In Britain, families fear post-Brexit future

Jane Yilmaz and her husband, Altuğ, live in separate countries, but not by choice: Under current British family migration rules, Yilmaz’s income is too low to sponsor her spouse for a visa. Altuğ remains in his native Turkey, barred from permanently joining his wife and seven-year-old daughter, Ela.

A British citizen living in Plymouth, Yilmaz’s voice wavers with emotion when she describes how Ela has reacted to the indefinite separation.

“She’s been diagnosed with selective mutism, which means she’s only talking in certain situations,” Yilmaz says. Her daughter has shown other signs of severe separation anxiety: “When I’ve had to leave in the morning for temp work, she’s stood at the door and screamed, ‘Mummy,

Income litmus testsPost-Brexit quagmireLiving in limbo