Muslim mothers may be deported over English test: David Cameron

Families could be broken up and mothers deported after years of living in Britain if they fail a new mandatory English language test, David Cameron has confirmed.

The Prime Minister on Monday outlined plans to language-test all spouses who immigrate join their partner living in Britain two and a half years after they arrive here.

Failing the language test could lead to the new arrival’s right to stay in the UK being revoked and them being sent back to their country of origin, he said. Cameron was asked during an interview whether a woman who came to the UK under the spousal settlement programme and had children in Britain could still be deported.

“They can’t guarantee that they’ll be able to stay,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.“We’re now going to toughen up so half-way through the spousal settlement programme - two and a half years - there’ll be another opportunity to make sure your English is improving.

“You can’t guarantee you’ll be able to stay if you’re not improving your language. It is tough but people coming to our country have responsibility too.”

Children born in the UK who have one parent “settled” in the UK automatically receive British citizenship and would therefore be allowed to remain in the UK with their fathers, while their mothers were not.

The spousal settlement visa, to which the new English language test applies, requires that the person with whom the new arrival is coming to live is already settled. This means all children born to a couple using a spousal settlement visa have British citizenship.

There is also no guarantee that children born Britain citizens would have a right to live in another country - meaning that in some cases mothers might be unable to take their children back to live with them in their country of origin.

Despite the new emphasis on forcing women to learn English Cameron admitted that his government had actually previously cut funding for English-language tuition for migrants. He blamed the deficit for the policy.

“Yes, budgets did come down in the past because all budgets were under pressure because of the enormous deficit and the need to pay that down,” he told the same programme.