INDIAN nurses working at Altnagelvin may be removed from the country under new immigration laws, the Sentinel can reveal.
The nurses have been filling desperately needed posts in Altnagelvin at the invitation of the NHS but mooted changes to immigration laws may leave them in limbo when their working visas expire.
The families say when they agreed to come to the UK t
hey received assurances they would be able to gain permanent residency after four years. The law has subsequently been changed to five years and the new Immigration and Citizenship Bill proposes that figure be changed to eight years.
Several members of Londonderry's Indian community are close to the threshold of gaining permanent residency after working in the local area for four years. They fear they will be left in limbo when their work visas run out.
The more than 100 Indian nationals who live in the city would be adversely effected by some of the proposals in the Immigration and Citizenship Bill and Foyle MP Mark Durkan has pledged to take up the case in Westminster. Councillor Mark H Durkan says the nurses are desperately needed for local health care.
"These people are here working and paying taxes and not getting any benefits.
"As it stands now immigrant workers can get permanent residency after working in the country for five years. The government is now seeking to move the goalposts and change that time to seven or eight years," he said.
Indian national Jiby Mathew says the new law could make things very difficult for his community.
"My wife and many other wives are working as qualified nurses in Altnagelvin. We are saying that those coming before the new law should be exempted.
"To take British citizenship makes big difficulties for us. The Indian government can then seize our bank accounts and property. All our children are in P2, 3 and 4 in local schools. We are worried for them."
The problem particular to Indian citizens is that the Indian government does not allow dual citizenship.
It may have been made easier to become a British citizen but if Indian nationals give up their passports they cannot have a bank account or own property in India and would require a visa to return to the country.
The full article contains 401 words and appears in Londonderry Sentinel newspaper.
