I never expected that living legally, working hard, and contributing to the UK would still mean I could not live close to my own parents.

Both my brother and I have built our lives in the UK. We work here, pay taxes here, and see our future here. I am in the higher-rate tax bracket in the UK, contributing a significant proportion of my income each year through taxation. We each have children who are growing up in the UK — yet their grandparents are thousands of miles away, unable to share everyday family life with them.

We genuinely love living in London, UK. This is our home. But the current immigration rules make it almost impossible for our parents to be part of that life — not because they are vulnerable or dependent, but because they are too healthy and independent to qualify.

I come from a family that would be considered financially secure in India. We are not seeking public funds, benefits, or NHS support. We are not asking the UK to take responsibility for our parents. All we want is the ability to live together as a family — responsibly, lawfully, and without burdening the state.

My father is not fragile. He is a lifelong entrepreneur in real estate and will never truly retire. Even today, he is constantly exploring opportunities, learning, and thinking commercially.

My mother is a homemaker, but she has always been entrepreneurial in her mindset — practical, adaptable, and engaged. People like my parents are not passive dependants. They are socially active, economically minded, and capable of contributing meaningfully to community and economic life.

Yet under the current Adult Dependent Relative (ADR) rules, none of this matters.

The rules require parents to prove extreme dependency — often to the point of serious illness — before they are allowed to live with their children. Families who are willing and able to fully support their parents privately are still refused. As a result, parents who are healthy today are forced to live with constant uncertainty about the future.

For more than five years, my father has lived with growing anxiety — not because he is unwell, but because he does not know what will happen as he gets older while remaining separated from both of his children and his grandchildren. The emotional impact of this uncertainty is real and impacts his 'TODAY', even when someone is physically healthy.

This situation forces families into a difficult and unnecessary choice:

Stay in the UK and remain separated from ageing parents

Or

Leave the UK entirely so parents can be near their children and grandchildren

Many families including a number of my close friends are quietly choosing the second option — including high-earning professionals who would otherwise continue contributing significantly to the UK economy and tax base.

This is not just a personal issue — it is a national one.

A House of Lords Justice and Home Affairs Committee has warned that current family migration rules are unfit for purpose and are already pushing some professionals to leave the UK.

The British Medical Association has raised similar concerns among doctors, many of whom are considering leaving or reducing their long-term commitment to the UK because they cannot care for parents under the existing system.

These are people the UK needs — skilled workers, professionals, taxpayers — who want to stay, but are being pushed away by policies that fail to reflect modern family life.

My parents do not want benefits. They do not want to rely on the NHS. 

As a family, we are willing to:

• Pay the Immigration Health Surcharge
• Maintain private international health insurance
• Provide full financial guarantees
• Ensure no access to public funds
• What we are asking for is a practical, controlled, and fair family reunification route — not an open door, but a responsible pathway that recognises today’s realities.

What I am asking the UK Government to do is, 

Introduce a modern family reunification visa route that:

• Allows healthy, independent elderly parents to live with their children
• Recognises families where multiple adult children and grandchildren are settled in the UK
• Enables families to financially sponsor and fully support their parents
• Requires private health insurance or NHS surcharge
• Prevents reliance on public funds
• Allows fit and capable parents to seek suitable work or contribute economically
• Supports family unity while protecting public resources

This is not about special treatment. It is about common sense, responsibility, and fairness.

Families who contribute substantially to the UK — economically and socially — should not be forced to choose between the country they have built their lives in and the parents who raised them.

Please sign this petition — not out of sympathy, but because this is a reasonable, balanced policy change that benefits families, communities, and the UK itself.

If you live in the UK, please sign the official UK Parliament petition here. This is the signature that really counts!

Thank you for taking the time to read this and for supporting a more humane, practical immigration system.