problems. In the event that something does go wrong, his advice was to be completely upfront with the authorities and contact someone in the United Kingdom to assist you as soon as possible. If a person is refused entry at immigration, for example because their visa has not come through yet, Mr. Posen’s advice is not to panic. This does not mean that they will never be able to enter the country. They are simply being sent back until their documentation comes through – it is a delay, not an outright refusal. Again, Mr. Posen’s advice is to be upfront with the immigration officer. Sometimes they will be lenient and allow the person to enter for a shorter period of time, although technically they have been detained. This happened some time ago with a chassan, coming for his wedding, who was refused entry into the United Kingdom. After much hishtadlus, including the involvement of the local Rabbi, he was allowed into the country for ten days, which was enough time for the chasunah and sheva brachos to take place, before he had to leave. Another area in which the immigration laws have
tightened up recently is the following scenario. An EU citizen is automatically allowed to both live and work in the United Kingdom, and to bring in family members. However, a British citizen cannot necessarily do so, particularly in the case of a so-called Elderly Dependent Relative. Until now, a person with joint U.K. and EU citizenship was allowed to use their EU citizenship to bring in their relatives. However, the law has now changed, and they can no longer do this. This has resulted in the paradoxical situation that a French or Polish person, who has, say, an elderly mother living in France or Poland, can arrange for their mother to come and live with them, whereas a British citizen whose elderly mother is not British, and lives in France or Poland, must stay there. However, on a brighter note, the controversial law automatically refusing a resident’s visa to the non-EU spouse in a marriage if either of the partners was under 21, has now been repealed. This, at least, has taken one area of concern away from international shidduchim.