Poor show

I AM a Baptist pastor whose home is in Scotland. Between 2008 and 2011, I lived in the ­Philippines in South-east Asia where I met and fell in love with a local woman and we became engaged to be married.

I returned to the UK but, in 2013, went back to the Philippines intending to marry my ­fianceé. Unfortunately, I did not have the required documentation with me. So I decided to ­return to Scotland to apply for a fianceé visa for my wife-to-be for her to travel to the UK and for us to get married in Scotland. On my return home, I contacted ­several immigration lawyers and on every occasion was asked: “Are you earning more than £18,600 a year?”

The answer was No, as I earn only £13,600 a year, which is equivalent to the legal national minimum wage. I was told that it would, therefore, be impossible for me to bring my wife-to-be to the UK.

It seems, therefore, that I am being treated as a second-class British citizen, prevented from having a family life simply because I am not wealthy enough.

Can it now be the case that you are only entitled to a family life with a foreign spouse in the UK if you are earning more than the legal minimum?

(Rev Dr) VJ Walden

Wardlaw Avenue

Rutherglen, South Lanarkshire