Gamu to leave the UK

[Chinghehuang]

Are you bothered? Not exactly Aretha Franklin is she, don't know what all the fuss is about.

Eh? I don't know who this is.

I've heard the wild cards aren't happening.

Don't care whether she leaves UK or not, it's the unfairness that two girls who fluffed their auditions got chosen instead of Gamu, who did a good audition that annoys me.
She's not Aretha Franklin, but then neither are they.

i think cheryl made the rite choice yeah gamu was good but she is the same as most other contestants that enter xfactor lets have sum1 who sings a diffrent style of music 4 a change x

I agree, I didnt care too much for Gamu, and she became a bit smug towards the end.

I dont really care about the whole visa thing wither, if youre not entitled to stay then you have to go home, thats life

If you are in a country illegally, it's not the cleverest thing to do to go onto a TV program watched by millions!

I think she was contrived. All those daft tears. Have had enough of the sob stories.

I wasn't that convinced about her tbh. She could sing but she wasn't that good, was she?

The X-factor - the gift that keeps on giving.

I read that Gamu's mother has been claiming thousands of pounds in benefits she was'nt entitled to including Child Tax Credit & Working Tax Credit which broke the immigration rules hence the family's voluntary deportation.
What baffles me is that if she was not suppose to be entitled to these benefits what evidence did she provide in order to claim and receive them?
Maybe the government should take a good look at these completed benefit application forms from overseas students to see what information is being provided, clearly there are serious loopholes or train the staff that deal with the applications, something going wrong somewhere in the benefit application process.

Poor Gamu she obviously had high hopes of being a star in the UK, I'm sure she will do well back in her native country.

On the news at lunchtime the reporter said that Gamu's mother had been working as a nurse in the UK, but her visa had expired, and the application for a new visa had been refused, hence she and Gamu (who came here as a dependant child) will have to leave the UK.

There were no allegations made about either of them being illegal immigrants, or that either had fraudulently claimed any benefits (though I assume Gamu's mother would have got child benefit, and possibly tax credits).

"I'm sure she will do well back in her native country"

Isn't she from Zimbabwe? Christ she will need all the luck she can get.

StayingDavidTennantsGirl, no they are not illegal immigrants, the mother has breached her visa conditions by claiming thousands of pounds in benefits, under immigration rules she is not allowed to have access to benefits and must support herself and her family. Immigration officials claim that she has received thousands of pounds in benefits and must leave the UK as a result.
Not sure who is in the wrong, Gamu's mother or the benefit clerks who processed the claims? Either way they have to leave voluntarily.

No, she is not Aretha Franklin but she sings better than Katie. I can kind of understand Cheryl putting Cher through (its complete different style of music for a change) and also she suffered from tonsillitis and was therefore unable to sing. But Cheryl and everyone else knew that her other auditions were okay.

Katie however messed up more than once and therefore should not have gone through. Even if Cheryl did not choose Gamu she should have chosen any of the other girls because they were all better than her.

And as the other posters mentioned she was not illegally in the country. Her mother's visa ran out and if you know how they work they had to wait 28 days before expiry date to apply for another visa and then it can take months. Can take anything from 4, 6 to 10 months depending of the type of visa you apply for. And you can therefore remain on the same rules as your original visa.

Yes her mum should not have applied for benefits and that would be the reason why she was refused. So it is her fault. But no matter what teh producers or Cheryl should not have punished Gamu for it. Because at that point she application was still being processed.

I'm sure she will do well back in her native country"

Bloody hell, do you know how bad it is out there?

I heard on the radio that in the judge's house Katie Wassail did two songs, the first where she fluffed it was shown on TV. The second song was apparantly note perfect. They all sing 2 songs but are only shown singing one.

Gamu's family have a lawyer who is hoping the situation can be resolved. Things maybe okay after all, she may even win if she is the wildcard choice. Am guessing the lawyer is on a no win no fee basis?

Don't think immigration decisions should be made on the basis of a TV program, however, her mother came to the UK to train as a nurse and think she has been working as one? She can support herself and her family, so surprised she wasn't allowed to stay. Guess Zimbabwe is on the foreign office 'safe' list now?

She wasn't supporting herself and her family, she was fraudulently claiming benefits!

She apparently came on a visa called Fresh Talent, which was exclusive to Scotland, to allow people to work 2 years post-study.

Her two years were up. She was in need of another visa, such as Tier 1 (formerly known as HSMP, Highly Skilled Migrant Programme), Tier 2 (employer-sponsored) or Tier 4 (student). She needs another visa to remain here. There is no more Fresh Talent and she needed to sort out which visa to apply for before it expired, hence, whatever visa she applied for has been denied and she is currently in the appeals proces.

Additionally, on the visa she was on, it is clearly 'NO RECOURSE TO PUBLIC FUNDS'.

If you Google, 'What are public funds', the first hit is a definition, the second is a bullet-pointed list straight from the UKBA stating that Working and Child Tax Credits are public funds.

Additionally, when you complete a Tax Credit application form, in one of the very first posts is an area where you need to declare if you are subject to immigration control and further explanation in the notes.

This is not hard information to find, that WTC is a public fund and if your visa excludes the use of public funds.

The onus is on the visa holder to make sure they are not violating the terms of their visa.

Furthermore, Gamu needs her own visa, as she is now too old to be a dependent on her mother's visa.

So, TV show contestant or not, not really bothered with people who don't have a proper visa being removed. If they have political concerns they should declare themselves asylum seekers. But the initial visa on which Gamu's mother extended her stay was for economic migrants and was never meant as a path to permanent residency.

There's nothing to say they cannot re-apply from their country of origin and re-enter.

What I do think is a bit unfair about this is the fact that Gamu - who is now and adult isn't allowed to apply for a visa for herself.

Her voice was good imo and she seemed a lot more likeable than Katie. I really hope she goes first.

Hopefully they'll manage to get down to SA after they've arrived, otherwise I pity them, the "coallition" (hahaha) isn't working, Mugabe has been arsing around and p*ssed the MDC politicians off, think shite is going to start hitting the fan even more again.

How "safe" they are will depend on whether - as a well edcauted person that's come back from the UK and will have been able to see what's been happening she decides to join WOZA, and where their home is. If it's very urban and fairly "wealthy" (by Zim standards) they may be ok.

If their home is one of the townships I don't hold out much hope for their safety at all