She came to the UK, joining her brother who had, in the meantime, been recognised as a refugee. Fatima’s application for asylum was refused in May 2008, and her subsequent appeal was also rejected in September 2008. Since then Fatima has been required to report monthly to immigration officers in Hounslow, but no efforts have been made to return her to Kuwait. She maintains that she has always kept the UK Border Agency informed of any change of address. Initially she lived with her brother but, in April 2009, she moved in with her husband whom she had recently married in an Islamic ceremony. They were unable to marry in a civil ceremony as they were awaiting a Certificate of Approval to Marry, a requirement since abolished. Her husband is also a Kuwaiti Bidoun and has been recognised as a refugee in the UK. He will be eligible to apply for indefinite leave to remain in 2011. In November 2009, Fatima was detained. In view of the fact that she had always complied with immigration control and was reporting monthly, her arrest and detention came as a terrible shock to Fatima and her husband. She describes what happened. “Very early in the morning ten or so immigration officers raided our flat. They banged violently on the door of our flat, pointed torches through the letterbox and demanded to be let in. They forced us out of bed without allowing us time to even get dressed. We tried to explain that we were married but they would not accept this and shouted at us that we had no right to get married without permission. They said that I would be arrested as I had no right to remain in the UK. They told me that I had two minutes to get ready and then I was taken away in front of all the neighbours who had come out to see what was happening. My husband was not allowed to come with me. I was terrified by what was happening to me.” Fatima was held by immigration services overnight and then taken to a detention centre where she was detained for three nights. She describes being interviewed and placed under pressure to sign a voluntary return disclaimer, after which she was released. Disturbingly, the reasons justifying her detention in the form given to her appear questionable and do not take into account her statelessess. One reason given was that Fatima had not left the UK when required to do so, when the reality is that she has never had any travel documents to enable her to do this even if she was happy to go. Another was that her removal was imminent, but a review of the file indicates that there had been no attempt to try to document Fatima for removal before the detention occurred. A third reason justified detention on the basis that she did not have enough close family ties despite in reality having a husband and a brother resident in the UK. A further reason given was that Fatima had failed to comply with the terms of her temporary admission. Fatima denies this, and her claim is supported by the fact that she was reporting monthly at the time of her arrest and that the UK Border Agency was aware of her home address. To Fatima it appears inexplicable why her flat was raided in this fashion, but the experience continues to haunt her: “My biggest worry is that what happened when I was arrested and detained will happen again. I always lock all the doors and windows because I am really afraid.” The rationale for detaining her in this fashion appears even more questionable in view of the fact that the UK Border Agency has not taken any enforcement action since her arrest. Fatima remains stuck in limbo, without status here but unable to be returned to Kuwait because she is stateless. Similar to the perception of other Bidouns interviewed she says that, “I feel that I have no rights, either in Kuwait or here”. in the United Kingdom 105