7 year old banned from entering canada for life because she was disabled

[wannaBe]

outragious

I had no idea that there was a blanket ban on disabled imigrants to canada until 2005.

what an obviously intolerant country.

[mamadiva]

WTF?

Didn't think you were allowed such discrimination!!!

Bloody shocking a dog was given more rights than a child. Morons.

Poor kid and poor family bloody idiots that run these countrys honestly.

[MsHighwater]

But then the spokesperson is saying that there is no longer any such ban. All sounds a bit sus to me.

[wannaBe]

well I know that a lot of countries it's a lot harder to emigrate to if you have a disability, but a blanket ban?

Often their argument is that if a disabled person is going to have a condition which will mean that the state will have to fund their care then they don't feel that country should take the "burden", it's the same for certain diseases ie some countries won't take you if you have HIV for instance.

But still ...

[Anna8888]

Why is it unreasonable for countries to select immigrants on the basis of the future contribution that they are likely to make to that country.

No-one has a right to go and live in another country to their own. The EU is a huge exception in that it allows for the free movement of people (and even then it is not that easy).

[edam]

Shocking that immigration treated her so badly, whatever the sodding rules say. And it is plain daft to refuse a child who does not need any extra healthcare.

[MsHighwater]

I just think there is probably more to this story than meets the eye. I don't disagree that a blanket ban would be unacceptable. Presumably that's why the court lifted it.

[FranSanDisco]

Don't think that's the full story. The article mentions residency visas having to be in place. My friends emmigrated last year. Their son has autism. They had no problems and the children have really settled well into school etc. They live in Vancouver though.

[wannaBe]

well they had the father on 5 live earlier and he said the same border guard had said that if others had been more vijilant on the previous occasions the family had entered the country on holiday they would have been put straight back on a plane.

This child hasn't been banned just from emigrating to Canada, she's not even allowed back in on holiday.

[SheSellsSeashellsByTheSeashore]

surely this breaks some sort of human rights law? how can they refuse entry because of a disability? shocking. canada need to revise thier opinion on this. how can a dog have more rights than a child?

[Twiglett]

I'm not surprised. I'm fairly certain we wouldn't be able to emigrate to Oz because DH has a chronic condition, nor USA (but who'd want to?) and probably not Canada either

it's about cost of care tbh .. I can see that there is an increased risk of a drain on country resources which becomes a factor when considering emigrants to 'popular' countries

.. but then they could let another family emigrate only for someone to acquire a disability .. they wouldn't then chuck 'em out would they?

[2shoes]

if you think how much care costs, you can kind of see why. but it is still disgusting as any one can become disabled ant any time.

[NotQuiteCockney]

It does sound a bit more complicated than the telegraph story - here is a more detailed account.

A) the family was all turned back in 2005, this can cause problems in future
B) they were coming over on holiday on a one-way ticket, and planning to exit and reenter from the US as immigrants when all their full visas were issued

That being said, it does sound like the root cause was a single border guard being bigoted. I'd like to pretend to be about this, but really, it's totally normal. A friend of mine was essentially banned from the UK for life for no evident reason at all. He came over as a tourist, with a return ticket, but a border guard took a dislike to him (friend is gay, which might be the issue?), decided he was trying to move over, and sent him back to Canada on the same day.

Border guards can be bigoted assholes.

[expatinscotland]

True, NQC, so can some Home Office employees.

Our landlord's daughter is a Scotswoman married to a S. African man.

The HO employee seemed to take a real dislike to her husband's being Afrikaans, started the process with, 'Do you even speak English?' and turned down his FLR application.

His wife was forced to return to the UK without him - to go back to her job - and he had to reapply (and pay again) a few months later.

At a different consulate.

His visa was approved then and there and he came back to the UK a day later.

[lou33]

it's not surprising

years ago we looked into emigrating, loads of countries refused entry to disabled people as they would be a burden on the state, in their words

ds2 will be perfectly able to work and hold down a job as an adult btw

[TheLadyofShalott]

It's not just Canada - a friend of mine had massive problems getting into Australia a few years ago because she'd had health problems that might have indicated MS - despite the fact that her husband's company ( a major international firm) were prepared to guarantee all her health care.

[JJ]

My husband was nearly refused entry to Canada this past Spring. It was in Calgary and he was staying for 6 days on a holiday! He said the border guy implied he was coming in to look for work - he's been in the same job for 4 years and is in a specialised field. And you think they'd be used to people coming through Calgary to go skiing, maybe.

When I was 15 I had to have x-rays to prove I didn't have TB to get into Australia (have scar tissue on my lung from pneumonia from when I was young). Although I think that was because Australia doesn't want TB in their country? Who would, really?

The only trouble I've ever had was taking my two sons to the UK (ie back home) from the US (where we were on holiday and I am a citizen) on my own. Their last name is different than mine and the airline checker-inners were quite concerned. It worked out ok though.

[expatinscotland]

JJ, if you claim UK citizenship through birth, your children should get British passports to come in, technically, because they are not visitors to the UK, but they are actually UK nationals.

Some immigration officials in UK airports may get a bit arsey about this.

[Callisto]

Don't you all remember the fat lady who was refused entry to NZ? She isn't allowed to emigrate there until she has lost weight because the NZ authorities think she will potentially cost their health service too much money. It is harsh, but most countries don't allow immigrants with current or potential health problems. Why do you think part of the immigration process is a medical?

[Upwind]

What is new about this? If there is a public health service like the NHS, which many/most countries don't have, you provide an incentive for people who need a high level of care to move to a country where they will recieve it, and so it becomes necessary to have some restrictions on immigration. I have never noticed much sympathy on MN or real life for AIDS or cancer patients from Africa who try to come here.

Of course it is not nice and there will always be sad stories which seem so very unfair but that is life. It is horribly unfair that the child is disabled in the first place.

[ElfOnTheTopShelf]

What is the UK position on this?

[JJ]

Expat - my husband is American too; we're on 5 year visas (I think - have lack of coffee brain) with an eye to getting UK passports in a couple of years when we can apply.

I always feel a bit sorry for border officials. They don't have terribly much more than the passport and what I tell them to go on when deciding to let me in, so I'm always really polite. It can't be a fun job and I've seen people give them stick before. Not enough to call the guards but enough to be seriously unpleasant.

[DillyTanty]

the Home Office here are utter, utter, utter bastards... i'm quite sure that Canada is infinitely more tolerant as a country than we are. (this one border twat excluded, obv).

[mamadiva]

I'm going to cause a riot here I don't mean to but...

Why the hell is it that other countries can ban people with disabilities but the UK can let everybody and anyone get into this country!!! No matter whether they ntend to work or are just here to drain our benefits just because 'they don't like their country and they get treated badly over there'! Yet a poor defensless kid who isn't going to cost them anything can be told she is banned from another country! If they want to start being picky then why isn't there a blanket ban on immigrants all together world wide?

And I'm not racist as I know that's probably how this has come over, I have plenty of friends who are from other countries but I'm just trying to get my point across and this story makes me soo bloody angry!!!

[lou33]

this is taken from the home office laws for immigration , under the medical section...

"37. Where the Medical Inspector advises that a person seeking entry is suffering from a specified disease or condition which may interfere with his ability to support himself or his dependants, the Immigration Officer should take account of this, in conjunction with other factors, in deciding whether to admit that person. The Immigration Officer should also take account of the Medical Inspector's assessment of the likely course of treatment in deciding whether a person seeking entry for private medical treatment has sufficient means at his disposal."

[Nagapie]

Mamadiva - I don't think you have a true idea of just how dificult it is to get into the UK when you don't have an EU passport.

I don't think blaming the refugees or asylum seekers is a solution either. I think you have to be pretty desperate to leave everything and start over again... and in the grand scheme of things, it makes up a very small percentage of immigration figures...