In three-hundred years, maybe there will be no borders and people will be free to travel, live, and work wherever they like. People have always migrated to places where there are better opportunities. Before the 20th century, that would usually mean moving to industrial cities from rural villages. There's something a little bit strange about someone who has married a person from a different country then moaning about there being "unwanted" immigration. Who says it's unwanted? I find it offensive when people suggest I should employ only British workers. Maybe some people here would be offended if someone suggested we should marry only British women?
Do you think that's my opinion? Do you not think that, had Leave lost, Brexiters would have been waiting for the next immigration statistics and getting ready to say they "told us so"?
Yes borders, customs and immigration control are a feature of the last couple of hundred years before that people went where they felt like. Yeah I would be offended by the idea of being told I should only marry a British woman.
You're getting excited about an investment deal - without knowing the full details of the investment. Numbers of jobs? Increase in tax revenue? Grants paid? You claim you've posted facts, yes you have. But you've posted little in terms of detail, and you're unwilling to accept that a lot of the "good" news isn't really good enough (Economists who are Brexitters say just as much) and that a lot of the "good" news is linked to a huge devaluation in our currency. The pound is one of the worst performing currencies in 2016. The rise in the FTSE, in real-value money terms, is not a huge success story because of the currency's devaluation.
I really shouldn't bring it up, but there are prior posts on here relating to 'an exciting investment deal' that went rather badly for our friend a good few years ago, nobody knows the future but some deals just have a moral dimension that says, steer clear, don't get involved.
The irony is that it inspired the ongoing the sale of the century where all those 'British' assets that we as a nation should be holding on to are being bought up because we are cheap as chips, and worse it's the kind of companies we need in order to have any hope for the future, Great Britain PLC owned and operated by foreigners, well done Brexit!
Why is it strange? Whats wrong with having a country with borders and rules? I`m married to a Filipino citizen and live legally here in the R.P as a law abiding resident following the rules..I understand and respect the local law`s and just because I married a Filipino it certainly does not give me the right to own land,own even 50% of a legally operated business or to take any potential Filipino job. If I require assistance financially re a Government handout there are none to receive.. If I need medical care of any description I will need to have Private insurance or pay in cash. When I reach the OAP age group, I am not allowed to avail of their senior citizen discount cards etc and in reality my rights as a legal resident are practically zero. There certainly are no Filipino Netizens, politicians,Senators or congressmen shouting how unfair the system is for us foreigners living in their country.. They just expect us to STFU,spend an enormous amount of foreign currency every month and not get involved in their domestic affairs.. What I find strange is the fact that British foreign diplomats here have no interest or authority in negotiating any type of parity deals between countries here on our behalf as Brit citizens. My Wife may think it`s all very unfair etc,but you wont see her bitching about it to Filipino`s on an internet forum.
That is precisely why we need to regain control of our country from the undemocratic EU - via a hard Brexit.
The Philippines is one of the very few countries that have pension reciprocity with the UK, that must have been negotiated quite a long time ago as it has been the case for as long as I have been involved with the Philippines. We don't have pension reciprocity with many commonwealth countries like Canada or Australia or New Zealand, although we do have pension reciprocity with the USA, Kosovo, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia, Turkey to name a few.
Yes there is but have you - or anyone you know - tried to claim the UK State Pension from the Philippine authorities under the pensions reciprocity agreement? I have and was literally laughed-at, it was suggested that I should "return to my own country if I needed state aid". The DWP does not apparently help in such cases but as soon as we moved to Malta, I was able to claim and the DWP offered to credit a bank account either in the UK or in Malta and not only that, because there is an equivalent of the NHS here, the DWP issues certificates of entitlement (known as Form S) so that I and my dependants can receive the same health care as a Maltese citizen. Those certificates also, in my case only, provide me with the same OAP concessions as a Maltese pensioner, meaning free travel on the Gozo Ferry, €0.10 bus fares, free or concessionary admittance to attractions, cinemas, theatres and concerts, etc. There is pensions reciprocity with every EEA country and a few others, including Switzerland, Gibraltar and those you list in the second half of the above sentence. In the case of Canada and New Zealand, there is reciprocity but the pension will be paid at a fixed rate without any annual increases. The indications are that Brexit will not affect current claimants living in the EU and from information sent to me, it seems that the UK will continue to have reciprocity with the EEA countries but we won't know for sure until much closer to "B-Day". I think it's very likely that Britain will seek pensions reciprocity with the other 50-odd countries of the Commonwealth as part of strengthening bonds within the Commonwealth.
I think it just means that Brit Pensioners over here will get pension rises as they would in the U.K.. I`ll probably never have much of a state pension to speak of but the Mrs will one day hopefully!!
I don't know what you mean about trying to claim UK State pension through the Philippine authorities, you're supposed to use this procedure https://www.gov.uk/state-pension-if-you-retire-abroad the point about reciprocity is that you get the annual increases that you would get if you lived in the UK. I didn't mention the EEA countries because as you say who knows what the position will be on leaving the EU. Regards the Commonwealth why have we not sought pension reciprocity agreements already, if they were so keen to do it there was no reason for it not to happen other than it saves the treasury a bit of dosh screwing all those foreign retirees regards their annual increase. The main value of choosing where your state pension is paid is the tax treatment in the country you choose, it is my understanding that the Philippines does not currently tax foreign pension income that and the annual increase make it an attractive option.
Boots you can check what you are entitled to here https://www.tax.service.gov.uk/check-your-state-pension don't use the Government Gateway option on the left it is easier to use the GOV.UK.Verify option on the right of the page, I can't remember all the details you will need but you will at least need your NI number. The biggest problem for you might be total years of qualifying NI contributions, I think the bottom end is 10 years, you need 30 years for full state pension although I think that has gone up to 35 years now, but one way or another you should be due something from them.
I should have added that even if you were self employed in the UK you would have probably been paying Class 2 and Class 4 stamps Class 2 are very cheap and count towards pension entitlement. I was self employed for 14 years but I still have 37 contributing years at this point in time because I paid Class 2 for all those years, I also started working early when I was only 15 which is how I managed to accrue so many years already.
Complete and utter pish, leaving the EU does not mean we will be isolating ourselves from other countries and cultures, it simply means we will control who enters the UK, the UK will make its own laws and trade agreements. All this talk of the UK being somehow enriched by the culture of a couple of million eastern Europeans is nonsense, we have absolutely nothing to learn from them whatsoever, they are in the UK to better themselves not the UK as a whole. They would be gone tomorrow if the work dried up that's for certain. I laughed out loud when I read about Chinese taking over as the worlds business language, which is probably the most difficult language to learn and writing, well just forget it. Rub that crystal ball of yours a bit harder and tells us what the UK will be like in 10 years, I'm sure you will have more suggestions that will amuse me. All this talk of isolation after leaving the UK is complete nonsense, life will trundle on the way it always has and if we slip down the world GDP table big deal. I'm glad you're posting again Jim your thoughts and ideas never fail to amuse just like that good old boy Andrew. We're leaving the EU, get on board for the ride of your life
What planet are you on (are you taking medication)? Another fortune teller, just concentrate on the next few years that's far enough without having your imagination run wild. There is nothing strange at all about being married to a Filipina and wanting immigration kept in check, I was never happy with immigration before meeting my wife and my Brazilian girl friend before her. Please explain to me what would happen if we let everyone who wanted to come to the UK, your view would certainly interest me. And yes you should be free to employ who you wish if its your own business, many businesses are taking advantage of cheap foreign labour to line their own pocket but who cares? I for one would not dream of employing a foreign worker, my wife is a co director but that is only in name and for tax reasons. I've worked in most eastern European countries and I certainly have not been impressed by the quality of labour, they are poorly trained and unskilled in general, there are of course exceptions to the rule. You always here people say "oh well they work hard," I'd be working hard too if my salary was six times higher than I could get at home. Please tell me more about what will be happening in three hundred years but first let me nip out to the local drug den and get high so I can fully appreciate your post
You do mean, of course, "leaving the EU" and I agree. Isn't it (more) isolationist to remain in the EU?
Just a thought. Brexit as it appears seems to be inevitable We all agree on this simple fact. Moves are being made by some people to twart and discourage the process by creating obstacles which will be costly to the public purse to fight in courts or other places. Why oh why can't we all get together and try to get the best deal possible ??? Why can't you Brits unite as one nation like you did in WW2?? And defend your borders and indipendence and thus preserve your heritage? I dearly wish Italy would drop the euro and all it entails. It cost us 15 or so years of stagnation high unemployment. Poverty galore. Mass immigration from the east and bogus refugees from the south. Britain had a referendum. We cannot have one unless the constitution is amended..
