Firstly most people in the UK don’t think like that and recognise either the value of legal immigrants such as yourself or the fact that the problem of illegal immigration is a problem of both domestic and international policies.

My opinion and that of most of the people I know, is that if you’ve got the balls to leave your home and move somewhere in search of a better life then you’re likely to be an asset to society.

Unfortunately UK politics is not unique in the way that the question of immigration is being considered. You’ll find it’s similar in most of the ‘Western World’ right now. When economies and social services begin to struggle then who better to blame than the ‘other people’ particularly when they can’t vote!

Without boring you about the recent history of UK politics the only thing I can assure you is that in the medium term things will get better. The Conservative Party is making immigration a significant talking point for the upcoming election. Once they’ve lost that election (which they almost certainly will and by a massive number of votes) things will hopefully calm down.

Even as a British national I feel your pain. My Mrs is not British and it’s cost us somewhere in the region of £11k to get her settled status.