Fijian-born soldier Isimeli Baleiwai fights to stay in UK A Fijian man who served in the British Army for 13 years is fighting to stay in the UK after being told he must leave the country by 9 August. Isimeli Baleiwai served in Afghanistan and Iraq, before leaving the Army in June. He is married to a UK national. But disciplinary action for a 2010 fight with a colleague means he is considered to have a criminal record. The Border Agency said applications for settlement by ex-forces personnel were considered the same way as all others. "This involves consideration of a range of factors including unspent convictions, whether passed by military courts or resulting from police involvement," a spokesperson said in a statement. Lance Corporal Baleiwai - known as "Bale" - was born in Fiji but told the BBC's Angus Crawford he now considered the UK his home. He is married to Kim - a British national with whom he has two children, aged three and six. The 32-year-old applied for British citizenship in March 2012 because he planned to leave the Army. He left voluntarily on 15 June after 13 years' service. Foreign and Commonwealth soldiers can apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain after four years' service, and citizenship after five. L/Cpl Baleiwai served in Bosnia, Northern Ireland, Iraq twice and once in Afghanistan. In 2011, his commanding officer said his performance was "of an exceptionally high standard". L/Cpl Baleiwai was rated "an excellent junior NCO [non commissioned officer]" who was "always leading from the front". "He is charismatic, selfless and well-liked," the officer said. I wasn't good enough to be a citizen of this country and yet throughout those 13 years I've paid my taxes, I've served Queen and country and I felt betrayed at this pointâ Isimeli Baleiwai But on 28 June 2012, L/Cpl Baleiwai heard that he had been refused citizenship and would also be refused Indefinite Leave to Remain because he had what the UK Border Agency (UKBA) classed as a criminal conviction so was not of "good character". On 12 July he was informed by letter that he must leave the country by 9 August. L/Cpl Baleiwai said he had returned from Afghanistan "a mess", suffering from flashbacks and drinking heavily. "To me, there was nothing wrong - I was normal. But now that we've had time to look back, everything was going wrong. The drinking was getting out of hand; I was getting in a mess that I was struggling to get out of." L/Cpl Baleiwai said that he then ended up brawling with his colleague. Under changes in 2010 to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974, disciplinary offences and crimes under military law automatically carry over into civilian life. However, our correspondent said many disciplinary offences in the military would not be offences in civilian life and the military process lacked some of the checks and balances of civilian courts. L/Cpl Baleiwai said that his fight lasted less than a minute and his colleague suffered a broken filling. He pleaded guilty at the subsequent disciplinary hearing before his commanding officer and was fined £1,000. He said he had been offered a solicitor but waived his right because he just "wanted the case to go away". "To me as far as I understood it, that was it - that was the end of it," he said. However, the incident is now preventing him from staying with his family in Britain. 'Implications are massive' L/Cpl Baleiwai said that soldiers coming back from combat zones were likely to be emotionally damaged as a result of serving Britain, and that the UKBA should make allowances when considering their applications. Isimeli Baleiwai completed two tours in Iraq, as well as serving in Afghanistan and Bosnia "We're not going to be coming back of sound mind and good character because of what we've been through - the trauma we've been through," he said. "People who are making these rules, passing those laws, they don't understand what that feels like." L/Cpl Baleiwai and his wife have written to their MP, the Home Office, Number 10, the Ministry of Defence, the Labour Party and former head of the Army Lord Dannatt to try to get permission for him to stay. So far, they have had no success. "I was proud to have served in the Army and for that 13 years service I was seen as a British soldier but to the UK Border Agency, as soon as that uniform comes off I'm no longer a British soldier, but just a foreign Commonwealth person trying to reside in the UK," he said. "But at this point I had a British family, I had a British wife - two kids that are British - and I'd been given this letter saying that I wasn't good enough. I wasn't good enough to be a citizen of this country and yet throughout those 13 years I've paid my taxes, I've served Queen and country and I felt betrayed." Mrs Baleiwai said that the support the couple had received had reminded her of why she was "proud to be British" but that what had happened to her husband made her "feel ashamed". "I want to fight this for my husband and my family because I believe it's wrong - I've believe it's incompetent of the government to make these decisions," she said. Veterans Aid chief executive Dr Hugh Milroy said it seemed "completely incredible" that L/Cpl Baleiwai was being barred from the UK because of his brawl. "This is so minuscule as an incident, but the implications are massive," he said. "This should have been done and dusted and gone."
Illegals coming into the Country at will and they turf a guy out that actually took up arms and fought for us. Something wrong with the system somewhere. Or at least the people that operate the system.
Nowt new here, the country is a disgrace and the way they treated the Gurka's was shocking...One of the most appaling decision any goverment has made.... It's a case of thanks, now off you pop....shocking.
week after week we hear Cameron and then Millaband say what a debt of gratitude we own them and how we will never forget, a good time to prove it, one phone call is all it would take.
This is a ****ing scandal, but sadly, the way they treat even our own born & bred boys shows the lack of respect our ****ing government has for these boys. People who give up a normal life and fight for the country in any conditions, every ****ing one of them should come out with a queens honour and a government backed , comfortable pension for life. The GREAT has long since gone from Britain.
Sign the petition here support that lad. http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/support-isimeli-baleiwai/
If you are over 18 and have been living in the United Kingdom for the last five years (or three years if you are married to or a civil partner of a British citizen) you may be able to apply for naturalisation as a British citizen. You may also be able to apply for naturalisation if you or your husband, wife or civil partner is in crown or designated service outside the United Kingdom. Applications for naturalisation are made using application form AN. So why has it taking him 13 years to apply, he could have done it 10 years ago. And you cant have 1 rule for one and 1 rule for another either, how many others that had perfectly good jobs have been kicked out because they had a conviction for something. Do Ihink its right he is getting kicked out, not really, but I can understand the Governments point of view.
Steve, The government classed him as fine & dandy to employ to protect the country, be trained in our military etc, but then say he can't live here? On NO level is that right, he should automatically receive citizenship upon joining IMO.
but why? person 1 is a doctor/surgeon and gets kicked out but no one kicks up a fuss, most never even hear of it. person 2 is in the army, and gets kicked out, the whole country is in uproar, in the press etc etc. I have nothing against the guy at all, you just cant have 1 rule for one because he was in the Army, and another for someone else because they were not.
I agree with rules, we need rules, however with rules should come common sense. His criminal record, he had a fight with a soldier, big deal, if he had been a plumber who had a fight with a plumber he probably would not have a record. Is he bad for the country or a bad citizen, dont know him so cant say, he was however OK to risk his life.
I have every respect for members of the armed forces, 4 of my best mates went in, and 4 ****ers that i knew went in and came out a lot better for it, and I couldnt do it so i didnt. But its their choice, its not conscription, its a job, I just dont see why a member of the armed forces should get special treatment over someone that was not, just because they were in the forces. (probably controversial, but **** it, its their choice to do it in the first place).
It is controversial Steve but I know what you are saying and understand it but, to me, the forces are a special case. Yes they do it by choice and yes they know the risks but they still risk being killed doing it. Is it right they are a special case, well 'thats a matter of opinion but mine is it is right. Maybe its because they are doing something fear would stop me doing.
