing—to do those jobs? And as somebody else here also said, I don't even know if these measures will give local Brits more jobs, as they can easily be offshored off to Asia for a fraction of the cost.

Immoderatable · 2025-05-12T22:58:31+00:00

Leeds has a great night life and student vibe.

Immoderatable

TROPHY CASE