My story in short.

My name is Khor, and before I left the UK, I was a fashion graduate. After graduation, I went into retail because the 2008 recession left few career prospects. I worked my way up from Christmas temp to an area manager. Despite trying my best with the terrible hand of cards I was given, I would take another personal blow.

Unfortunately, many Brits, like myself, who were in serious relationships with non-EU citizens at the time were denied the right to a family life.

Meanwhile, non-citizens, mostly Europeans, could bring their entire families to the UK under the EU right of free movement. As a result, the then-conservative government tightened the conditions for a spouse visa because it couldn’t stop or control EU migration.

This made it impossible for working and middle-class individuals to establish a family in the United Kingdom. I was 60 pounds short of meeting the criteria each month and ended up working three jobs from 4 a.m. to 11 p.m., six days a week.

Woefully, the paid-for legal advice I received was incorrect; I was falsely led to believe that I required six months’ worth of pay stubs to apply for a spouse visa. It turned out that I needed one year of pay stubs because I was working numerous jobs to complete the requirements. Faced with the truth and six months of torture that had begun to cripple my body, I decided to say farewell to the UK.

I relocated to China, and China restored my right to a family life, a so-called human right that EU nations frequently use as a hypocritical club to slap less developed countries with. Since that day, I’ve gained a green card in China, and I’m tremendously grateful for the opportunities that China has provided me.